EFFECTS OF SOLID WASTES ON THE QUALITY OF UNDERGROUNDWATER
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to Study
Municipal solid waste (MSW) consists of refuse from households, hazardous solid waste from industrial, commercial, and institutional establishments (including hospitals), market waste, yard waste, and street sweepings (Ogwueleka, 2009). Solid waste dumps constitute integral parts of the soil hydrological system and pose a serious pollution threat to both groundwater and downstream surface water (Dahlin et al., 2010). In a solid waste dump, high concentrations of materials such as heavy metals, nutrients, and organic substances lead to a risk of pollution of the surrounding environment. The pollutant load on the environment depends on the quantity and quality of the water that percolates through the waste dump into the surroundings. According to Christensen et al. (1992), the major local environmental problem of solid waste dumps is the discharge of leachates into surrounding ground and surface waters. Indeed, the leakage from municipal solid waste deposits is usually associated with high ion concentrations and, hence, very low resistivities. This makes geoelectrical imaging techniques particularly interesting for mapping the three-dimensional extent of contamination around landfills (Bernstone and Dahlin, 1999).
In Nigeria and other developing countries, waste disposal management has become a problem (Agunwamba, 1998; Ogwueleka, 2009). Large refuse dumpsites that need remediation are surrounded by residential quarters in our urban cities. In the majority of these dumpsites, the contaminants are heavy metals. However, the levels of contamination are often unknown (Ogwueleka, 2009). Pollution of groundwater under and near waste disposal sites happens when rain falls and water passes through the waste dump, producing a waste fluid called leachate, which can infiltrate across the unsaturated zone into the water table. Every conceivable inorganic and organic material may be present in the leachate that can degrade the groundwater quality, thereby putting the local community at serious health risk.
Akwa Ibom State faces major environmental challenges associated with poor waste management, culminating in unregulated waste dumpsites in parts of the state. The dumpsites pose a great risk to groundwater quality as a result of leachate accumulation. Although the layer parameters and geology of the area are essential in understanding the impact of leachate accumulation on groundwater, this information is not known, hence the need for this study. Moreover, open waste disposal sites often lack reliable geological or artificial barriers, so the leaching of pollutants into the groundwater is a concern, particularly for waste dumped in erosion gullies and ravines (like in Uyo), many of which extend below the groundwater table.
Nevertheless, the inhabitants of the study areas, Uyo, Ikot Ekpene, and Oron Local Government Areas, with a population of about 754,067 (Census, 2006), rely on groundwater for about 90% of their total water consumption. Increased urbanisation and a growing population have accelerated problems with the collection and disposal of both solid and liquid waste. Solid waste management in Nigeria is characterised by inefficient coverage of the collection system and improper disposal of solid waste. Every year, the importation and use of packaged consumer goods add to the growing amount of non-biodegradable waste generated. Pollution from industrial waste and sewage and the disposal of toxic chemicals are significant contributors to marine pollution and coastal degradation. Man-made chemicals, many of them very toxic, can be difficult to recycle and expensive to destroy. Most wastes, hazardous or not, are simply dumped together on the nearest available government-owned land. Perhaps more dangerous is the widespread use of toxic agricultural chemicals in areas where these can later pollute rivers and groundwater sources. Groundwater contamination is common in fresh-water sources adjoining agricultural areas. Most notably, the water is also contaminated with raw sewage routinely dumped by trucks from around the state capital.
However, there is a need to carry out a fast, reliable, and non-invasive method of geophysical investigation in studying waste dumpsites across the study area because investigations of contaminated sites are increasingly needed, both because of the pressure to reuse the land and because of increasingly stringent legislation to monitor contamination. According to Carlson et al. (2015), geophysical applications are a key environmental and economic tool for studying many old, poorly documented dumpsites that once were at a distance from urban areas and have been engulfed by expanding cities. Indeed, surface geophysical methods allow subsurface features to be located, mapped, and characterised by making measurements at the surface that respond to a physical, electrical, or chemical property.
