Abstract:
Metal contamination in soil, surface and ground water is a major component in the
determination of water quality. The concentrations of selected heavy metals (Pb(II), Cd(II),
Cu(II), Zn(II) and Cr(VI)) in soil and water samples collected from Midega, Eastern Ethiopia
were determined after digesting the samples using acid digestion method. The physico-chemical
parameters like pH,conductivity, alkalinity and hardness of the water samples were determined
using appropriate instruments. The standard solutions for the selected heavy metals were
prepared from commercially available salts. Out of the five selected heavy metals cadmium and
chromium were not detected in all samples. But the three metals namely lead, zinc and copper
were detected by the instrument and their concentrations were found to be 0.06 – 0.28, 0.206 –
1.032 and 0.487 – 0.71 ppm in soil, respectively. In water, the concentrations of the detected
metals were 0.804 – 4.131 and 0.415 – 0.507 ppm for zinc and copper, respectively. The
accumulations of the detected heavy metals were in the increasing order of Pb ˂ Cu ˂ Zn. The
results obtained were compared with guidelines for drinking water quality such as the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. The
levels of the detected heavy metals were not beyond the maximum permissible limit
