ABSTRACT
This study examined the variation of dissolved nutrients in River Ethiope, Delta State, Nigeria. Water samples were collected fortnightly along the course of the river (upper, middle, and lower) during Early Rainy Season (ERS), Peak Rainy Season (PRS) and Late Rainy Season (LRS). Also, water samples were collected during Early Dry Season (EDS), Peak Dry Season (PDS) and Late Dry Season (LDS). The water samples were taken to the laboratory for analysis of the concentration of dissolved nutrients (calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, nitrate, bicarbonate, chloride and sulfate) using Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS). Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to analyse the variation of dissolved nutrients among the seasons along the course of the river. Students t-test was used to examine the significance of the difference in dissolved nutrients between the rainy and dry seasons at the upper, middle and lower courses of the river. The result revealed that there is no seasonal variation of dissolved nutrients at the upper course of River Ethiope (F= 0.028, P >0.05). The result also revealed that there is no seasonal variation of dissolved nutrients at the middle course (F= 0.043, P > 0.05). In the same vein, there is no seasonal variation of dissolved nutrients at the lower course of River Ethiope (F = 0.057, P > 0.05). Similarly, there was no significant difference in the concentration of dissolved nutrients at the upper, middle and lower courses between Rainy and Dry season of River Ethiope (t = -0.879, -0.864 and -0.618, P > 0.05). In like manner, the result revealed that there is no variation in the concentration of dissolved nutrients at the upper, middle and lower courses of River Ethiope (F = 0.008, P > 0.05). The results revealed that all the parameters investigated in this study are within World Health Organization (WHO) permissible limits for drinking water.
