Effect of abattoir activities on the quality of water and surrounding soil of the Anwai River in Asaba, Nigeria

The Anwai River is the most important river in Asaba, Nigeria, because of its many uses, and these include abattoir activities. The aim of this study was to assess the surface water and surrounding soil of the Anwai River for the effects of abattoir activities during the wet and dry seasons of 2020. The quality of soil and water samples was analysed using standard procedures as set by the American Public Health Association. Results of water analyses showed that pH, total dissolved solids and total suspended solids varied from 6.45 to 6.67, 13.50 mg L−1 to 24.42 mg L−1, and 2.19 ± 0.04 mg L−1 to 10.79 mg L−1, respectively. Soil pH, total organic content, Pd and Cr had a range of 5.83 to 7.65 pH units, 0.15 to 2.74%, 1.88 ± 0.03 to 22.8 ± 0.28 mg kg−1, and 0.86 ± 0.03 to 4.87 ± 0.04 mg kg−1, respectively. There were significant differences between Upstream, Midstream (by the abattoir) and Downstream samples; however, there were no significant differences between dry and wet season results for most of the parameters. Midstream values for the water quality index were 104.89 and 119.34 in the dry and wet seasons, respectively, which showed that the Midstream water samples were poor. The findings of this study showed that the abattoir activities were negatively impacting river water and soil quality.