River Pollution by Heavy Metals and Associated Impacts on the Adjacent Community, the Case of Holeta and Golli Rivers, Holeta Town, Ethiopia

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the level of heavy metals in the Holeta and Golli rivers and their impacts on the community of Holeta town, Ethiopia. Water samples were collected from eight randomly selected locations (4 sites from each river). A questionnaire survey, FGD, and KII were also used. Secondary data were also taken from the nearby health center. The flame atomic absorption spectrometer was used to analyze the samples. Fe, Mn, Ni, Cr, Pb, Cu, Zn, Co, and Cd were the identified heavy metals. The Holeta River contains Fe > Mn > Zn > Ni > Cr > Cu > Pb > Co > Cd, whereas the Golli River contains Fe > Mn > Zn > Ni > Cr > Cu > Pb > Co > Cd. The levels of Fe, Cr, Ni, Fe, and Mn were above the permissible limit of WHO (1984) and USEPA (1992). The primary sources of income for the people who lived in the area were farming and jobs on flower farms. Wastewaters discharged from the surrounding flower farms were the major polluting source (84.3%) of the river. About 84.3% of the surrounding community claimed that wastewaters discharged from the flower farms are the major polluting sources of both rivers. Many of the flower farmworkers (43.9%) have also exposure to toxic insecticides and pesticides used on the farm. About 60% and 20.5% of the workers have frequent severe headaches and skin irritation due to exposure to heavy metals. Generally, both the surrounding community and flower farmworkers are facing significant health and socioeconomic impacts due to the heavy metals joining the rivers. Therefore, effective management of pollution sources and continuous monitoring of the river quality is very imperative to minimize the impacts.