Use Of Water Quality Index Research Articles

Use of water quality index and DRASTIC index correlation for better assessment of groundwater vulnerability to pollution: a case study

Abstract DRASTIC method's vulnerability assessment for estimating the potential risk of contamination in shallow groundwater aquifers is the most acceptable technique. The method uses seven parameters, namely, depth to groundwater table, net recharge, aquifer media, soil media, topography, land use and land cover, and hydraulic conductivity to obtain vulnerability index values. These index values are validated with one or a few elements of water characteristics as pollution indicators. In most of the reported studies, the correlation coefficient between the DRASTIC index and the concentration of individual element(s) was low. The present study uses the water quality index (WQI) to correlate with the DRASTIC index value. In this paper, 11 physical and chemical water characteristics data of 31 well locations within the Faridabad District of Haryana, India are utilized to estimate the WQI. The correlation coefficients for single element concentration with DRASTIC index vary between the range of 0.104 to 0.304. The correlation coefficients for the concentration of NO3- and WQI are found to be 0.104 and 0.533, respectively. Thus, the DRASTIC index demonstrates a stronger correlation with the WQI when compared to single element concentration.

Using groundwater quality index for categorizing the groundwater suitability for irrigation in the south Nile Delta region, Egypt

ABSTRACT Groundwater is considered one of the most important sources of water all over the world. It can be used for different purposes of life, depending on its quality. The quality can be categorized for irrigation based on many items such as sodium percentage, permeability index (PI), magnesium hazard (MH), Kelley ratio (KR), and water quality index (WQI). Those items can be expressed and presented in Geographic Information System (GIS) format. This study aims to compare the WQI with the other items for expressing the suitability of groundwater for irrigation in GIS format. This study is conducted in the south Nile Delta region, Egypt. Seventy-two groundwater samples are collected and analyzed for pH, EC, total dissolved solids, soluble cations and soluble anions, iron, and manganese. These parameters are used to calculate the WQI considering their permissible limits of FAO, while the other items were calculated using some parameters based on their equations. The results reveal that, due to sodium percentage, there are three orders from five orders, of which 53% are good, 39% are permissible, and 8% are doubtful. Considering PI, the results were 7% for class 1 and 93% for class 2. Regarding MH, the results ranged between 6% (not suitable for irrigation) and 94% (suitable for irrigation). Depending on KR, 82% of the samples are suitable for irrigation, while 18% are not suitable for irrigation. The results of WQI illustrate that 76.4% of the total studied samples are excellent for irrigation and 23.6 are good for irrigation. All the results are represented using ArcGIS 10.1 program to clear the spatial distribution of the groundwater suitability for irrigation. The use of WQI with GIS is considered the best tool to represent and categorize the suitability of groundwater for irrigation.

The use of water quality index and water pollution index in assessing the water quality and suitability of the river Molo water basin, Kenya

Water quality assessment has become a very essential scientific procedure for qualifying water for drinking and general purpose use, and better public health policy on clean water supply. Various tools have been employed to determine the status of water systems for drinking, industrial and general use. For the purpose of this study, water quality index (WQI) and the recently developed water pollution index (WPI) have been adopted to evaluate the water of the Molo water basin. The world health organization (WHO) has defined limits of these parameters beyond which the quality of water is considered unsuitable for a specific use. The study was carried out in December, 2021 during the dry season. In this contribution, pH, conductivity, TDS, salinity, major cations and anions, and selected heavy metals were explored. Of the major cations Na reported the highest concentration at 1800 mg/L whereas in the anion category, the Cl gave the highest concentration at 110 mg/L. The highest pH, TDS and salinity were 8.5, 146.33, and 282.67, respectively. The data obtained were used to determine the water quality index (WQI) and water pollution index (WPI) of the Molo water basin based on the world health organization (WHO) standards. The average WQI obtained was 57.47 indicating that the water is slightly polluted. Also the average WPI obtained was 0.77 indicating that the water from the water basin is not of good quality. Sediment morphology and composition was also determined using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The findings showed the presence of heavy metal pollutants of concern which include lead, manganese and copper. Therefore, with respect to WQI, WPI and sediment morphology, the water basin is significantly polluted. There is need therefore for the government and health authorities to formulate policies aimed at regulating pollution activities which may endanger the Molo water basin.

