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. 2017 Jul 17;1(6):1700011.
doi: 10.1002/gch2.201700011. eCollection 2017 Sep 16.

Assessment of the Physicochemical and Heavy Metal Qualities of Rooftop Harvested Rainwater in a Rural Community

Isoken Henrietta Igbinosa  1 , Isoken Tito Aighewi  1
Affiliations

Assessment of the Physicochemical and Heavy Metal Qualities of Rooftop Harvested Rainwater in a Rural Community

Isoken Henrietta Igbinosa et al. Glob Chall. .

Abstract

This study is conducted to assess the quality of harvested rainwater. Rooftop rainwater samples are collected between April and September 2015 from Ugbihioko village near Benin City, Nigeria. Heavy metal concentration and physicochemical quality are determined with the use of standard analytical techniques for water quality, and the results are compared to the World Health Organization (WHO) acceptable limits for drinking water. Of the different water quality parameters, the results show that temperature is within WHO drinking water standards for all locations, but pH, turbidity, sulfate, chloride, and nitrate concentrations vary considerably and do not meet the standards for all locations. Regarding the maximum acceptable concentration (MAC), electrical conductivity is well below the MAC for all cases; the heavy metals copper and iron are above the MAC for all cases; the light metals sodium and potassium are below the MAC for all cases. Lead is above the MAC for all locations, except for in one location; and selenium varied, with some sites having selenium concentrations above the MAC. The results from this study show that public health education or advising is vital for mitigating the possible risks that can be linked to the use of harvested rainwater without treatment.

Keywords: chemical quality; harvested rainwater; health risk; heavy metals; rainwater quality; water standards.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Map of the sampling distribution across the study area. The specific households sampled are indicated by red stars.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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