ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACT OF SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT EFFLUENTS ON RIVER WUPA, FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study was conducted with a view to comparing the efficiency of the output of Wupa Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) with acceptable and permissible international standards and the effect on the receiving River. Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Total Coliform Count (TCC) and other parameters were analysed from sampled wastewater before passing through the plant, after passing through the treatment plant and the receiving river, then compared with National permissible standards. The results of the laboratory analyses showed that the influent going to the treatment plant had BOD, COD, and TSS values of 150 mg/l, 350 mg/l, and 160.6 mg/l respectively while the effluent after the treatment processes recorded 8 mg/l, 20 mg/l, and 15.9 mg/l for the same parameters respectively. The treatment plant recorded 95% efficiency in pollutant removal when compared with National permissible standards. The study revealed that there was no adverse impact of the effluent water on the receiving water body (River WUPA) in terms of physiochemical parameters as the treated effluent from the facility conformed to the specified discharge limits for WHO, but in terms of the bacteriological parameters; values of the total coliform count (TCC) and faecal coliform (FC) were observed to be higher than that of the river at both upstream and downstream sections, which necessitates the development of a maintenance plan for the treatment plant with emphasis on proper maintenance of the unit processes of the treatment plant and UV treating the effluent properly before discharge into the receiving water body.

Keywords: Effluents, Sewage, Treatment Plant, River, Federal Capital Territory.