Seasonal Assessment and Design Using Water Quality Index for Drinking: A Case Study of Bali Town and Environs, Taraba State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study addresses the critical issue of water quality in Bali town and its surroundings, with a specific focus on the seasonal variations in the Water Quality Index (WQI) for boreholes. Groundwater, crucial for drinking purposes, lacks adequate quality testing in the region, which poses potential health risks. Water samples collected during both wet and dry seasons in 2016 and 2017 were analyzed for twenty-nine parameters. However, only nine out of the twenty-nine samples were used in calculating the Water Quality Index for the boreholes under investigation. These nine parameters include Turbidity, Total Dissolved Solids, Total Hardness, pH, Nitrate, Copper, Iron, Chloride, and Total Coliform Count. When comparing the results with the standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2010 and the Nigerian Standard for Drinking Water Quality (NSDWQ) in 2007, it was observed that most parameters increased during the wet season, indicating higher pollutant dissolution. Notably, bacteriological parameters, especially the Total Coliform Count and E. coli, exceeded permissible limits. This highlights the urgency of water treatment to achieve excellent quality and provides valuable insights for designing water infrastructure.