Physicochemical Characteristics and Levels of Metal Ions in Groundwater around Abattoir and Cassava Processing Area from Odo-Oori Market in Iwo, Osun State, Nigeria

An essential resource for many manufacturing processes is clean water. Abattoirs and cassava processing facilities primarily use water for cleaning. The water usually becomes wastewater, which is typically released into the environment without any prior treatment. It is extremely concerning that such wastewater contributes to the global and regional shortage of clean water. Consequently, the objective of this paper was to evaluate the physicochemical characteristics and levels of metal ions in wastewater from abattoir and cassava factories as well as groundwater around their locations at Odo-Oori market in Iwo, Osun State, Nigeria, using appropriate standard techniques. Average pH of 6.86 and BOD of 4.05mg/L were obtained for abattoir ground water, with the BOD exceeding WHO BOD limits (3 mg/L), suggesting organic pollution from abattoir effluents. Also, average pH (6.075) of groundwater around cassava processing area (CPA) falls slightly below the WHO range (6.5-8.5), indicating acidic conditions, while its average EC (381 μS/cm) is about four times WHO limits (100 μS/cm) for EC. In addition, groundwater from CPA presents alarming organic pollution such that its BOD (5.75 mg/L) nearly doubles WHO limits (3 mg/L), COD (1227.5 mg/L) indicating severe contamination and NH₄⁺ (51.375 mg/L) exceeding that of a typical groundwater. Generally, the concerned groundwater samples in this study show complex anion and metal pollution. A moderate contamination is probably caused by abattoir operations, while severe contamination, especially in Na, K, and Fe, indicates that cassava processing has a major effect on the quality of the local water supply.