Use of water quality index to assess the impact of flooding on water quality of River Kaduna, Nigeria

Flooding is increasingly becoming a yearly occurrence in Nigeria and many parts of the world and is linked to climate change. It comes with a wide range of consequences including the destruction of life and property and surface water pollution. This study used water quality index (WQI) to assess the impact of 2019 and 2020 flood events on the water quality of River Kaduna. Nine water quality parameters were selected based on Nigeria standards, while the weighted arithmetic method was applied in calculating the WQI. The result shows that electrical conductivity, TDS, Cl-, Na, sulphate, and nitrate were all below the maximum standard limits throughout the study period, while Fe and turbidity were above the limits. While other parameters showed varied responses before and after the two flood events, Fe and turbidity were consistently higher after the flood events. The water quality of the river is generally in the extremely poor class, both before and after the 2019 and 2020 floods (WQI > 100). There was a pronounced decrease in water quality at all the sampling stations after both the 2019 and 2020 flood events. The decreasing water quality should be of a public health concern as a large number of people depends on this river for domestic use.

Assessment of supplied water quality during mass gatherings in arid environments

Mass gathering events commonly encounter environmental challenges that necessitate assurance of water quality and food security. The current outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) call for maintaining safe drinking water supply and providing assessment tools of drinking water quality to avoid contamination in water sources or distribution networks. Arid environmental conditions also add more stress on supplied water to mass gathering events. Herein, we assess the quality of the water supply (desalinated 95% and groundwater 5%) in Makkah city, Saudi Arabia during a mass gathering event in 2019 (9.6 million people) for religious purposes. Fifty five samples were randomly collected from nine different districts of Makkah city, analyzed for TDS, turbidity, pH, EC, free Cl2, Al, Cd, Pb, Cr, F, major ions, coliform and E.coli bacteria and were finally used to estimate the water quality index (WQI). Major ions, trace elements and heavy metals analyses show values below permissible limits in most of the samples, while a few samples show slightly higher values. No bacterial count found in any sample. WQI values of all fifty-five samples were below 50 and were identified as “excellent water”. The WQI variations could be attributed to the distribution network conditions rather than a direct impact of adding groundwater with uncontrolled chemical composition. The use of WQI to report the quality of water during mass gathering events to governmental authorities has been proved to be beneficial and should be applied for further mass gathering events worldwide.

Physico‐chemical characterization of littoral water of Lake Kivu (Southern basin, Central Africa) and use of water quality index to assess their anthropogenic disturbances

AbstractFreshwater ecosystems provide many services such as moderation of the local microclimate and a source of water and food for riparian communities. It is also a preferred habitat for many organisms such as plankton, benthic macroinvertebrates and fish. However, these ecosystems are among the most affected by various anthropogenic threats that modify water quality and ecological processes, thus affecting biodiversity. The objective of this study was the spatio‐temporal characterization of physico‐chemical littoral water parameters and the assessment of anthropogenic disturbance on the littoral zone by a water quality index (WQI). Physico‐chemical water quality data including temperature, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, pH, TDS, turbidity, SiO2, PO43−, NO2−, and NH4+ were collected from January to December 2018. They were used to calculate the WQI to assess water quality according to aquatic life, using limits values of Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME), United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and Australian and New Zeland Environment and Conservation Council (ANZECC). PO43− is out of range in all the stations while NO2− and Turbidity are out of range in some of the anthropized stations according to ANZECC, CCME, and USEPA recommended values for aquatic life. The WQI values range from medium to good and the high WQI values obtained in the non‐anthropized stations that reflect the negative influence of human disturbance on water quality in the Lake littoral zone. The results suggest the need for an integrated lake watershed management system in order to maintain the ecological functions of the lake and support livelihoods from the lake.