1.2 Statement of the problem
The Uyo dump site, viewed as a natural gully erosion, is rather an artificial one owing to poor construction work done by the former Cross River State Ministry of Works in 1979. In 1989, the late sole administrator of the Uyo Local Government Area sited the dump site at the Old Stadium Road end of Udo Street with the shadowy thought of reclaiming the ravine. The already bad situation was made worse by the proximity of the dump site to human residences. Due to blocked waterways, large-scale landslides have rendered some people homeless, and many are deprived of access to their homes.
Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, faces major environmental challenges associated with waste generation and inadequate waste collection, transport, treatment, and disposal. Significantly, the problem associated with the location of dumpsites in gullies with porous and permeable rock units is that they are unprotected from surface contaminants and are therefore easily contaminated, thereby putting the health of the people at risk. Waste disposal sites can seriously affect local wells and drilled holes used for public water supply, and therefore, their locations must be planned and monitored carefully (Matias et al., 1994). Intake of contaminated water has led to cholera, alimentary canal diseases such as typhoid, paratyphoid, and other salmonellosis, enteroviruses, and yersinosis. Respiratory diseases have the greatest impact and potentially fatal consequences. Actually, governmental and non-governmental agencies cannot cope with the volumes of waste generated due to increasing urban populations and their impact on the environment and public health.
In addition, the study area is experiencing rapid urbanisation without proper planning with respect to all the social and environmental amenities. Indeed, population growth and mostly the development of cities are major contributors to increasing MSW in the study area.
The use of waste dumps for obvious reasons is not favourable because it anticipates blowing garbage, foul odours, rodent infestations, increased truck traffic in the neighbourhood as the trucks that bring the waste drive in and out, a hideout for criminals, and lowered property values. From an environmental and public health standpoint, probably the most legitimate concern about a waste dump is the potential to pollute the underlying groundwater with a leaking liquid called leachate. The majority of the populace in the study area depends on groundwater as its source of drinking water; therefore, worries about leachate contamination are understandable. Contamination of any kind may be a signal that pollutants that are in fact hazardous to health and the environment are being transported from the solid waste disposal site into groundwater.
In this research, the feasibility of using electrical resistivity to investigate the internal structure of waste disposal sites compared to other areas is assessed in Uyo, Ikot Ekpene, and Oron Urban, as well as the hydrochemical analysis in order to assess the level of contamination of the groundwater. Details on the contents of a dumpsite may be difficult to acquire but are essential for evaluating the level of risk associated with leaking pollutants. Observation of poor water quality in adjacent wells/boreholes is an indicator that leachate is being produced and is moving (Jegede et al., 2011). Contaminated water represents a significant risk to public health, so their detection in situation assessment is critical in order to prevent access to such water.
The adverse effects of pollutants on human health via the food chain, groundwater included, impinge on social and economic spheres (sickness and death rates, migration of population, lower working output, impact on people’s mental state, etc.). The health risks posed by different kinds of pollutants in groundwater should therefore be the subject of continuous control and evaluation, because they may assume enormous significance for present and future generations.
Significantly, the layer parameters and the geology of the materials above the aquifer are not fully known, as this information can be of help in understanding the level of leachate contamination. It is against this background that this study focuses on the integration of electrical resistivity and hydrochemical methods in determining the impact of solid waste on groundwater quality.
1.3 Aims and Objectives of Study
Aim of Study
The aim of this research is to determine the impact of solid waste dump on groundwater quality in selected dumpsites in Uyo, Ikot Ekpene and Oron, Southeastern Nigeria
Objectives of the Study
The objectives of the study include the following:
- Carry out geophysical surveys in order to obtain vertical electrical sounding data in the study areas.
- Carry out a detailed interpretation of the vertical electrical sounding curves obtained and delineate the leachate and plume-contaminated layers.
- Delineate the migration paths.
- Generate geoelectrical attributes for the area.
- Correlate the geo-electric sections and VES curves with various lithologies using borehole logs.
- Analyse for physicochemical and microbial parameters in the groundwater within the vicinity of the waste dumps.
- Produce risk model maps of the leachate level.
