How to Manage Abattoir Wastewater through Community Service: Environmental Assessment, Heavy-Metal Risks, and Proposed Conventional Treatment Strategy

Abstract

Untreated abattoir wastewater can create environmental and public-health problems when discharged directly into surrounding land and water systems. This study assessed wastewater from the Dikumari abattoir in Damaturu, Nigeria, and interpreted the findings through a community-service perspective. Physicochemical parameters, inorganic ions, and selected heavy metals were analyzed and compared with regulatory benchmarks. The results identified turbidity and heavy-metal contamination as the main environmental concerns, while several other parameters remained within the applied limits. Based on these findings, a community-oriented management strategy was proposed, combining environmental awareness, routine monitoring, stakeholder participation, and conventional treatment involving screening, coagulation–flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, and optional disinfection. The study demonstrates how environmental assessment can support practical wastewater management and community-based environmental action.