Physicochemical Analysis of Duu River, Monrovia, Liberia

The Duu River is heavily polluted through varied human activity along its course. Despite the potential health hazards that the pollution of water bodies has on aquatic lives and persons who use the water bodies, river pollution persists. Samples from four points Slipway Community, Rock Spring Valley Community, Jallah Town 1 and Jallah Town 2 communities were subjected to both physical and chemical tests. The study identified uncontrollable dumping of wastes, defecation and institutional failures as root causes of pollution of the Duu River. The main anthropogenic causes were identified as indiscriminate dumping of refuse, channelling of raw sewage, defecation, discharge of untreated effluents from clinics and households waste into the Duu River. Physical tests showed that the Duu River was polluted since its turbidity exceeded Liberia Water Quality Standard (LWQS) class II (≤5 mg/l) for surface water. This indicated that Duu River is polluted with chromium wastes or chromium materials which was disposed and has leased into the river. The defecation and dumping of wastes into the river are on the increase among other human activities. On this note, building of toilet houses, providing of garbage cans, sanitizing citizens on how their activities can harm life in the river including themselves, timely collection of wastes and proper enforcement of laws were recommended.

Physicochemical, Duu River, Jallah Town

1. Chakraborty, P., Chandra, S., Dimmen, M.V., Hurley, R.R., Mohanty, S., Bharat, G.K., Steindal, E.H., Olsen, M., & Nizzetto, L. (2022). Interlinkage Between Persistent Organic Pollutants and Plastic in the Waste Management System of India: An Overview. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 109, 927 - 936. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. David, N.M., & Kabo-bah, A.T. (2015). Environmental Pollution Potential within the Burl River Basin of Liberia, West Africa. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. epa.gov.lr/sites/default/files/Regulation [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Golder Associates. 2012. New Liberty Gold Mine Project Environmental Impact Statement: Surface Water. 10612898-11406-2 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Hawkins, C., Foster, G., & Glaberman, S. (2023). Chemical prioritization of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in an urban tributary of the Potomac River. The Science of the total environment, 163514. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. http://www.pharmaguideline.com/2013/06/determination-of-biological-oxygen.html. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. https://doi.org/10.1002/wwp2.12007 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. https://reports.ramsar.org/answers/39674/documents/09 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324851479 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Joshi, D. M., Kumar, A., & Agrawal, N. (2009). Studies on physicochemical parameters to assess the water quality of river Ganga for drinking purpose in Haridwar district. Rasayan journal of chemistry, 2(1), 195-203. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Khatri, N., & Tyagi, S. (2015). Influences of natural and anthropogenic factors on surface and groundwater quality in rural and urban areas. Frontiers in Life Science, 8, 23 - 39. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. MacDonald, A. M., Bonsor, H. C., Dochartaigh, B. É. Ó., & Taylor, R. G. (2012). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Martins, L.P., Sampaio, J., Godoi, R., Vargas, L.K., Silva, F.R., & Beneduzi, A. (2021). Water quality assessment of the Demetrio stream: an affluent of the Gravataí River in the South of Brazil. Brazilian journal of biology = Revista brasleira de biologia, 82, e234692 . [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Mobasher, A., Bayrami, A., Asadi‐Sharif, E., & Rahim Pouran, S. (2023). Ecological indicators for qualitative assessment of Ojarud River: A case study. Ecology and Evolution, 13. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Pinto, R.B., van Emmerik, T.H., Duah, K., van der Ploeg, M., & Uijlenhoet, R. (2024). Mismanaged plastic waste as a predictor for river plastic pollution. The Science of the total environment, 175463. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31955090/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Quantitative maps of groundwater resources in Africa. Environmental Research Letters, 7(2), 024009. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Rey-Romero, D.C., Dominguez, I., & Oviedo-Ocaña, E.R. (2022). Effect of agricultural activities on surface water quality from páramo ecosystems. Environmental Science and Pollution Research International, 1 - 22. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Rocks for crops: agrominerals of sub-Saharan Africa (Vol. 407). Nairobi: Icraf [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Tengbeh, A.S., Onyena, A.P., Frazzoli, C., Abdulai, P.M., Mogborukor, N.A., Nwanaforo, E.O., Asumana, C., & Orisakwe, O.E. (2026). Heavy Metals and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Levels in Selected Occupational and Environmental Settings in Liberia: A Systematic Review. Environmental Health Insights, 20. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Van Straaten, P. (2002). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Walker, D. B., Baumgartner, D. J., Gerba, C. P., & Fitzsimmons, K. (2019). Surface water pollution. In Environmental and pollution science (pp. 261-292). Academic Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. www.britannica.com/question/What-is-pollution [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. www.dri.edu/ciwas/dri-liberia-capacity-building/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. www.earth.org/what-are-the-causes-of-water-pollution/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. www.fao.org/land-water/news-archive/news-detail/en/c/1032702/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

27. www.knoema.com/atlas/Liberia/topics/Water/Total-Renewable-Water-Resources/Renewable-surface-water [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

28. www.melissadenchak.com/uploads/2/4/8/4/24842702/water_pollution_facts_types_causes_and_effects_of_water_pollution [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

29. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9692567/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

30. www.nrdc.org/stories/water-pollution-everything-you-need-know [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

31. www.nrdc.org/stories/water-pollution-everything-you-need-know#whatis [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

32. www.researchgate.net/publication/5789847_Comparison_of_and_uncertainties_in_raw_sewage_COD_measurements_by_laboratory_techniques_and_field_UV-visible_spectrometry [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

33. www.vodafoundation.org/education/types-of-water-pollution/agricultural-pollution/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

34. www.watereducation.org/aquapedia-background/biochemical-oxygen-demand [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

35. Yeleliere, E., Cobbina, S.J., & Duwiejuah, A.B. (2018). Review of Ghana’s water resources: the quality and management with particular focus on freshwater resources. Applied Water Science, 8, 1-12. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

36. Zhu, W., Graney, J., and Salvage, K. (2008) „Land-use Impact on Water Pollution: Elevated Pollutant Input and Reduced Pollutant Retention‟, Journal of Contemporary Water Research & Education, 139, 15-21. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Physicochemical and Bacteriological Assessment of Water Quality in Kole Wetlands of Elthuruth, Kerala, India