1.4 Scope of Study
The scope of this study uses both electrical resistivity (Schlumberger array) and hydrogeochemical methods to establish major environmental challenges associated with waste generation and inadequate waste disposal and treatment.
The study area is limited to the Uyo, Ikot Ekpene, and Oron areas of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The applications of the electrical resistivity method involve vertical electrical sounding (VES) and tomography. The hydrogeochemical method involves the evaluation of the physicochemical and microbial properties of the groundwater. In the interpretation of the layers of rock encountered in the study areas, some layer parameters, including the Dar Zarrouk parameters, will be evaluated.
1.5 Significance of Study
At the end of this research, a lot of people, especially those in the environment, water, health, and petroleum sectors, will find solutions to the major environmental challenges associated with waste generation and inadequate waste collection, transport, and disposal. Those who will benefit from the study include the government ministries of health, water, environment, and petroleum, as well as future researchers and students.
The knowledge gained from the study will help the government, through their agencies in the ministries of environment, water, health, and petroleum, to appreciate the adverse effects of uncontrolled dumpsites on the immediate environment, as well as the associated diseases caused by the pollutants from the dumpsites. More so, the study will provide facts and figures on the level of groundwater contamination and pollution in areas proximal to the dumpsites for the governmental ministries. Government at various levels, researchers, and even the host communities will find this study very useful. It should be categorically stated that no new water boreholes should be cited in areas where physicochemical and microbial parameters exceed the permissible WHO and NSDWQ limits without first finding out the reasons for these high values.
Finally, future researchers and students who intend to undertake related studies on the impact of solid waste in dumpsite areas using electrical resistivity and hydrochemical data will hopefully find the study useful. The literature reviewed as well as the findings from the study will present them with vital information that will adequately guide their research. More so, the findings of this work will be applicable to any other areas in the region or beyond.
1.6 Locations of Study
Akwa Ibom State is in the south-eastern part of Nigeria, located between latitudes 40 30 I and 50 30 I N and longitudes 70 30 I and 80 20 I E (Fig. 1.1). The state is bounded on the east by Cross River State; on the north-east and north by Cross River and Abia States; on the west and south-west by Abia and Rivers State; and on the south by the Atlantic Ocean, with a 129-km maritime coastline that extends from Ikot Abasi in the west to Oron in the east. The study areas, viz., Uyo, Ikot Ekpene, and Oron, are located in the central, north-west, and south-east parts of the state, respectively (Fig. 1.1). The Uyo dumpsite is a ravine adjoining Udo, Eka streets, and the University of Uyo.
1.7 Control Site for Study
The control in this study refers to the areas remote from the dumpsites, that is, areas not affected by the solid waste deposits at the dumpsites. Since three dumpsites were studied in this work, there were also three corresponding control points. The Uyo dumpsite control was the sounding made along the Cornelia Cornelly College (CCC) lane, off Ikpa Road in Uyo (Fig. 1.2). The control for Ikot Ekpene was the sound made in Community Secondary School, Ikot Abia Idem, along the Ikot Ekpene-Umuahia road (Fig. 1.4). Similarly, the control for Oron was the sound made at Mary Hanne Girls College, Oron (Fig. 1.5).
1.8 Physiography and Climate
The study area has undulating topography. Creeks and swamps exist due to the influence of the Atlantic Ocean, the Qua Iboe, and the Cross River, which drain the entire Akwa Ibom State. The study area presents a picture of captivating coastal, mangrove forest, and beautiful sandy beach resorts. The study area has basically two distinct seasons. The rainy season lasts from May to October, while the dry season lasts from November to April. However, in the coastal areas, rain falls almost all year round. The harmattan, accompanied by the north-east trade wind, occurs in December and early January. On the basis of its geographical location, the climate of Akwa Ibom State can be described as tropical and experiences abundant rainfall with very high temperatures. The mean annual temperature of the area ranges between 260 and 290 °C, and average sunshine amounts to 1450 hours per year. The mean annual rainfall ranges from 2,000mm to 3,000 mm. Naturally, maximum humidity is recorded in July, while the minimum occurs in January. All these have an effect on the dispersal of dumpsite elements. Humid conditions hasten the disintegration of waste matter.