Drinking water quality indices: a systematic review

This analysis applied systematic review as a methodology for identifying, analyzing and interpreting data on the use of water quality indices for human consumption. Scientific articles were searched in the “PubMed”, “Scielo”, “ScienceDirect” and “Web of Science" databases, using the keywords “drinking water” and “water quality index”, with a custom interval between 2000 and 2020. The results indicated 82,573 published articles, with 16 of them being selected after a filtering process. The occurrence of 11 water quality indices was verified, including 47 water quality parameters used to assess the quality of drinking water, highlighting that the parameters pH, Nitrate, Turbidity, Chloride and Sulfate were the most used, cited in 10 of the 16 articles selected (62,5%). We suggest that future studies seek to propose regionalized water quality indicators for consumption, in order to consider local aspects in the evaluation process and to determine intervention priorities by health surveillance agencies.

Use of Water Quality Index to evaluate the groundwater characteristics of villages located in Edirne Province

In this research, water quality of groundwater of some villages located in Edirne Province of Turkey were evaluated by using Weighted Arithmetic Water Quality Index (WAWQI). Groundwater samples were collected from ten villages in winter season of 2019. Thirteen parameters including total dissolved solids – TDS, oxygen saturation – OS, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen – DO, turbidity, nitrate – NO3, electrical conductivity – EC, nitrite – NO2, sulphate – SO4, oxidation – reduction potential – ORP, phosphate – PO4 and chemical oxygen demand – COD were measured in groundwater samples. According to detected data, groundwater of the region has 1. Class quality for dissolved oxygen, pH, nitrite, sulphate and COD parameters in general and has 2. Class quality for oxygen saturation, EC, nitrate and phosphate parameters in general. It was also determined that any investigated water quality parameter has not exceeded the drinking water standards. As a result of WAWQI, the values of overall WAWQI were recorded within the permissible limits (<100) and the groundwater quality of the region was found as "A grade" water quality characteristic.

Use of water quality index and multivariate statistical methods for the evaluation of water quality of a stream affected by multiple stressors: A case study

The Sürgü Stream, located in the Euphrates River basin of Turkey, is used for drinking water source, agricultural irrigation and rainbow trout production. Therefore, water quality of the stream is of great importance. In this study, multivariate statistical techniques (MSTs) and water quality index (WQI) were applied to assess water quality of the stream affected by multiple stressors such as untreated domestic sewage, effluents from fish farms, agricultural runoff and streambank erosion. For this, 16 water quality parameters at five sites along the stream were monitored monthly during one year. Most of parameters showed significant spatial variations, indicating the influence of anthropogenic activities. All parameters except TN (total nitrogen) showed significant seasonal differences due to high seasonality in WT (water temperature) and water flow. The spatial variations in the WQI were significant (p < 0.05) and the mean WQI values ranged from 87.6 to 95.3, indicating “good” to “excellent” water quality in the stream. Cluster analysis classified five sites into three groups, that is, clean region, low polluted region and very clean region. Stepwise temporal discriminant analysis (DA) identified that pH, WT, Cl−, SO42−, COD (chemical oxygen demand), TSS (total suspended solids) and Ca2+ are the parameters responsible for variations between seasons, and stepwise spatial DA identified that DO (dissolved oxygen), EC (electrical conductivity), NH4–N, TN (total nitrogen) and TSS are the parameters responsible for variations between the regions. Principal component analysis/factor analysis revealed that the parameters responsible for water quality variations were mainly associated with suspended solids (both natural and anthropogenic), soluble salts (natural) and nutrients and organic matter (anthropogenic).

Appraisal of water quality indices for service reservoirs in water distribution networks.

The use of water quality indices to aggregate pollution loads in rivers has been widely studied, with researchers using various sub-indices and aggregation methods. These have been used to combine various quality variables at a sampling point in a river into an overall water quality index to compare the state of water quality in different river reaches. Service reservoirs in a water distribution network, like rivers, have complex mixing mechanisms, are subjected to various water quality variables and are variably sized and sited. Water quality indices and the relevant sub-indices are formulated here and applied to service reservoirs within a water distribution network. This is in an attempt to compare holistically the performance of service reservoirs in solutions of optimisation algorithms with regards to water quality.

Physico-chemical and bacteriological quality of groundwater in a rural area of Western Niger: a case study of Bonkoukou.

