Abstract

Water samples from selected hand-dug wells and Ona River in Itaogbolu area of Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria were collected, physico-chemical parameters and heavy metals were determined using standard analytical procedure. The results of the physico-chemical analysis were obtained in the  following range; PH (6.59-7.68), temperature (21.10-27.10ºC), conductivity (300-1150 µÎ©/cm), chloride (78.10-156.20 mg/l), total hardness (130-298 mg/l), sulphate (82.50-97.00 mg/l), TDS (0.02-0.09%) and alkalinity (0.92-2.45 mg/l). The highest value of physico-chemical parameters (compared with wells) was obtained in Ona River. The concentration of heavy metals (mg/l) in the well and Ona river samples were found in the following range; Zn (5.5-9.2), Cr (ND-0.4), Pb (ND-0.2),Cu (ND-0.4), Ni (ND-0.1) and Fe (0.1-5.3). Cadmium was not detected at all in all water samples. The results obtained fell within the maximum allowable limit set by World Health Organization for drinking water except for water from Ona river.

Key words: Ona river, well water, physico-chemical parameters, heavy metals.