EVALUATION OF WATER QUALITY MODELLING PARAMETERS: TOWARDS THE EVOLVEMENT OF RE-AERATION COEFFICIENT FOR RIVERS IN THE NIGERIAN ENVIRONMENT
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This study was carried out on River Atuwara in Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria with the aim
of developing a coefficient of re-aeration model applicable to River Atuwara and
other rivers in the Nigerian environment. This was achieved by sourcing for data once
every month from 22 sampling locations of interest within a pre-selected segment of
the river over a period covering the dry and wet seasons. The data collected include
hydraulic data (depth, width, velocity and time of travel) and water quality data such
as Dissolved Oxygen (DO) and Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD). Excel
Spreadsheet and MATLAB were used for data processing. Regression analysis was
carried out where stream velocity and depth were the regressors and the re-aeration
constant k2 (as a function of BOD, DO and Temperature) was the dependent variable.
A coefficient of re-aeration, k2, (Atuwara re-aeration model) was developed and
validated statistically. Its performance was also verified by comparing the model with
10 other internationally recognized models. It was found that even though Atuwara
model performed better than Agunwamba model and most of the other well cited
models, both Atuwara model and Agunwamba model could be safely adopted for
future water quality modelling researches in the Nigerian environment.
Results of detailed water analysis of samples from River Atuwara shows high level of
pollution hence it is unfit for human consumption without adequate treatment. It is
recommended that River Atuwara and similar rivers in the country should be regularly
monitored for quality control
Keywords
TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)