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EFFECTS OF SOLID WASTES ON THE QUALITY OF UNDERGROUNDWATER
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to Study
Municipal solid waste (MSW) consists of refuse from households, hazardous solid waste from industrial, commercial, and institutional establishments (including hospitals), market waste, yard waste, and street sweepings (Ogwueleka, 2009). Solid waste dumps constitute integral parts of the soil hydrological system and pose a serious pollution threat to both groundwater and downstream surface water (Dahlin et al., 2010). In a solid waste dump, high concentrations of materials such as heavy metals, nutrients, and organic substances lead to a risk of pollution of the surrounding environment. The pollutant load on the environment depends on the quantity and quality of the water that percolates through the waste dump into the surroundings. According to Christensen et al. (1992), the major local environmental problem of solid waste dumps is the discharge of leachates into surrounding ground and surface waters. Indeed, the leakage from municipal solid waste deposits is usually associated with high ion concentrations and, hence, very low resistivities. This makes geoelectrical imaging techniques particularly interesting for mapping the three-dimensional extent of contamination around landfills (Bernstone and Dahlin, 1999).
In Nigeria and other developing countries, waste disposal management has become a problem (Agunwamba, 1998; Ogwueleka, 2009). Large refuse dumpsites that need remediation are surrounded by residential quarters in our urban cities. In the majority of these dumpsites, the contaminants are heavy metals. However, the levels of contamination are often unknown (Ogwueleka, 2009). Pollution of groundwater under and near waste disposal sites happens when rain falls and water passes through the waste dump, producing a waste fluid called leachate, which can infiltrate across the unsaturated zone into the water table. Every conceivable inorganic and organic material may be present in the leachate that can degrade the groundwater quality, thereby putting the local community at serious health risk.
Akwa Ibom State faces major environmental challenges associated with poor waste management, culminating in unregulated waste dumpsites in parts of the state. The dumpsites pose a great risk to groundwater quality as a result of leachate accumulation. Although the layer parameters and geology of the area are essential in understanding the impact of leachate accumulation on groundwater, this information is not known, hence the need for this study. Moreover, open waste disposal sites often lack reliable geological or artificial barriers, so the leaching of pollutants into the groundwater is a concern, particularly for waste dumped in erosion gullies and ravines (like in Uyo), many of which extend below the groundwater table.
Nevertheless, the inhabitants of the study areas, Uyo, Ikot Ekpene, and Oron Local Government Areas, with a population of about 754,067 (Census, 2006), rely on groundwater for about 90% of their total water consumption. Increased urbanisation and a growing population have accelerated problems with the collection and disposal of both solid and liquid waste. Solid waste management in Nigeria is characterised by inefficient coverage of the collection system and improper disposal of solid waste. Every year, the importation and use of packaged consumer goods add to the growing amount of non-biodegradable waste generated. Pollution from industrial waste and sewage and the disposal of toxic chemicals are significant contributors to marine pollution and coastal degradation. Man-made chemicals, many of them very toxic, can be difficult to recycle and expensive to destroy. Most wastes, hazardous or not, are simply dumped together on the nearest available government-owned land. Perhaps more dangerous is the widespread use of toxic agricultural chemicals in areas where these can later pollute rivers and groundwater sources. Groundwater contamination is common in fresh-water sources adjoining agricultural areas. Most notably, the water is also contaminated with raw sewage routinely dumped by trucks from around the state capital.
However, there is a need to carry out a fast, reliable, and non-invasive method of geophysical investigation in studying waste dumpsites across the study area because investigations of contaminated sites are increasingly needed, both because of the pressure to reuse the land and because of increasingly stringent legislation to monitor contamination. According to Carlson et al. (2015), geophysical applications are a key environmental and economic tool for studying many old, poorly documented dumpsites that once were at a distance from urban areas and have been engulfed by expanding cities. Indeed, surface geophysical methods allow subsurface features to be located, mapped, and characterised by making measurements at the surface that respond to a physical, electrical, or chemical property.
