Assessment of Physicochemical Properties and Trace Elements in Rainwater from Industrial (Indorama Petrochemicals Eleme) and Non-Industrial (Iboloji Estate Rumuigbo) Areas in Rivers State, Nigeria

Rainwater is an important component of rural water usage in rural communities all over the world. Its composition and fitness for consumption and other uses in the face of utmost scarcity is therefore very important to humans. Its contents also reveal the underlying poor conditions of the atmosphere in the area and therefore needed to be examined. Indorama is an industrial area within Eleme and Rainwater samples were collected from the place as the industrial site and Iboloji Estate Rumuigbo within Port Harcourt Metropolis as the control. The samples were examined for physicochemical parameters and trace element using standard methods. The result for non-industrial area showed: pH (6.42 ± 0.138), conductivity (120 ± 3.265), TDS (55.5±1.224), Salinity mg/l (39.5±1.224), Turbidity (NTU) (2±0), TSS 3.81±0.106mg/l, Total Hardness mg/l (21.69±0.106), Phosphate mg/l (NIL), Nitrate (0.11±0.00), Sulphate mg/l (NIL), BOD mg/l (5.797± 0.149), CODmg/l (13.405±0.63), Chloride mg/l (5.19 ± 0.00), DO mg/l (6.105 ±0.395), Zn mg/l (0.20±0.11), AI mg/l (NIL), Cd mg/l (NIL), Fe mg/l (0.299 ±0.1935), Mg mg/l (0.4175 ±2.0005), Cu mg/l (0.0225±0.0275). The mean levels of the examined parameters for industrial area showed; pH (5.845 ± 0.11), conductivity (48 ±0.816), TDS (38.5±12.65), Salinity mg/l (16.5±1.22), Turbidity (NTU) (2±0), TSS 12.61±0.530mg/l, Total Hardness mg/l (37.22±0.01), Phosphate mg/l (NIL), Nitrate (0.106±0.00), Sulphate mg/l (NIL), BOD mg/l (8.377± 0.193), CODmg/l (19.229±0.09), Chloride mg/l (10.97 ± 0.31), DO mg/l (4.07 ±0.16), Zn mg/l (0.11±), AI mg/l (NIL), Cd mg/l (NIL), Fe mg/l (0.19±0.00), Mg mg/l (2.00±0.05), Cu mg/l (0.01±0.00). All the parameters examined from the industrial sites showed higher levels compared to those of non-industrial area except pH, conductivity and salinity. Results obtained from the investigated parameters from the non-industrial rainwater were within the acceptable limits recommended by WHO for drinking water. However, since the results from the industrial rainwater showed signs of increase in the mean levels of the parameters than that of the non-industrial rain water, caution should be taken in the use of the rainwater for domestic and any other purpose as there might be increase in the levels of these parameters depending on the nature of the activities carried out in the environment.