The precariousness of the rural population in Africa is often symbolized by the lack of potable and safe drinking water. This study investigates the physico-chemical and bacteriological characteristics of 32 water samples with respect to WHO standards. The water samples were collected from wells, boreholes and small drinking water supply systems (DWS) in and around the township of Bonkoukou (Niger). The Water Quality Index (WQI) tool was used to assess the overall water quality with different physico-chemical parameters. Where the pH of the samples was acceptable, the samples showed higher levels of mineralization and deoxygenation. Overall, the samples were slightly hard, chlorinated and sulfated but much alkaline and contained nitrate and nitrite ions 2-16 times higher than the WHO standards. The use of WQI shows that samples in the DWS are safe for drinking. Samples coming from wells are the most polluted (58.50%) compared to those taken from boreholes (53.00%), while the percentage of samples from boreholes, unfit for drinking, is higher (41.00%) than that of the samples taken from wells (25.00%). Moreover, water in this area was characterized by the presence of total germs indicating bacteriological pollution. Hence, for the supply of safe drinking water to the larger number of people in such a rural area, the capacity of actual DWS must be improved and widespread.

Water quality assessment of natural lakes and its importance: An overview

The proportion of freshwater on earth’s surface is only 2.5% of which only 1% is accessible for use. In this context, lakes are one of the most important water resources and have been used as a source of water supply for human consumption and in general accounts for about 0.3% of the total surface water body sources. As such, the conditions of lakes have been in constant deterioration due to increased anthropogenic activities surrounding them. In principle, the quality of lake water (or other surface sources) is evaluated using various physico-chemical and biological parameters selected on the Designated Best Use (DBU) of the water body (lake) for various purposes. Consequently, the use of Water Quality Index (WQI) is an important tool used for designating the quality of lake water. In general, natural lakes are confined bodies of water lacking a strong flow for self-cleansing of its water and therefore leading to accumulation of various impurities. In such cases, the quality of these impurities are determined using different indices like Heavy Metal Index (for heavy metals), eutrophication potential (due to nutrients) and other associated indices system. The determination of existing properties helps in determination of future trends of such pollutants and thereby the quality of the lake water in future scenario. Different modelling techniques are used for prediction of futuristic changes in lake water quality including watershed models, ground water models and lake models. The present study gives an overview and critically evaluates the literature on all aspects of water quality to give an insight of the various tools and techniques used for complete water quality monitoring and management.

Use of Water Quality Index and Spatial Analysis to Assess Groundwater Quality for Drinking Purpose in Ardakan, Iran

Introduction: Due to water scarcity and increased water consumption during the past years, the importance of water in terms of transmission of diseases, as well as Iran's climate, groundwater aquifers are known as the most important resources of drinking water supply. Using the Water Quality Index (WQI) is considered as strong managerial tool for decision making in water resource management. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of groundwater in Ardakan for drinking purpose using WQI. Spatial analysis was conducted with the geographic information system (GIS). Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive, cross-sectional study to investigate the quality of groundwater in Ardakan for drinking purpose. Information on total dissolved solids (TDS), total hardness, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), bicarbonate (HCO3-), chlorine (CL-), sulfate (SO42-), nitrate (NO3-), calcium (Ca2+) and magnesium (Mg2+) of 24 wells was obtained from Ardakan Health Center. The characteristics of the stations were determined using the Global Positioning System (GPS) and transmitted to the map prepared in the GIS environment. The calculated values of the WQI were zoned in the GIS environment by Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) method. Results: Based on the WQI, well no.5 has the best quality water (17.61), which has the lowest WQI, and the highest value of WQI was obtained for well no. 20 (156.86). Conclusion: The results of the study showed that none of wells have drinkable water, 13 wells had good quality water, and 11 wells had poor quality and should be treated for drinking.

The use of water quality Index (Canadian model) to determine the validity of the River of Al-Diwaniyah-Iraq for Irrigation

The current study was conducted to assess the water of the Diwaniyah River for Irrigation by adopting the water quality index - the Canadian model as an effective means of determining the water validity for different purposes. Five stations were selected along the course of the river between January and December 2019. and conducted some Physical and chemical tests, that include (electrical conductivity, pH, SAR, chloride, boron, lead, copper, zinc, cadmium, manganese, chromium). Resultsconfirmed that the values of water quality guide for Irrigation has ranged between (56.12 86.72), which means that the Diwaniya River water is located between the two categories (Marginal - Good).

