ISABB Journal of
Food and Agricultural Sciences

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF AFRICAN BIOTECHNOLOGISTS AND BIOSCIENTISTS
  • Abbreviation: ISABB. J. Food and Agric. Sci.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1937-3244
  • DOI: 10.5897/ISABB-JFAS
  • Start Year: 2011
  • Published Articles: 38

Full Length Research Paper

Application of water quality index to assess suitablity of groundwater quality for drinking purposes in Hantebet watershed, Tigray, Northern Ethiopia

Abraham Bairu Gebrehiwot1*, Nata Tadesse2 and Elias Jigar3
1Research and Technology Development Directorate, Tigray Science and Technology Agency, Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia. 2Department of Geology, Mekelle University, Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia. 3Department of Natural Resources, Semera University, Afar, Ethiopia.
Email: [email protected], [email protected]

  •  Received: 23 May 2011
  •  Accepted: 13 September 2011
  •  Published: 30 September 2011

Abstract

The study was conducted in Hantebet catchment area which has a total area of 24.5 kmwith the major objective of assessing suitability of groundwater quality for drinking purposes through water quality index (WQI) investigation of the different hand dug wells in the watershed. This was done by subjecting the 20 groundwater samples collected to comprehensive physico-chemical analysis using APHA standard methods of analysis. For calculating the WQI, 10 parameters have been considered: pH, sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), magnesium (Mg2+), calcium (Ca2+), chloride (Cl-), bicarbonate (HCO3-), sulphate (SO42--S), nitrate (NO3--N) and total dissolved solids (TDS). The WQI for these samples ranges from 54.41 to 86.24. All the groundwater samples estimated using the water quality index fall in the good water class and are all suitable for drinking purposes.

 

Key words: Groundwater, water quality index, quality rating, weight, Hantebet.