Assessment of Groundwater Quality in Shallow Wells Around Aba Industrial Zone, Abia State

This study assesses the physicochemical and bacteriological quality of groundwater obtained from shallow wells situated within and around the Aba Industrial Zone in Abia State, South East Nigeria. Aba hosts a dense concentration of small-scale manufacturing enterprises engaged in textiles, cosmetics, and chemical processing, and concerns about industrial effluent percolation into the shallow aquifer serving adjacent residential communities have grown considerably. Water samples were collected from twenty wells across five communities in the wet and dry seasons, and physicochemical parameters including pH, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, total dissolved solids, nitrate, lead, chromium, and cadmium concentrations were measured in accordance with standard methods. Bacteriological analysis targeted total coliform and faecal coliform counts. Results indicate that lead and chromium concentrations in nine sampled wells exceed the World Health Organisation permissible limits for drinking water, with proximity to the industrial zone correlating positively with elevated heavy metal concentrations. Total coliform counts exceed acceptable limits in fourteen wells, with higher counts recorded in the wet season, suggesting surface runoff as a contamination pathway. Turbidity and total dissolved solids are elevated throughout the study area. These findings demonstrate a significant public health risk for communities that depend on shallow wells as their primary water source. The study recommends immediate installation of community borehole facilities tapping deeper protected aquifers, enforcement of industrial effluent discharge standards by the Abia State Environmental Protection Agency, and a sustained groundwater quality monitoring programme. Keywords: groundwater quality, heavy metals, industrial contamination, shallow wells, Aba.