Utilization of Environ Metric and Index Methods as Water Quality Assessment Tools Focusing on Heavy Metal Content of Water Around Okaba Coal Mines, Kogi state, Nigeria

This study became imperative given the importance of water to our lives and particularly those in the rural areas, vis-à-vis the exploitation for coal.

Dry season surface water samples were analyzed for heavy metals and major ions.

Correlation, factor and cluster analyses, anthropogenic factor (AF), heavy metal pollution (HPI) and metal indices (MI) were adopted to help in assessing the degree of water pollution.

At P< 0.01 and P<0.05 levels, strong to moderate correlations exist. This indicates same origin for these variables. The R-mode factor suggests that factor one and two were anthropogenic while factor three was natural. The R-mode clusters revealed also that cluster two was anthropogenic and cluster one was a mixture of natural and anthropogenic sources. The Q-mode factor indicated that while some locations were directly influenced others were not. The Q-mode cluster showed that cluster one was natural, clusters two and three were anthropogenic.

The AF rank was: Cd>Zn>Ni>Fe>Pb> Cu. The HPI value of 56.21 obtained was below the critical pollution level of 100 at which the water is said to be contaminated. Metal indexing value of 460.46 obtained suggested seriously affected water.

This study has shown that heavy metal pollution of water resources around Okaba coal need to be re-evaluated in details. Control measures should be put in place for a sustainable development while preventive measures and awareness are strongly recommended.