The Impact of Soak Away Pit Leachate on the Spatial Distribution of the Groundwater Quality

Abstract

Access to safe and affordable drinking water is a fundamental human right, and it is crucial for achieving sustainable development goals. The study precisely focused on the impact of soak away pit effluent on groundwater quality. Groundwater was sampled from five spatial points with different proximities from soak away pits, and their potability degree was determined in accordance with standard approved procedures. The results obtained from the laboratory test shown that the physiochemical properties of the water samples ranged thus: dissolved oxygen from 4.14 - 6.03 mg/L, turbidity from 0.31 - 0.75 NTU, total dissolved solid between 13.80 and 32.1 mg/L , nitrate from 1.37 to 7.30 mg/L, and the salinity from 10.09 - 21.97 mg/L. Similarly, the heavy metals level in the water samples varied this this pattern: cadmium - below detectable level (BDL) to 0.001 mg/L, copper - from 0.03 to 0.54 mg/L, Fe between 0.07 and 1.25 mg/L, lead - from BDL to 0.001 mg/L, zinc from 0.08 to 1.33 mg/L, and sodium  from BDL – 1.3 mg/L. Likewise, the results depicted that the  water samples collected from the four of the five spatial points, that were close to the soak away pits contained high population of bacteria and coliforms. These results highlight the effect of discharge from human waste on groundwater quality, and the importance of considering the proximity of constructing solid waste management system close to source of domestic water supply. This will reduce the risk of water-borne diseases and protecting the quality of water supplies.