Abstract

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of environmental pollution on quality of potable water in Osun State College of Education, Ilesa and its environment. The physicochemical parameters (pH, DO, TDS, EC, total hardness, acidity, alkalinity, nitrates, and sulphates) were determined using standard techniques while the levels of metals (Pb, Al, Cu, Fe, and Zn) were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry. The study findings indicated that most of the investigated physicochemical parameters were in compliance with the WHO permissible limits. Results also showed that Pb was undetected while Fe had the highest concentration of 0.84±0.11 mg/L in the water samples. Water quality indices were generally less than 100, indicating the suitability of the water samples for drinking. Health risk assessment equally showed that oral and dermal exposure to the water samples would pose no immediate non-carcinogenic health risks based on the HQ values less than 1. However, long term exposure should be avoided to prevent bioaccumulation of these metals.