Multivariate analysis of water quality of "omi-omo" stream Ikole Ekiti, Nigeria.

Abstract

The multivariate Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to assess the variations in the water quality of the "Omi Omo" Stream. This allowed for the identification of temporal and spatial variations in the water quality caused by contamination by analysing the similarities and differences between the sampling points. For three months, four sampling locations along the streamline provided data on the quality of the water. Temperature and other physicochemical parameters were used to analyse the samples. Turbidity, alkalinity, Electrical Conductivity (EC), hardness pH, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Biological oxygen demand (BOD), heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Pb, Fe, Mn), sulphate, phosphate, nitrate and chloride were also determined. For the months under study, PCA helped identify and extract the factors causing variations in water quality. The important factors influencing the variation in water quality for the three months of study were turbidity, TDS, alkalinity, electrical conductivity, nitrate, calcium, and chloride. The comparison of the stream’s physicochemical parameters with the W.H.O standards shows an acceptable correlation except for the turbidity and the EC which for some period were higher than the acceptable level of the W.H.O standard. The study's findings will assist pertinent authorities in determining how to improve the declining water quality caused by pollution from various human activities.