Quality assessment and public health status of harvested rainwater in a peri-urban community in Edo State of Nigeria

Our plain-English summary of Quality assessment and public health status of harvested rainwater in a peri-urban community in Edo State of Nigeria, by I.H. Igbinosa, I.T. Aighewi (Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 2017).

The study

• Authors: I.H. Igbinosa, I.T. Aighewi
• Journal: Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
• Published: 2017;189(8):405
• Cited by: 4 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

The harvested rainwater is an alternative water source in communities where there is limited or scarcity of water distribution system. However, contamination of roof-harvested rainwater is of immense concern to the general public health. Therefore, this study was initiated to assess the levels of physicochemical quality and heavy metal concentrations in the harvested rainwater from Oluku communities in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. The roof-harvested rainwater samples were collected from 20 independent different residential households in Oluku communities, between April 2015 and September 2015. Physicochemical analyses were carried out using standard analytical methods, and heavy metal concentrations were determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The evaluation of the rainwater harvesting shows that 60% (12/20) of the roofs were made of corrugated iron sheets; aluminum sheets, 20% (4/20); asbestos, 10% (2/20); and open space was 10% (2/20). Also, the storage systems used for the storage of harvested rainwater were as follows: PVC tanks, 20% (4/20); drums, 30% (6/20); buckets, 25% (5/20); and wells, 25% (5/20). The physicochemical indicators investigated (temperature, nitrate, chlorine content, electrical conductivity, phosphate, total dissolved solids, and sulfate) were within World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. However, some pH levels of the roof-harvested rainwater were acidic and below the WHO standard. Furthermore, a high value of turbidity was observed in some locations and exceeded the WHO guidelines. Though some heavy metal indicators (Zn, Na, K, and Ca) in this study were within the WHO guidelines, some locations revealed heavy metal (Cu, Fe, and Cd) concentrations slightly above the WHO guidelines. There is need for proper rainwater harvesting system and continuous monitoring of harvested rainwater for potable uses.

In plain English

This study tested roof-harvested rainwater from 20 households in the Oluku communities of Edo State, Nigeria. Samples were collected each month from April to September 2015, for 120 samples in total. Of the 20 collection systems, 12 used corrugated iron sheet roofs, 4 aluminum and 2 asbestos, and 2 collected from open space. The authors measured physical and chemical properties and a set of metals. The tests they report did not include asbestos fibers. Most measured properties were within World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. However, pH ranged from 4.55 to 6.75, and some samples were below the WHO standard, which made the water acidic. Turbidity (cloudiness) ranged from 1.50 to 20.50 NTU. The highest value came from an asbestos roof with bucket storage, and asbestos roofs with bucket storage also gave the highest conductivity and sulfate. Some locations had copper, iron and cadmium concentrations that the authors described as slightly above WHO guidelines. The authors concluded that roof-harvested rainwater could be a good alternative drinking-water source in water-limited communities if treated before use.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Field sampling survey of household rainwater quality (physicochemical and metal testing), with analysis of variance and correlation analysis
• Who was studied: Rainwater from 20 residential households in the Oluku communities (Iguosa, Okhunm and Ughogua), Ovia North-East Local Government Area, Edo State, Nigeria; 120 samples collected monthly, April to September 2015
• Exposure: Catchment type of the 20 rainwater harvesting systems: corrugated iron sheet roofs (12 of 20), aluminum sheet roofs (4 of 20), asbestos roofs (2 of 20), open space (2 of 20). Storage was in tanks, drums, buckets or wells. Parameters measured were pH, temperature, turbidity, dissolved solids, conductivity, phosphate, sulfate, chloride, nitrate and metals (Cu, Fe, Cd, Zn, Ca, Co, Se, Na, K, Pb).
• Main results:
  • Most physicochemical parameters (temperature, nitrate, chlorine content, electrical conductivity, phosphate, total dissolved solids, sulfate) were within WHO guidelines
  • pH of samples ranged from 4.55 to 6.75
  • Some pH values were below the WHO standard, making the water acidic
  • Turbidity ranged from 1.50 to 20.50 NTU. The highest value was from an asbestos roof with bucket storage; the WHO guideline in Table 1 is 5.
  • Electrical conductivity ranged from 5.00 to 130.00 microsiemens per cm. The highest was from an asbestos roof with bucket storage.
  • Sulfate ranged from 0.00 to 27.50 mg/L. The highest was from an asbestos roof with bucket storage.
  • Some locations had copper, iron and cadmium concentrations the authors described as slightly above WHO guidelines
  • Iron ranged from 0.25 to 6.65 mg/L across locations; the WHO value in Table 2 is 0.3 mg/L
  • Cadmium ranged from 0.00 to 0.75 mg/L across locations; the WHO value in Table 2 is 0.003 mg/L
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that roof-harvested rainwater could be a good alternative drinking-water source in water-limited communities if treated before use. They also concluded that the low pH and some metal levels were of public health concern, and they called for continuous monitoring and public health education.

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