Abstract

Water is an essential natural resource for sustaining life and environment. Several activities have led to pollution of ground water. This study assesses the underground water quality level and its suitability for irrigation and drinking purpose. Water samples were collected in four locations in the Federal College of Forestry as follows: Display garden well, College back gate well, borehole and poultry well. The samples were analyzed at the Bauchi State water quality Laboratory for irrigation and drinking purpose. The results of the analysis was compared to NESREA (2011) and NSDWQ (2015) standards. Nitrate level ranged from 0.38-7.40Mg/l and was found to be high for drinking purpose. Phosphate ranged 0.04-30.8mg/l, while Potassium 4.5-78mg/l, both were high for irrigation and consumption purpose. Excess level of nitrate can cause blue baby disease. Excessive consumption of phosphate leads to a higher mortality in patients with renal disease, which is also associated with increased prevalence of cardiovascular diseases in the general population. It was found from this research that underground water at 5m and beyond is not suitable for drinking, Phosphate and Potassium level should be within recommended standard before it can be used for irrigation purposes.