Quality of 7-Up Bottling Company Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluent Discharged to the Environment

Abstract

The quality of the effluent exiting the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) vis-à-vis the efficacy of the WWTP of 7-Up Bottling Company located at Ninth Mile Corner, Amaeke Ngwo,  Enugu State was assessed in this study. The parameters assessed were pH, total dissolved solids, total suspended solids, biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, chloride, nitrate, phosphate, arsenic, aluminium, lead, coliform and E-coli. HACH DR spectrophotometric was employed for the analysis of the parameters except heavy metals and microbial analysis that were analyzed by means of Atomic Absorption Spectrometry and most probable number (MPN) techniques respectively. Appropriate quality control and quality assurance measures were in place. Obtained results indicated that the WWTP of 7-Up Bottling Company was able to reduce the concentration of some of the effluent biological and  physico-chemical parameters entering the WWTP to varied degrees ranging from 30-60%. The pH, TDS, TSS, chloride, phosphate and total coliform values differ significantly for the effluent entering in comparison with those exiting the WWTP. However, with respect to BOD and COD, there are no significant differences. The quality of the effluent exiting the WWTP meets Nigeria Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) limit with respect to all the physico-chemical parameters for which NESREA has established limits except TSS. The quality of the effluent exiting the WWTP as measured in this study indicated that the TDS and TSS mean values were below the 2013 Environmental Audit Report (EAR) whereas the 2013 EAR for chloride and phosphate values were higher than those of this study.

Keywords: Effluent, wastewater, soil chemistry, physico-chemical properties