Quality assessment of water receiving effluents from crude oil flow stations in Niger Delta, Nigeria C. C. Nnaji & J. C. Agunwamba Department of Civil Engineering, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria Keywords analysis; effluent; hydrology; quality; water quality. Correspondence Chidozie Charles Nnaji, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, 400001, Nigeria. Email: chidozie.nnaji@unn.edu.ng; episcopal2k@yahoo.com doi:10.1111/wej.12016 Abstract Waterbodies receiving effluent from six crude oil flow stations in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria were assessed. A total of six hundred and forty-five observations for 19 parameters were used to assess the quality of these waters using the Canadian water quality index. A high correlation was obtained between copper and ammonia (R = 0.9996, P < 0.01) on one hand, and dissolved oxygen and BOD (R = 0.786, P < 0.01) on the other. Of the six stations, only one can be classified to be in good conditon, two were in fair conditions, two were marginal, while one was of poor quality. The quality of waterbodies assessed depends more on the degree of viola- tion of standards and the number of times standards were violated. Furthermore, the quality of these waterbodies are affected more by the hydroglogy and geology of the Niger Delta than any other factor. Introduction Despite the gains resulting from industrialization, it leaves behind an indellible but undesirable footprint in its wake, on both man and his environment. The brunt of industrialization is usually borne mostly by developing countries that are not equipped economically, technologically and politically to miti- gate the negative impacts of industrialization. According to Adakole & Abolude (2009), in Nigeria and other several devel- oping countries, the negative effects of siting industries in the community are seldom considered. Pollution of water sources by effluents from industries and sewage from homes is well documented in literature. Effluents from oil drilling (Aisien et al. 2010), crude oil flow station’s saver pit (Okoh et al. 1996; Ekundayo & Fodeke 2000) and a host of other sources have been reported to be negatively impacting water sources and the aquatic environment. These impacts include pollution of drinking water sources leading to frequent out- break of epidemics, bioaccumulation of heavy metals in fish, eutrophication of lakes, destruction of aquatic life, obstruc- tion of navigation because of algal bloom, proliferaion of water hyacint and the pollution of groundwater. Sharma et al. as cited by Olajire and Imeokparia (2001) observed that about 80% of disease outbreaks in third-world countries can be attributed to poor drinking water and unsanitary conditions. In Nigeria, where law enforcement and policy implementa- tion are still at a low level, many industries discharge their effluents into water sources with impunity. Apart from indus- trial effluents, some people channel their domestic waste into surrounding waterbodies that may be serving some communities downstream. Another source of pollution of water resources is poor management of soild wastes leading to the proliferation of open dumps producing an ernomous amount of leachates. When it rains, these leachates are trans- ported by run-off to the nearest waterbody and shallow wells. Adewuyi & Opasina (2010) noted that salts, organic and inor- ganic compounds are transported by the leachates as the liquid flows through the dumpsite. Unfortunately, many com- munity dwellers rely on these natural water sources for domestic uses because the government does not sufficiently cater for their water needs. The Niger Delta is a wetland (112 000 km 2 ) through which River Niger discharges into the Atlantic Ocean. The vegeta- tions are mostly saline mangrove, freshwater forest and lowland rainforest. The Niger Delta is dissected by a dense network of rivers and creeks which maintain a delicate but dynamic equilibrium between saline, estuarine and freshwa- ter surface bodies with complex underground extensions (Abam 2001). The area is rich in crude oil, and about 1183 oilfields have been discovered since the beginning of oil exploration in the region. The Niger Delta has suffered grossly from both the exploitation of its natural environment and the discharge of effluents resulting from oil exploration activities. Oil exploration has not only affected water resources, it has rendered the soil unsuitable for agricultural purposes, which is the means of livelihood of most rural dwellers. Hence, the Water and Environment Journal. Print ISSN 1747-6585 104 Water and Environment Journal 28 (2014) 104–113 © 2012 CIWEM.