The Microbial Status and Physico-Chemical Pollutants Studies of Rivers Owan and Evbiobe in Edo State, Nigeria

The areas of study are Rivers Owan and Evbiobe, which transverse respectively through Owan East and Owan West Local Government Areas of Edo State, Nigeria. Owan river is a washing zone for automobiles of all sorts on daily basis while a major market site is located behind Evbiobe river; thus exposing the rivers to high level of quality degradation and bacteriological pollution. The rivers serve as drinking water source and other domestic uses to the communities around the study areas. Water samples were collected at ten locations within Rivers Owan and Evbiobe over a period of twelve months, covering both dry and wet seasons. The water samples were analysed for water bacteriological and physico-chemical characteristics using methods prescribed by APHA (1998), Aiyesanmi (2008) and Oyakhilome et al. (2012). These rivers were highly polluted with bacteria load as observed in the results of the study when compared with their guideline values. The statistical analyses conducted on the physico-chemical parameters revealed high level of significant difference (p< 0.05) between wet and dry seasons’ values for all parameters except Total Suspended Solid and Chemical Oxygen Demand in Owan river. The pollution of the rivers could be attributed to influx through runoff of microorganisms from vegetation decay, municipal sewage, garbage, domestic and fecal waste into the rivers, especially during the wet season. This calls for a need in the periodic monitoring of the water bodies so as to prevent or minimize the pollution of these rivers in the future