1.2 Statement of the problem
The Uyo dump site, viewed as a natural gully erosion, is rather an artificial one owing to poor construction work done by the former Cross River State Ministry of Works in 1979. In 1989, the late sole administrator of the Uyo Local Government Area sited the dump site at the Old Stadium Road end of Udo Street with the shadowy thought of reclaiming the ravine. The already bad situation was made worse by the proximity of the dump site to human residences. Due to blocked waterways, large-scale landslides have rendered some people homeless, and many are deprived of access to their homes.
Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, faces major environmental challenges associated with waste generation and inadequate waste collection, transport, treatment, and disposal. Significantly, the problem associated with the location of dumpsites in gullies with porous and permeable rock units is that they are unprotected from surface contaminants and are therefore easily contaminated, thereby putting the health of the people at risk. Waste disposal sites can seriously affect local wells and drilled holes used for public water supply, and therefore, their locations must be planned and monitored carefully (Matias et al., 1994). Intake of contaminated water has led to cholera, alimentary canal diseases such as typhoid, paratyphoid, and other salmonellosis, enteroviruses, and yersinosis. Respiratory diseases have the greatest impact and potentially fatal consequences. Actually, governmental and non-governmental agencies cannot cope with the volumes of waste generated due to increasing urban populations and their impact on the environment and public health.
In addition, the study area is experiencing rapid urbanisation without proper planning with respect to all the social and environmental amenities. Indeed, population growth and mostly the development of cities are major contributors to increasing MSW in the study area.
The use of waste dumps for obvious reasons is not favourable because it anticipates blowing garbage, foul odours, rodent infestations, increased truck traffic in the neighbourhood as the trucks that bring the waste drive in and out, a hideout for criminals, and lowered property values. From an environmental and public health standpoint, probably the most legitimate concern about a waste dump is the potential to pollute the underlying groundwater with a leaking liquid called leachate. The majority of the populace in the study area depends on groundwater as its source of drinking water; therefore, worries about leachate contamination are understandable. Contamination of any kind may be a signal that pollutants that are in fact hazardous to health and the environment are being transported from the solid waste disposal site into groundwater.
In this research, the feasibility of using electrical resistivity to investigate the internal structure of waste disposal sites compared to other areas is assessed in Uyo, Ikot Ekpene, and Oron Urban, as well as the hydrochemical analysis in order to assess the level of contamination of the groundwater. Details on the contents of a dumpsite may be difficult to acquire but are essential for evaluating the level of risk associated with leaking pollutants. Observation of poor water quality in adjacent wells/boreholes is an indicator that leachate is being produced and is moving (Jegede et al., 2011). Contaminated water represents a significant risk to public health, so their detection in situation assessment is critical in order to prevent access to such water.
The adverse effects of pollutants on human health via the food chain, groundwater included, impinge on social and economic spheres (sickness and death rates, migration of population, lower working output, impact on people’s mental state, etc.). The health risks posed by different kinds of pollutants in groundwater should therefore be the subject of continuous control and evaluation, because they may assume enormous significance for present and future generations.
Significantly, the layer parameters and the geology of the materials above the aquifer are not fully known, as this information can be of help in understanding the level of leachate contamination. It is against this background that this study focuses on the integration of electrical resistivity and hydrochemical methods in determining the impact of solid waste on groundwater quality.
1.3 Aims and Objectives of Study
Aim of Study
The aim of this research is to determine the impact of solid waste dump on groundwater quality in selected dumpsites in Uyo, Ikot Ekpene and Oron, Southeastern Nigeria
Objectives of the Study
The objectives of the study include the following:
1.4 Scope of Study
The scope of this study uses both electrical resistivity (Schlumberger array) and hydrogeochemical methods to establish major environmental challenges associated with waste generation and inadequate waste disposal and treatment.
