NIGERIAN

River systems are valuable to human beings; meanwhile, they are intensively influenced by human activities. especially urbanization. In this study, we evaluated water quality of Amagba- Okoroma River, Benin City using analysis of water physico-chemical parameters recorded seasonally from March to April 2023 (dry season) and June and July 2023 (rainy season). Three sampling sites were selected along the course of the river from upstream (site 1) to downstream (site 3) associated with various anthropogenic activities. Water samples were collected and anlysed using standard procedure. Of the 21 water physico-chemical parameters anlysed, 5 parameters namely, turbidity (15.5 NTU), pH (5.4), Cr (0.15 mg/L), Cu (0.34 mg/L) and Zn (0.66 mg/L) exceeded the stipulated Nigerian Industrial Standard (NIS) guidelines. The result revealed that 3 parameters, namely, air temperature, water depth, and transparency showed
significant spatial variation across the three sites. Additionally, statistically significant seasonal variation was observed in 2 parameters in dry and rainy season namely, nitrate-nitrogen and sulphate. Water quality index (WQI) results reveal that water samples from each site were rated to be of excellent water quality, however, site 1 upstream had the best quality followed by site 2 and site 3 respectively. To preserve this water resource against pollution, the implementation of stringent guidelines as well as routine biomonitoring are needed to enhance its health status