Đánh giá biến động chất lượng nước mặt sông cần thơ giai đoạn 2010-2014 bằng phương pháp tính toán chỉ số chất lượng nước (WQI)

The Can Tho river is an important source of water supply to the local people. An evaluate of the Can Tho river water quality is very necessary. Therefore, the use of water quality indices (WQIs) as a tool to evaluate the status of water quality in rivers has been studied for the period of 2010-2014. For this purpose, monitoring data obtained during this period was collected. Physical, biological and chemical parameters of surface water including pH, TSS, DO, BOD, COD, NH3, NO3-, and coliform were determined . The results indicated that most of the indicators exceeded the Vietnamese standard. However, they has significantly improved in the last years (2014) of the research period. In addition, the use of WQIs is fundamental to represent a large number of parameters in a single number. The WQI values showed that river water quality in districts of Ninh Kieu, Cai Rang and Phong Dien has the water quality has significantly improved during the research period.

Development and evaluation of irrigation water quality guide using IWQG V.1 software: A case study of Al-Gharraf Canal, Southern Iraq

Abstract In Iraq, rivers represent the main sources of water. Over the past few decades, there has beenwidespread use of water quality indices (WQIs) to assess the quality of water for various uses. In this study, an irrigation water quality guide (IWQG V.1) and its software, designed by Visual Basic 6, was developed based on the specifications of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and Meireles et al (2010) irrigation water quality index (IWQI) developed in Brazil. A monthly dataset of Al-Gharraf Canal, in the southern region of Iraq, for three years (2013–2015) containing 612 measurements for 17 water quality parameters was used to evaluate this guide. The guide classified the canal water as (Moderate Restriction) with (65.57) degree score showing its suitability, based on the calculated indices, for use in irrigation of most local crops, assuming proper control of permeability and salinity. The results also showed the good performance of this software as an efficient tool to evaluate, giving the interpretation, advice, and solutions to manage the irrigation water quality and problems. There is a need to establish a long-term management strategic plan to protect Al-Gharraf as an important local water resource.

Use of water quality index and multivariate statistical techniques for the assessment of spatial variations in water quality of a small river.

Rapid urban development has led to a critical negative impact on water bodies flowing in and around urban areas. In the present study, 25 physiochemical and biological parameters have been studied on water samples collected from the entire section of a small river originating and ending within an urban area. This study envisaged to assess the water quality status of river body and explore probable sources of pollution in the river. Weighted arithmetic water quality index (WQI) was employed to evaluate the water quality status of the river. Multivariate statistical techniques namely cluster analysis (CA) and principal component analysis (PCA) were applied to differentiate the sources of variation in water quality and to determine the cause of pollution in the river. WQI values indicated high pollution levels in the studied water body, rendering it unsuitable for any practical purpose. Cluster analysis results showed that the river samples can be divided into four groups. Use of PCA identified four important factors describing the types of pollution in the river, namely (1) mineral and nutrient pollution, (2) heavy metal pollution, (3) organic pollution, and (4) fecal contamination. The deteriorating water quality of the river was demonstrated to originate from wide sources of anthropogenic activities, especially municipal sewage discharge from unplanned housing areas, wastewater discharge from small industrial units, livestock activities, and indiscriminate dumping of solid wastes in the river. Thus, the present study effectively demonstrates the use of WQI and multivariate statistical techniques for gaining simpler and meaningful information about the water quality of a lotic water body as well as to identify of the pollution sources.

