• 2025-04-25
• O.O. Elemile
• Volume 1, Issue 1

Abstract

Leachate from open dumps has been shown to have a negative impact on groundwater quality. The degree of groundwater contamination caused by leachate from open dumpsites in Omu-Aran is not well known. Therefore, groundwater samples from various locations and a few meters away from open dumpsites in Omu-Aran, Kwara State, Nigeria, were evaluated using physicochemical characteristics and heavy metals as indices. Thirty-six water samples were collected from privately owned wells around the selected open dumpsites as well as from a control well situated at distances which vary at different elevations to the open dumps. The physicochemical parameters of the water samples were obtained by applying the standard methods. The analysis of data was achieved using descriptive statistics and ANOVA at p <0.05. The mean values of the groundwater samples' physicochemical characteristics ranged from 6.65±0.20 to 7.07±0.17, 1.70±0.08 to 4.28±0.22mg/L, 20.25±1.71 to 52.00±6.73mg/L, and 2.80±0.08 to 34.50±3.32mg/L for pH, Biochemical Oxidation Demand, Sulphate, and Nitrate, respectively. However, the mean values of the heavy metals (Pb, Fe, Cd, Cr, Co, Ni, and As), while lower than the control, still exceeded the permitted limits. Open dumping of wastes within Omu-Aran has a significant impact on groundwater quality; consequently, appropriate waste management techniques that are sustainable should be established in residential areas.