Water Quality of a Perturbed Tropical Forest Aquatic Environment in Nigeria

Purpose: Egbokodo River was surveyed from November, 2014 to February, 2016 (covering wet and dry seasons); on monthly basis. 10 samples of surface water were collected at 10 sub-stations randomly around each station; labelled Stations 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 using 250 litres sampling bottles. Methodology: Two-way ANOVA was used to test for significant differences across the months and across the stations. High conductivity in the dry season was coeval with high salinity; indicating a substantial contribution of the dissolved salts to the conductivity of the river. The outstandingly high levels of total dissolved solids and turbidity at Station 3 can be attributed to the intense dredging activities carried out at this location. The high values of BOD observed at Station 2 was accompanied by low dissolved oxygen (DO). This can be attributed to disposal of organic wastes at this section of the river. The DO at Station 3 was significantly higher than other stations throughout the study period (P < 0.05). This can be attributed to the surface turbulence by dredging agitation and high standing aquatic macrophytes. The levels of the essential primary productivity nutrients such as nitrate, phosphate and sulphate in the river indicate that the river is oligotrophic. Results show that anthropogenic activities around the river are of higher impacts on the ecological equilibrium than neighbouring rivers. The river is supports aquatic life, it is also suitable for agriculture and domestic use; though not without proper water treatment before drinking