Geochemical Background and Correlation Study of Ground Water Quality in Ebocha-Obrikom of Rivers State, Nigeria.

Abstract

Background and Objective: Pollution in the Niger Delta has resulted in approximately nine million premature deaths, accounting for 16% of global mortality, surpassing AIDS, TB and malaria combined. Pollution-related illness claims one in four lives in the most affected nations. The objective is to determine the relationship between the physicochemical and heavy metals parameters in groundwater in the study area. Materials and Methods: Between September, 2019 and August, 2020, the sample was collected. Standardized analytical procedures were used in the study. All sampling, conservation, transportation and analysis were carried out in accordance with the 2018 APHA recommendations. To stop the deterioration of the organic components, all obtained samples were transported to the research lab while being preserved in an icebox. The significance level was set at p<0.05. Results: It shows that most of the physicochemical indices and heavy metals are correlated significantly with each other during wet and dry seasons. The sign (+) implies that as one parameter of the groundwater increases, the others increase significantly and (-) shows the reverse is the case when one parameter of water increase increases, the other parameters decrease significantly between each of the indices in Ebocha-Obrikom. All the findings were statistically significant (p<0.001). Conclusion: Groundwater pollution is caused by irresponsible, short-sighted and unsustainable exploitation of oil and gas resources. Evidence-based strategies are needed to address pollution at the source and a linear regression analysis technique is an effective tool for monitoring groundwater. Extensive monitoring is needed to track its development.

Keywords: Regression analysis, correlation, extractive industry, Niger Delta environment, groundwater analysis, blocks of sustainability

JEL Classification: Q2