Bacteriological and physicochemical analysis of water from mining ponds in Bassa and Jos South Local Government Areas of Plateau State

Abstract

The bacteriological and physicochemical quality of water from mining ponds was carried out in this study. A total of 180 water samples from ten mining ponds in Bassa and Jos South Local Government Areas of Plateau State were collected in wet and dry seasons. The water samples were evaluated for bacteriological quality and physicochemical properties using standard methods. The results showed that the mean total viable bacteria count (TVBC) ranged from 1.3 x10⁶ - 1.65 x10⁶cfu/ml. The highest mean TVBC (1.65 x10⁶ cfu/ml) was observed in water from Gura-Topp, with least (1.30x10⁶ cfu/ml) observed in Topp tin mining pond. The total coliform count (TCC) ranged from 54 - 493 mpn/100 ml. Variations in TVBC and TCC within ponds and seasons were observed. Predominantly, eight bacteria: Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhi, Vibrio cholerae, Proteus vulgaris, Yersinia enterocolitica, Shigella dysenteriae, Bacillus subtilis, and Salmonella enteritidis, were isolated from the water samples. Physicochemical properties showed that pH ranged from 7.76 - 7.86, temperature 22.35 - 23.37°C, dissolved oxygen (DO) 5.11 - 8.17 mg/L, total dissolved solids (TDS) 180.6 - 196 mg/L, total suspended solids (TSS) 1.50 - 30.17 mg/L, chemical oxygen demand (COD) 4.63 - 18.8 mg/L and biological oxygen demand (BOD) 6.38 - 8.53 mg/L. Heavy metals detected included zinc, lead, cadmium, cobalt, chromium and arsenic. Lead, arsenic, cadmium and chromium were above the recommended standards. Consistently, physicochemical values obtained were found to significantly (p<0.05) vary among ponds and seasons. This study showed that the tin mining ponds are bacteriologically not safe for drinking purposes and contain high concentration of some heavy metals.