Vol. 8 No. (1): 17 - 29 (2017): BACTERIOLOGICAL AND PHYSICOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF WATER FROM MINING PONDS IN BASSA AND JOS SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS OF PLATEAU STATE

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 bacterial count (TVBC) ranged from 1.3 x106 – 1.65 x106cfu/ml. The highest
mean TVBC (1.65 x 106 cfu/ml) was observed in water from Gura-Topp, with least count
(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. Predominately, 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
- 23.37oC, 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.