ABSTRACT
The study is aimed at investigating the physiochemical properties as well as the microbial and enzymes activities in the soil and swamp water. There are traces of crude oil pollution in the area under study. The main uses of water in the catchments include domestic, recreational (e.g swimming) and fishing. Enhwe town lies on the geographical coordinates of Latitude 5° 22' 31" North and Longitude 6° 6' 38" East. In this research, samples were collected from five sites: Site I (swamp A), Site II (swamp B), Site III (swamp C: control site), Site IV (crude oil polluted soil) and Site V (soil control). Water and soil samples were collected from the sampling sites in October, 2021. Physiochemical parameters, total petroleum hydrocarbon, microbial and enzymes activities were determined. One-way ANOVA (with statistical package SPSS version 22.0.) was used to statistically analyze the mean values of the samples. The result showed that no significant differences existed in water temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and pH from swamp A and swamp B when compared with control. The measure of hardness, total solids (TS), electrical conductivity (EC), turbidity and total dissolved solids (TDS) were observed to be higher in water from swamp A and swamp B as related to control. There were no variations in calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) levels in swamp A and swamp B when compared to the control. Also, chloride (Cl) and sodium (Na) levels of swamp A and swamp B were significantly higher in comparison to the control. A noticeable rise in quantity was observed in total heterotrophic bacteria (THB), total heterotrophic fungi (THF), hydrocarbon utilizing bacteria (HUB) and total hydrocarbon (THC) levels of water from swamp A and B relative to control. However, noticeable differences were not observed in THB, HUB as well as HUF of water sediment of swamp A when compared to swamp B. The study showed a significant increase in THC and THF of water sediment of swamp B when compared to swamp A. The pH, Nitrogen (N), organic carbon, exchangeable acidity (EA), cation exchange capacity (CEC), silt, clay and sand in soil of polluted area showed no noticeable variation when related to control. A significant increase was observed in electrical conductivity (EC), sulfuric acid (SO4,), phosphorus (P), nitrate (NO3,) organic matter, Ca, Mg, K level of polluted soil when compared to soil control. There was a noticeable rise in laccase and lipase activities of the polluted soil when compared to control, swamp A and swamp B sediment. A significant reduction in catalase activity was observed in soil of polluted area when compared to control. There was also no noticeable variation in catalase activity of swamp A when compared to swamp B. From our findings, it can be deduced that swamp water in the studied area is not safe for consumption due to the alteration of its physiochemical parameters. The study therefore recommends that possible actions be designed to prevent or reduce crude oil spillage in the area under study. Also efforts should be made for bioremediation of the polluted environment.
