Pakistan Journal of Geology (PJG)

Journal: Pakistan Journal of Geology (PJG)
Author: Ojeaga, Kenneth, and Ehinlaye, Charles

This is an open access journal distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

DOI: 10.26480/pjg.02.2025.102.109

The study investigated and assessed groundwater quality and sources of dissolved geochemical constituents in groundwater within Iyuku and Ikpeshi, Edo State. A total of 32 groundwater samples were obtained from selected boreholes in Ikpeshi and Iyuku and environs. The physico-chemical parameters of the groundwater samples were analyzed using Atomic absorption spectrophometer (AAS) Bulk scientific. The result show that pH ranged from 4.7 to 7.6, EC ranged from 12.24, TDS ranging from 15.40 to 744 mg/l and was classified as fresh water with TDS<1000mg/l. The concentration of the major cation was in the following order Mg2+ > K+ > Ca2+ > Na+. The order of anions dominance/ abundance in groundwater was Cl- >SO42- > HCO3- > NO3- > PO4-. The mean result indicated that the hydrogeochemical constituents in the groundwater were within WHO (2015) standard except Mg2+and K+. The result of Results of correlation analysis, principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis suggests that the major variations of hydrochemical constituents in the groundwater could be influenced geogenic sources which includes; mineral dissolution of carbonate and silicate rocks, reverse cation exchange and sea water intrusion. However, the presence of NO3-, PO43-, and SO42- also suggest anthropogenic influences linked to poor well depletion, improper waste disposal and surface run off due to application of fertilizers. The result of spatial distribution of cations, designated the southwestern part of the study area as major hotspots of Mg, K, Ca, and Na. The coliform count ranged from 11-20 cfu/ml and with a mean value of 14.03 cfu/ml, exceeded the Nigerian Standard Drinking Water Quality guideline. This indicates that some of the groundwater wells may have be contaminated with faecal coliform due nitrogenous wastes and poor septic conditions. It is therefore recommended that water, particularly those obtained from hand dug wells should be treated before domestic consumption. Further research on groundwater sources should be carried out by delineation of the prevalent hydrochemical facies using various ionic plots, piper, gibbs and schoeller models. Also health risk assessment studies should be carried out in the study area. Information about geochemical processes responsible for the dominance of some of these cations in groundwater be evaluated.