Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management
Vol. 13 No. 4 (2026)

Integrated assessment of groundwater quality for drinking and irrigation using WQI, GIS, hydrochemical and statistical analysis

Belete, Fonose (Unknown)
Govindhasamy, Kumar (Unknown)
Yusoof, Peer Mohamed Appa Mooppan Abdul Rahman (Unknown)
Ramachandran, Poomalai (Unknown)
Jothimani, Muralitharan (Unknown)



Article Info

Publish Date
01 Oct 2026

Abstract

Groundwater is the principal source of domestic and irrigation water in Limuna Bilbilo Woreda, East Arsi Zone, Ethiopia. The study was conducted to evaluate groundwater quality using the Water Quality Index (WQI), GIS, hydrochemical facies analysis, irrigation-water indices, lithological interpretation, and statistical analysis. Eighteen groundwater samples from ten springs and eight boreholes were analyzed for 21 physicochemical parameters. The suitability of drinking water was determined using the weighted arithmetic WQI method based on WHO and Ethiopian standards, and irrigation suitability was determined using EC, TDS, SAR, Na%, RSC, PI, MAR, and Kelley's index. The WQI results indicated that 61.1% of the samples were excellent, 27.8% good, 5.6% poor, and 5.6% very poor for drinking. The majority of groundwater sources were suitable for irrigation, though some boreholes had local sodium and magnesium hazards. The Ca-Mg-HCO3 water type was the most dominant hydrochemical facies, associated with recharge, mineral weathering, and water-rock interaction. The results provide a baseline for groundwater monitoring, aquifer protection, and water-supply planning in rural volcanic terrains.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

jdmlm

Publisher

Subject

Agriculture, Biological Sciences & Forestry Biochemistry, Genetics & Molecular Biology

Description

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management is managed by the International Research Centre for the Management of Degraded and Mining Lands (IRC-MEDMIND), research collaboration between Brawijaya University, Mataram University, Massey University, and Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of ...