The Impact of Oil Exploration and Exploitation on Water Quality and Vegetal Resources in a Rain Forest Ecosystem of Nigeria

The oil industry in Nigeria is known to be as a source of revenue and foreign exchange earning to the economy. However, while the industry is perceived as an engine of growth, it is regarded as a mixed blessing to the country. This is as a result of distortions in the environment due to oil spillages and contamination of agricultural lands. Based on these problems, the paper examine the qualities of surface and well waters, bottom sediments, river banks soils and some species of plants in areas of oil exploitation and exploration. Samples of well and surface water, bottom sediments and riverbank soils were collected during the month of June and September 2013. These samples were sent to the laboratory for physio-chemical analysis. The result shows that the values of some samples in some locations were slightly higher than the WHO permissible level for portable water, the same was found in chemical parameters, indicating some level of pollution due to oil spillage. Riverbanks soil values were slightly higher than those of the bottom sediments. Of the twenty-four species of plants evaluated, twenty were impacted slightly due to absorption of toxic nutrients from spilled oil and four non-impacted by oil pollution. To ensure the restoration of the ecosystem, such preventive measures of regulating the activities of oil companies, checking pipe line vandalization, accidental discharge, pre and post-impact assessment by such oil companies should be carried out annually. Lastly, government should enforce pollution control measures and environmental friendly standards. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n27p167