Determining the Physicochemical Parameters of Soil and Groundwater in Kaltungo LGA, Gombe State, Nigeria

In April 2012, groundwater and soil samples were taken in Kaltungo LGA in Gombe State to determine the quality of the groundwater (dry season).The goal of this study was to investigate some physicochemical parameters of drinking water samples from hand-dug wells and boreholes that had not been treated before consumption. As a result of reported dental fluorosis, the goal was to determine the quality of water from various sources. Dental fluorosis has been reported to be caused by intake of high doses of fluoride during the early childhood years when both the deciduous and the permanent dentition are developing. Ten soil and groundwater samples were obtained from four sampling sites, with two samples collected from Billiri LGA as a control. The parameters nitrate, sulphate, phosphate, chloride, fluoride, electrical conductivity, pH, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, temperature, turbidity, total hardness, and total alkalinity were measured using a standard method on the samples obtained. The data revealed the following variations in the studied parameters in samples: temperature 24.5-27.3oc pH 5.47-7.50, electrical conductivity (EC) 700-20,000 s/cm, total hardness 60.70- 979.6 mg/L, alkalinity 24.10-79.03mg/L, turbidity 0.06-95.40 NTU, phosphate 0.05-0.80 mg/L, fluoride 1.31-1.97mg/L, nitrate 19.40-168.9 mg/L, chloride 2.66-24.82mg/L, sulphate192-424mg/L, dissolved oxygen 0.77-2.10 mg/L, biochemical oxygen demand 0.10-1.37mg/L, and chemical oxygen demand, 81.67-420.00mg/L. The amounts of majority of the studied indicators in the Kaltungo samples were over the World Health Organization's permitted limits for drinking water quality guidelines. The data was described using analyses of variance (ANOVA) and Pearson correlation.