Development of a groundwater quality index: GWQI, for the aquifers of the state of Bahia, Brazil using multivariable analyses

This work elaborated a groundwater quality index—GWQI, for the aquifers of the state of Bahia, Brazil, using multivariable analyses. Data from 600 wells located in the four hydrogeological domains: sedimentary, crystalline, karstic, and metasedimentary, were subjected to exploratory statistical analysis, and 22 out of 26 parameters were subjected to multivariable analysis using Statistica (Version 7.0). From the PCA, 5 factors were sufficient to participate in the index, due to sufficient explanation of the cumulative variance. The matrix of factorial loads (for 1–5 factors) indicated 9 parameters related to water quality and 4 hydrological, with factor loads above ± 0.50, to be part of the hierarchical cluster analysis. The dendrogram allowed to choose the 5 parameters related to groundwater quality, to participate in the GWQI (hardness, total residue, sulphate, fluoride and iron). From the multivariable analyses, three parameters from a previous index—NGWQI, were not selected for the GWQI: chloride (belongs to the hardness hierarchical group); pH (insignificant factor load); and nitrate (significant factor load only for 6 factors), also, not a regionalized variable. From the set of communality values (5 factors), the degree of relevance of each parameter was extracted. Based on these values, were determined the relative weights (wi) for the parameters. Using similar WQI-NSF formulation, a product of quality grades raised to a power, which is the weight of importance of each variable, the GWQI values were calculated. Spatialization of 1369 GWQI values, with the respective colors, on the map of the state of Bahia, revealed good correlation between the groundwater quality and the index quality classification. According to the literature on water quality indexing, the GWQI developed here, using emerging technologies, is a mathematical tool developed as specific index, as it was derived using limits for drinking water. This new index was tailored to represent the quality of the groundwater of the four hydrogeological domains of the state of Bahia. Although it has a regionalized application, its development, using, factor analysis, principal component analysis, and hierarchical cluster analysis, participates of the new trend for WQI development, which uses rational, rather than subjective assessment. The GWQI is a successful index due to its ability to represent the groundwater quality of the state of Bahia, using a single mathematical formulation, the same five parameters, and unique weight for each parameter.

Spatial and physicochemical assessment of groundwater quality index in the urban coastal region of Sri Lanka

This study used the groundwater quality index (GWQI) and Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques to examine groundwater quality in the western coastal region of Sri Lanka. The spatial and temporal variation of 18 groundwater samples' physiochemical parameters [pH, electrical conductivity (EC), turbidity, total dissolved solids (TDS), sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg2+), chloride (Cl−), and bicarbonate (HCO3−)] were studied. According to the WHO and SLS, 11% of samples had EC levels that were above the acceptable range, and 22% had turbidity levels that were beyond the acceptable range. When considering, pH, TDS, other cations, and anions analyzed in the study were still below the standard permissible levels. The western coastline region, as well as several areas of the central study region, had significant concentrations of physicochemical parameters. According to the GWQI, water was consumable in 77.78% of locations in the study region and unsatisfactory in 22.22%. Furthermore, due to severe coastal erosion, the quality of groundwater in the study region is deteriorating, therefore maintaining a comprehensive groundwater management strategy to promote sustainable water consumption is imperative.

Association of Physicochemical Characteristics, Aggregate Indices, Major Ions, and Trace Elements in Developing Groundwater Quality Index (GWQI) in Agricultural Area

The aim of this study was to propose a groundwater quality index (GWQI) that presents water quality data as a single number and represents the water quality level. The development of the GWQI in agricultural areas is vital as the groundwater considered as an alternative water source for domestic purposes. The insufficiency of the groundwater quality standard in Malaysia revealed the importance of the GWQI development in determining the quality of groundwater. Groundwater samples were collected from thirteen groundwater wells in the Northern Kuala Langat and the Southern Kuala Langat regions from February 2018 to January 2019. Thirty-four parameters that embodied physicochemical characteristics, aggregate indicator, major ions, and trace elements were considered in the development of the GWQI. Multivariate analysis has been used to finalize the important parameters by using principal component analysis (PCA). Notably, seven parameters—electrical conductivity, chemical oxygen demand (COD), magnesium, calcium, potassium, sodium, and chloride were chosen to evaluate the quality of groundwater. The GWQI was then verified by comparing the groundwater quality in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. A sensitivity analysis was performed on this index to verify its reliability. The sensitivity GWQI has been analyzed and showed high sensitivity to any changes of the pollutant parameters. The development of GWQI should be beneficial to the public, practitioners, and industries. From another angle, this index can help to detect any form of pollution which ultimately could be minimized by controlling the sources of pollutants.