ASSESSMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION OF ELE RIVER IN NNEWI OF ANAMBRA STATE OF NIGERIA USING WATER QUALITY INDEX MODEL

The purpose of an index is to transform a complex water quality data into information that is easily understandable and useable by the general public. Water Quality Index (WQI) was therefore used for the assessment of the impact of industrial effluent on the environmental pollution of Ele River. The parameters used in this study to develop WQI are chemical water quality indicators - pH, Total Dissolved Solid, Total Hardness, Calcium, Magnesium, Total Alkalinity, and Electrical Conductivity. Water samples were collected from three sampling stations. Ele River based on the preliminary survey was divided into three sampling stations. The sampling stations were then designated as: station 1 (Point of entry of the effluent), station 2 (100 m away from the effluent discharge point) and station 3 (250 m away from the effluent discharge point). The QWI of the stations ranges from a minimum of 51.53 in the month of June in point 1 to the maximum of 92.92 in the month of January in point 3. It can be inferred that physico-chemical water quality of the River is generally of medium and good quality base on WQI assessment and WHO standard.