Perspective assessment of effects of industrial effluent discharge on stream water in Enugu urban, Enugu state

This study assessed the effects of industrial effluent discharge on stream water quality on the residents and users of the streams in Enugu Urban. During the study, six streams that received effluent discharged from industries were selected. Questionnaires, checklists, and unstructured and in-depth interviews were used to abstract information from 1345 household units around the streams and 645 users of streams. Criteria for the selection of respondents were based on the number of household units and stream users in the area. Data were analyzed using percentages, mean, standard deviation, and principal component analysis (PCA). The results showed that female (57.1%), single (50%), aged between 26 and 38 years (36.2%), unemployed (53.8%), and educational level (51.2%) accounted for a greater percentage of the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents in the area. The mean scores of < 3 reveal negative impacts on health and biophysical and socio-economic activities of the 75% variables. PCA extracted three and four components, which explained 87.06% and 82.89% of the total variance of the effects of the effluent discharge into streams on health and biophysical and socio-economic activities in the area, respectively. This study has shown that effluents discharged into stream water quality in the study area exerted rub-on negative effects on the livelihood of residents and users of the streams. Users of the streams, the government, industrialists, researchers, and other stakeholders in water resources would use the findings of this study for water resource management and planning. The study recommends treating effluents to acceptable standards before discharge.