Vol. 8 No. (1): 123 - 132 (2017): ASSESSING THE WATER QUALITY OF JAKARA DAM, KANO-NIGERIA BY THE USE OF MACRONIVERTEBRATES

A study on the water quality assessment of Jakara Dam was conducted from January to
October 2016 at 4 studied sites, using Biological Monitoring Working Party (BMWP) Score
and Average Score Per Taxa (ASPT) assessment tools. Using standard technique, a total of
10631 macroinvertebrates belonging to three phyla; Mollusca, Arthropoda, and Annelida
and comprising of 15 families were collected and identified. BMWP Score and ASPT values
obtained were recorded for each site (A, B, C and D) during the sampling period. The
results revealed that all the sites had poor water quality with BMWP score less than 100
and ASPT value less than 4. Gastropod (Melanoides tuberculata), dipteran larvae
(Chironomus sp.), and annelid worm (Tubifex tubifex) were the dominant species
identified during the sampling period. The presence of pollution indicator species such as
Melanoides tuberculata, Chironomus sp. Hirudo medicinalis and Tubifex tubifex confirmed
that Jakara Dam is polluted. It was therefore recommended that further studies should be
done to validate the use of BMWP/ASPT score as indices of organic pollution.