This study was designed to investigate the environmental factors in terms of the physicochemical parameters influencing the water chemistry of Ureje reservoir, Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria. Monthly variations in the physico chemical parameters were studied for a period of six months (July – December, 2018) using standard procedures of APHA (1998). Results of the Physicochemical analysis showed mean values of pH, temperature, b iological oxygen demand, dissolved oxygen, total solids , total dissolved solids , t otal s uspended solids , a lkalinity, z inc, I ron, c admium, p hosphate, s ulphate and nitrate to be 7.65±0.16, 21.850C±0.44, 2.18mg/L±0.06, 4.94mg/L±0.12, 26.06mg/L±3.35, 11.73mg/L±1.367, 14.83mg/L±2.96, 4.32mg/L±1.77, 0.0007mg/L±0.01, 0.007mg/L±0.009 and 0.0mg/L±0.0, 0.10mg/L±0.11, 19.61mg/L±4.95, 6.56mg/L±2.33 respectively. The results obtained in this study were found to be within the recommended value stipulated by World Health Organization (WHO) for drinking and agricultural purposes thus, the water can be classified as a good, stable and healthy aquatic ecosystem. It is however imperative to intensify efforts in monitoring the water quality of the reservoir to prevent degradation due to pollution from municipal and agricultural runoffs.
Fresh water is essential to human health, agriculture, natural ecosystem and industry. Fresh water bodies are also used for stocking fish, domestic use, drinking and also for irrigation. Rapid growth of population, increasing living standard in urban areas and industrialization have resulted in greater demands of quality water (Miller, 2002). As a result of this, reservoirs have been constructed in many areas to cater for the increasing water demands. Lakes and surface water reservoirs are the planet’s most important freshwater resources and provide innumerable benefits. Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of dams on a large expanse of water or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete. The utilization of reservoir for fish production besides other primary uses has become common practice in many countries, especially industrialized ones, where a number of reservoirs are managed for the production of annual harvestable fish crops.
The physico-chemical parameters are very important to get exact idea about the quality of water, protect the natural ecosystem and understand the
distribution and productivity level of aquatic ecosystems
(Patil et al., 2012). Studies on water quality monitoring is very important in this part of the world because it provides data on determination of current conditions and long-term trends for effective management of this natural resource. The supply of safe water has a significant impact on the anticipation of water transmissible diseases. Therefore, it is necessary to frequently monitor water quality, used for drinking purposes.