The Physico-Chemical Parameters Of An African Arid Zone Man Made Lake

Physico-chemical studies were conducted in lake Alau, a large reservoir in the northeast arid zone of Nigeria, between October, 2001 and September, 2002. Five stations were selected to determine the physico-chemical characteristics. The results showed that water temperature values ranged from 23 oC to 27 oC, depth varied from 2.85 m to 7.23m, water current was between 19.62 cm/sec and 26.71 cm/sec, Secchi disc transparency ranged from 0.26 m to 0.42 m, pH varied from 6.59 to 7.29, conductivity was between 118.41 homs/cm and 131.45 homs/cm, free CO2 ranged from 2.55 mg/l to 3.06 mg/l, Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) was between 4.30 mg/l and 5.31 mg/l and nitrate-nitrogen concentration was between 30.30 mg/l and 47.0 mg/l. There were significant differences (P < 0.05) between these parameters in relation to stations. Generally, the physico-chemical characteristics of lake Alau fall within the productive values for aquatic systems, and strongly indicate that the lake is unpolluted. Keywords: vAnimal Research International Vol. 1 (2) 2004 pp. 113-119