Groundwater constitutes one of major source of water supply especially in most rural communities in Nigeria,
in addition to rainwater and surface water bodies. For this reason, there has been a consistent demand for
groundwater through the construction of borehole and hand dug wells. In spite of this experience, however,
there has been an increased concern as to the safety of groundwater for human consumption, following
reported cases of the occurrence of heavy metals and several bacteria in groundwater which by nature are
injurious to human health. This paper in response to this, examined the occurrence of heavy metals in
groundwater samples taken from thirty locations in Odeda in Abeokuta region of Ogun State. A total of sixty
samples were obtained from boreholes and hand dugged wells drawn from some location in the town and taken
to the laboratory for analysis. Heavy metals such as nickel, copper, zinc, lead, iron and arsenic were analyzed
Instruments such as water spectrophotometer, turbidity meter, incubator, pH Meter, arsenic kits, were used for
the analysis and detection of heavy metals. Result showed that there were heavy occurrences of zinc, lead,
nickel in all the sample taking from hand dug wells. There were also traces of arsenic in most of the handdugged
wells whereas there were no traces in the borehole samples. The levels of heavy metals found in the
well samples were outside the limits specified by World Health Organization (WHO). The implications of the
result for the management and use of groundwater in the study area were identified and discussed and
recommendations preferred so as to how water obtain from hand dug wells and boreholes can be better treated
for human use.