Predicting the Tigris River water quality within Baghdad, Iraq by using water quality index and regression analysis

Abstract The monthly water quality data sets from ten stations on the Tigris River within Baghdad for the year 2016 were studied. The water quality index (WQI) was calculated using 11 important parameters according to the assigned weight, and its values were used as the dependent variable in stepwise multiple linear regression (MLR) analysis to develop a water quality model (WQM) for the river. Twenty-three physicochemical water quality variables (2760 values) were included in developing the WQM , they are: Aluminum (Al + 3 ), Fluoride (F−1), Nitrite (NO 2 − 1 ), Nitrate (NO 3 − 1 ), Ammonia (NH3), Temperature (T), Total Alkalinity (TA.), Turbidity (Tur.), Total Hardness (TH), Calcium (Ca + 2 ), Chloride (Cl−1), Magnesium (Mg + 2 ), Potential of Hydrogen (pH), Electrical Conductivity (EC), Sulfate (SO4 − 2 ), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Iron (Fe + 2 ), Silica (SiO2), Phosphate (PO 4 − 3 ), Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD5), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), and Sodium (Na + 1 ). The annual WQI mean value during the study was 266; more than the safe value of 100; consequently, the water quality was considered as unsuitable for drinking. Significant differences in WQI values were detected over the months and across stations with the highest WQI values (poor quality) in winter and spring, while the lowest values (better quality) were in summer and autumn. The WQM, which was developed based on the stepwise MLR analysis, consisted of five parameters: Tur, EC, COD, TH, and pH with significant value (r 0.987, R2 0.974, p WQI = ( − 1 . 597 ) ( T u r ) 0 . 478 (EC) 0 . 409 (COD) 0 . 089 (TH) 0 . 291 (pH) 0 . 095 The study results show that the use of WQI as the dependent variable input improved the prediction of MLR model as a tool to understand, simplify and model the water quality variation. The model developed here can help in rapid low-cost water quality evaluation for best management of the Tigris River.

Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process to identify parameter weights for developing a water quality index

One of the most common approaches used to evaluate the state of water quality in a water body is through the use of water quality indices (WQIs). This paper presents one of the most important steps in the development of a WQI, which is that of establishing the weights of the water quality parameters. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was employed to calculate weights based on 13 selected parameters from within 7 water quality groupings for rivers in West Java, Indonesia. Thus, two AHP models were employed in this study, the first had 13 pairwise questionnaires to be compared (individual form) and the second model had 7 comparisons (group form). A pool of respondents from related stakeholders with different backgrounds in West Java was surveyed to obtain their judgement independently. In the first AHP model, both chemical oxygen demand (weights in the range 0.102–0.185) and dissolved oxygen (weights in the range 0.103–0.164) consistently received relatively high weights, compared to other water quality parameters. Meanwhile, in the second model, oxygen depletion (weights in the range 0.160–0.233) and microbiology (weights in the range 0.098–0.249) had high weights. Thus, both models estimated relatively high weights for COD, DO and FC. However, considering that the second AHP model can provide individual weights as well as weights of parameter groupings, this model was preferred in this study. Therefore the results of the second AHP model will be used for the remaining steps in the development of the West Java WQI in the future.

Assessment of Groundwater Quality within Asa and Oyun River Basins South Western Nigeria Using Water Quality Index

Ensuring that the groundwater consumed by the growing population of Nigeria meets the appropriate quality is of utmost importance. The use of various evaluation techniques such as the Water Quality Index becomes necessary. The use of water quality index to evaluate the quality of groundwater in hand dug wells within Asa and Oyun River Basins of South Western Nigeria has been carried out in this study. 20 samples were obtained from Asa and Oyun River basin (10 samples from each). Analysis was carried out for twelve physico-chemical parameters. These parameters which were used for Water Quality Index determination include: pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), Nitrate (NO¯ 3), Sulphate (SO4 2), Carbonate (CO3), Zinc (Zn), Chlorine (Cl), Potassium (K), Copper (Cu), Lead (Pb), Arsenic (As) and Chromium (Cr) The Water Quality Index (WQI) values ranged between 0.09 and 943.25 for samples obtained within Asa river basin and between 0.04 and 198.73 for samples obtained within the Oyun river basin. Classifying WQI values 100 as non-potable, 5 samples within the Asa River basin is classified as potable while 5 is non-potable. 9 samples within the Oyun river basin are classified as potable and only 1 is non-potable. The high WQI values from the sampling location are observed to be due to higher values of dissolved solids, Nitrate, Lead and Arsenic. The study reveals that 70% of the total of 20 groundwater samples investigated within Asa and Oyun River basins is potable, this can be consumed without treatment, While 30% is non-potable. However, the sources identified as unsafe would require treatment before consumption.