The study area is limited to the Uyo, Ikot Ekpene, and Oron areas of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The applications of the electrical resistivity method involve vertical electrical sounding (VES) and tomography. The hydrogeochemical method involves the evaluation of the physicochemical and microbial properties of the groundwater. In the interpretation of the layers of rock encountered in the study areas, some layer parameters, including the Dar Zarrouk parameters, will be evaluated.
1.5 Significance of Study
At the end of this research, a lot of people, especially those in the environment, water, health, and petroleum sectors, will find solutions to the major environmental challenges associated with waste generation and inadequate waste collection, transport, and disposal. Those who will benefit from the study include the government ministries of health, water, environment, and petroleum, as well as future researchers and students.
The knowledge gained from the study will help the government, through their agencies in the ministries of environment, water, health, and petroleum, to appreciate the adverse effects of uncontrolled dumpsites on the immediate environment, as well as the associated diseases caused by the pollutants from the dumpsites. More so, the study will provide facts and figures on the level of groundwater contamination and pollution in areas proximal to the dumpsites for the governmental ministries. Government at various levels, researchers, and even the host communities will find this study very useful. It should be categorically stated that no new water boreholes should be cited in areas where physicochemical and microbial parameters exceed the permissible WHO and NSDWQ limits without first finding out the reasons for these high values.
Finally, future researchers and students who intend to undertake related studies on the impact of solid waste in dumpsite areas using electrical resistivity and hydrochemical data will hopefully find the study useful. The literature reviewed as well as the findings from the study will present them with vital information that will adequately guide their research. More so, the findings of this work will be applicable to any other areas in the region or beyond.
1.6 Locations of Study
Akwa Ibom State is in the south-eastern part of Nigeria, located between latitudes 40 30 I and 50 30 I N and longitudes 70 30 I and 80 20 I E (Fig. 1.1). The state is bounded on the east by Cross River State; on the north-east and north by Cross River and Abia States; on the west and south-west by Abia and Rivers State; and on the south by the Atlantic Ocean, with a 129-km maritime coastline that extends from Ikot Abasi in the west to Oron in the east. The study areas, viz., Uyo, Ikot Ekpene, and Oron, are located in the central, north-west, and south-east parts of the state, respectively (Fig. 1.1). The Uyo dumpsite is a ravine adjoining Udo, Eka streets, and the University of Uyo.
1.7 Control Site for Study
The control in this study refers to the areas remote from the dumpsites, that is, areas not affected by the solid waste deposits at the dumpsites. Since three dumpsites were studied in this work, there were also three corresponding control points. The Uyo dumpsite control was the sounding made along the Cornelia Cornelly College (CCC) lane, off Ikpa Road in Uyo (Fig. 1.2). The control for Ikot Ekpene was the sound made in Community Secondary School, Ikot Abia Idem, along the Ikot Ekpene-Umuahia road (Fig. 1.4). Similarly, the control for Oron was the sound made at Mary Hanne Girls College, Oron (Fig. 1.5).
1.8 Physiography and Climate
The study area has undulating topography. Creeks and swamps exist due to the influence of the Atlantic Ocean, the Qua Iboe, and the Cross River, which drain the entire Akwa Ibom State. The study area presents a picture of captivating coastal, mangrove forest, and beautiful sandy beach resorts. The study area has basically two distinct seasons. The rainy season lasts from May to October, while the dry season lasts from November to April. However, in the coastal areas, rain falls almost all year round. The harmattan, accompanied by the north-east trade wind, occurs in December and early January. On the basis of its geographical location, the climate of Akwa Ibom State can be described as tropical and experiences abundant rainfall with very high temperatures. The mean annual temperature of the area ranges between 260 and 290 °C, and average sunshine amounts to 1450 hours per year. The mean annual rainfall ranges from 2,000mm to 3,000 mm. Naturally, maximum humidity is recorded in July, while the minimum occurs in January. All these have an effect on the dispersal of dumpsite elements. Humid conditions hasten the disintegration of waste matter.
EFFECTS OF SOLID WASTES ON THE QUALITY OF UNDERGROUNDWATER, GET MORE PROJECT MATERIALS
Attached Files