10.2190/Q4G4-MV32-65TN-82H6 Q4G4MV3265TN82H6 4 Waste Disposal and Groundwater Quality in Owerri, Nigeria 69 79 20070614 20070614 20070614 20070614 Q4G4MV3265TN82H6.pdf http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=Q4G4MV3265TN82H6 1 Chukwunonye O. Owuama A. P. Uzoije Federal University of Technology, Owerri Nigeria Groundwater supply in the city of Owerri is obtained from the semi-confined aquifer occurring at depths of 50 m to 80 m. Common sources of groundwater pollution are leachate from waste dumpsites and sewage from septic tanks. Over seven waste dumpsites exist in Owerri metropolis, and a septic tank is a common feature in every household. Analysis of the groundwater quality shows that the dissolved solid and bacteria exceed the maximum permissible limit allowed for drinking water. The scenario is primarily due to the inability of the underlying rock and the coastal plain sand, to geochemically attenuate the contaminants adequately. Proper treatment of water from both the private and public boreholes should be enforced. K. M. Ibe and N. N. Onu, Migration of Contaminants into Groundwater at a Landfill Site: A Case Study of the Avu Landfill Site Owerri, S. E. Nigeria, <i>International Journal of Environmental Health Research</i>, <b>9</b>, pp. 55-66, 1999. K. O. Uma and B. C. E. Egboka, Water Resources of Owerri and Its Environs, Imo State Nigeria, <i>Nigerian Journal of Mineral Geology</i>, <b>22</b>, pp. 57-62, 1985. F. C. Nwankwo, <i>The Influence of Waste Disposal Methods on Groundwater Quality: Case Study Owerri</i>, unpublished BSC thesis, Department of Civil Engineering, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria, 1998. C. D. Shackelford, <i>Contaminant Transport in Geotechnical Practice for Waste Disposal</i>, D. E. Daniel (ed.), Chapman and Hall, London, p. 683, 1985. T. T. Nguyen, G. W. Wilson, and V. H. Ngugen, A Study of Groundwater Pollution to Waste Disposal in Hanoi Vietnam, <i>Proceedings of the 4th Symposium on Environmental Geotechnology and Global Sustainable Development</i>, August 9-13, Boston, Massachusetts, pp. 1180-1189, 1998. S. B. Hornick, <i>The Interaction of Soils with Waste Constituents in Soil Chemistry: Vol. A.: Basic Element</i>, G. H. Bolt and M. G. M. Bruggewast (eds.), Elsevier Scientific, New York, pp. 4-19, 1976. J. V. Rouse and R. Z. Pyrih, Natural Geochemical Attenuation of Contaminants Contained in Acidic See Page, in <i>Proceedings of the International Conference on New Frontiers for Hazardous Waste Management EPA/600/9-85/025</i>, pp. 192-199, 1985. T. Dragun, <i>The Soil Chemistry of Hazardous Materials</i>, Hazardous Materials Control Research Institute, Silver Spring, Maryland, 1988. R. D. Schiling, Geochemical Engineering, <i>Proceedings of the 6th International Congress IAEG 6-10 Ang. Amsterdam. Symposia</i>, pp. 159-164, 1990.