CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF STORMWATER RUNOFF ACROSS RESIDENTIAL AREAS IN CALABAR MUNICIPALITY, SOUTHERN NIGERIA 0 0
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.83374/jesber.vol1no2.99Keywords:
Stormwater runoff, Chemical characteristics, Residential land use, Water quality, Urban hydrology, Calabar MunicipalityAbstract
Stormwater runoff generated from urban catchments is a major non-point source of environmental contaminants, yet its chemical composition varies markedly with the land use and socioeconomic character of the catchment it drains, a relationship that remains under-documented for many rapidly urbanising Nigerian cities. This study examined the chemical characteristics of stormwater runoff and their variation across high-income, medium-income, and low-income residential areas of Calabar Municipality, Cross River State, Southern Nigeria. Using a stratified and random sampling design, three residential areas were selected from each of the three income categories, nine in all, and thirty-six grab samples of stormwater runoff were manually collected from storm outfalls across the residential types during active storm events. Samples were analysed for pH, electrical conductivity, turbidity, total dissolved solids, ammonia, sulphate, phosphate, total hardness, calcium, magnesium, nitrate, nitrite, ammonium, chloride, salinity, biological oxygen demand, and dissolved oxygen, and the data were subjected to descriptive statistics and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results showed the stormwater to be mildly alkaline (pH 7.06-7.38), with the medium-income area recording the highest pH and the highest chloride concentration, while phosphate and turbidity were most elevated in the high-income area and nitrate and nitrite were highest in the low-income area, several of these exceeding World Health Organisation permissible limits. One-way ANOVA showed statistically significant spatial variation (p < .05) in pH, phosphate, magnesium, nitrate, ammonium, chloride, and biological oxygen demand across the three residential categories, while conductivity, turbidity, total dissolved solids, ammonia, sulphate, total hardness, calcium, nitrite, salinity, and dissolved oxygen did not vary significantly. The study concludes that the chemical quality of stormwater runoff in Calabar Municipality is shaped jointly by residential land use and the socioeconomic activities of residents, and recommends improved solid- and liquid-waste disposal practices across all residential categories to reduce the nutrient and organic loading of stormwater runoff and the surface waters into which it ultimately drains.Downloads
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