THE EFFECT OF SEWAGE EFFLUENCE ON THE PERMEABILITY OF SOIL

Abstract

Sewage is water-carried wastes, in either solution or suspension that flow away from a community. Soil permeability is the ability of the soil to pass water under saturated conditions. This study addressed a critical environmental concern surrounding the potential impact of sewage discharge on soil permeability with a view to providing insights into the potential threats posed by sewage effluent on soil ecosystems, informing sustainable wastewater management practices and contributing to the broader discourse on environmental protection and resource conservation. This study therefore aimed to investigate the effects of sewage effluence on the permeability of soil. The samples collected for this study were soil, test specimen (laterite) and sewage effluence (collected from excavating up to depth of one meter below the ground surface in Federal polytechnic Offa and the disposal site at Owode market in abattoir, Offa, Kwara State). The lateritic soil samples were evaluated using standard analytical methods for moisture content, particle size analysis, Atterberg limit, liquid limit, plastic limit, plasticity index, compaction test and permeability test. The results of the varying analysis conducted on the lateritic soil showed that the lateritic soil has high water retention capacity, good particle size distribution which are suitable for use in road construction, plasticity index of the soil reduce when mixed with the clean water but increased when mixed with the waste water while the permeability of the soil sample decreased with increase in the percentage of sewage effluent used for the test. The study therefore concluded that permeability of any soil sample depended on the void ratio of the soil since water passed through only the voids present in a soil sample, the effect of pollution on permeability of soil should depend on the effect of the pollution on the void ratio of the sample, permeability of the soil sample was hindered by pollution. The study recommended that the research should be carried out using pollution of higher pollutant strength.