Physical and Chemical Variables of Freshwater Swamp Ponds of Engenni, Ahoada-West, Niger Delta, Nigeria

The Physical and chemical quality of natural water is essential for the life of aquatic organisms. This study was aimed at investigating the physical and chemical parameters of eight (8) local swamp ponds in the freshwater swamp of Engenni. Physical and chemical parameters of the freshwater swamp ponds were monitored over a period of three months (February-April 2019), During this period, Temperature (℃), Dissolved Oxygen (DO, mg/l), pH, Electrical Conductivity (EC:µs/cm), Total dissolved solids (TDS, mg/l), Salinity (‰), Turbidity (NTU) and Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) were measured in situ. Temperature values did not vary significantly across stations. DO values ranged between 0.55 ± 0.01mg/l and 0.95 ± 0.02mg/l, which was consistently lower than the 5mg/l prescribed to sustain fish health. pH values ranged from 6.17 ± 0.01 to 6.56 ± 0.01, indicating that the ponds were marginally acidic. Range values for EC (46.60 ± 0.10µs/cm to 156.57 ± 0.06µs/cm) and TDS (30.13 ± 0.12mg/l to 104.07mg/l ± 0.12mg/l) followed the same pattern as they were both highest and lowest in stations V and VII respectively. Salinity values of 0.02 ± 0.01‰ to 0.06 ± 0.0‰ across all stations was indicative of a typical freshwater environment. Turbidity was highest at station VIII. The result obtained from this research suggests that these swamp ponds are capable of sustaining life in the aquatic ecosystem, but only fish species that are low oxygen tolerant may survive in them.