Physico-chemical characteristics of Ama brewery effluent and its receiving Ajali River in Udi, Enugu state, Nigeria

A study was carried out to analyse the effect of brewery effluent from Nigerian brewery Enugu on Ajali River in Eke, Udi Local Government Area, Enugu State. Brewery effluent and water samples from Ajali River were collected with sterile bottles between the month of May and June, 2013. The samples were analyzed for physicochemical properties with standard laboratory techniques. Results obtained in the study revealed that the brewery effluent had the following values: pH (7.71 ± 0.15 pH), temperature (29.50 ± 0.500 C), conductivity (489.00 ± 172.00 us/cm), total suspended solids (26.75 ± 0.25 mg/l), total dissolved solids (2.55 ± 0.47 mg/l), total solid (29.31 ± 0.51), biological oxygen demand (1.95 ± 0.100 mg/l), chemical oxygen demand (49.97 ± 6.00 mg/l), dissolved oxygen (3.00 ± 0.15) mg/l) and turbidity (388.00 ± 117.00 NTU). Ajali River had the following values: pH (7.69 ± 0.00 pH), temperature (26.00 ± 0.000 C), conductivity (280.00 ± 22.00 us/cm), total suspended solids (47.01 ± 0.99 mg/l), total dissolved solids (1.86 ± 0.24 mg/l), total solid (48.87 ± 0.11), biological oxygen demand (1.52 ± 0.12 mg/l), chemical oxygen demand (10.94 ± 2.97 mg/l), dissolved oxygen (4.37 ± 0.17 mg/l) and turbidity (278.00 ± 33.00 NTU). Objectionable water odour was recorded for both brewery effluent and Ajali River. The turbidity, total suspended solids and dissolved oxygen of both brewery effluent and Ajali River were far above the national and international permissible standard limits for effluents and surface waters. The reasons for these variations and their effect on the Ajali River were discussed.Keywords: Physico-chemicals characteristics, Ama brewery effluent, Ajali River, Permissible limit