The Surface Water Resources of Otamiri-Nworie Watershed within the Owerri Metropolis were studied with the prime aim of developing a Non-Point Source Event-Based Model to Contamination of the water bodies. Clean, safe, and sufficient water is essential for both human existence and the health of ecosystems, communities, and economies (Fubara and Kpormon, 2023). As human populations increase, industrial and agricultural production increases, and climate change pose a threat of significant disruption of the hydrologic cycle, and as such, declining water quality has emerged as a major global problem (Ogbonna and Orinya, 2023). Human-drinking water must be free of organisms and chemical substances, as high amounts might be harmful to one’s health (Adeyi et al., 2021). This study aimed at comparatively assessing the physicochemical and biological indices of Otamiri and Nworie Rivers, and the Piper diagram model was employed for the analysis. Fifteen water samples were collected along the course of the two rivers and analyzed for physical, chemical and microbial parameters. Physical, chemical, and biological parameters were analyzed. The analytical results of the samples were compared with notable standards like the World Health Organization [WHO], etc. It was observed that all the parameters analyzed for the rivers fall below the acceptable standards except for pH (6.5-8.5) indicating the acidic nature of these water bodies. Similarly, the colour value of the two rivers ranges between 21.5 to 229 PCU and observed to be decreasing downstream within Nworie and Otamiri rivers. Within the river Nworie axis, both the total dissolved solids (TDS) and the total suspended solids (TSS) were observed to be increasing downstream. Along Otamiri river before confluence, total dissolved solids increased downstream whereas the reverse was the case for the total suspended solids, just after the confluence. There is a noticeable increase in dissolved oxygen (DO) downstream within the Nworie axis. The biological oxygen demand (BOD) values for the rivers were below the WHO standard. Finally, the major sources of contamination within the study area revealed that they are mainly from agricultural practices, dumpsites, and human defecation. The quality can be improved by applying appropriate treatment to the water before its use for various purposes.

Gas flaring has the potential of polluting soil with heavy metals and consequently lead to poor fertility and reduced yield. This study investigates the impact of gas flaring on metal pollution of soil at Obunagha, Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. Soil samples were collected with soil auger at depths of 0-15 cm from distances of 200 m, 500 m, 1000 m, 2000 m, and 3000 m away from the flaring point of the Gbarain-Ubie Integrated Oil and Gas Plant. Physicochemical parameters such as pH, electrical conductivity and Cation Exchange Capacity were determined. Samples were extracted sequentially and heavy metals (Cr, Cd, Ni, Zn, Cu, Mn and Fe) were determined using flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer (FAAS). The pH values of the soil samples ranged from 4.63±0.06 to 6.87±0.06 indicating that the soils were acidic. The Electrical conductivity values ranged from 20±0.00 to 39.7±0.58 (µS/cm) while the Cation exchange capacity values ranged from 2.4±0.01 to 6.95±0.01 (meq/100 g), which are suggestive of the soil capacity to adsorbs metals. The results of the analysis of variance on heavy metals indicates non significance for *P> 0.05 while **P< 0.05 is significant. The closest distance (200 m) to the flaring point has the highest concentrations for all the metals studied while the farthest distance (3000 m) has the least concentrations. Also, the results revealed that the concentrations of all the metals studied decreased from the first fraction which is the water-soluble fraction to the sixth fraction (residual fraction). The concentrations of the metals analyzed for all the samples were higher than those recommended by DPR, WHO, and US EPA indicating that gas flaring activities in the study area has polluted the soil of the study area with the heavy metals studied.