Assessment of Physico-chemical Properties and Water Quality of River Osse, Kogi State

Water is the basis of life and means must be put in place to check its quality for domestic purposes. The river Osse is one of the rivers located in Kabba, Kogi state, and it serves various purposes for the residents of its community. Water samples were collected from 3 stations of Osse river namely; Okoro, Odolu and ABU. These samples were accessed to determine if the water is suitable for domestic purposes. The results of the analyses of the water samples showed that the river had relatively good quality as the dissolved oxygen (DO2) was within the international and local standards i.e. world health organization (WHO) and Nigeria industrial standards (NIS) respectively. The highest value recorded was 0.60 mg/l at station 1 in August and the lowest value was 0.18 mg/l at the same station in May. The highest mean value for the Nitrate concentration of the river was 36.47 mg/l at station 3 and the lowest was 26.12 mg/l at station 2 and this still falls within the standards laid down. TDS, chloride, alkalinity were in the range of 29-70 mg/l, 3.15-30 mg/l and 16-20 m /l respectively and none was above the limit set down by WHO and NIS. The pH level of all the stations throughout the study ranged from 7.4-7.9 meaning they were also within standards. The BOD highest value was 3 and was also within the tolerance range for pure water. The result shows that the River Osse was within the WHO international standard and not above the standards of the local set limits by NIS. Thus, making the river fit and good for domestic purposes. Keywords: Water quality, Physico-chemical property, River Osse, Biological Oxygen Demand, Dissolved Oxygen.