Application of a multivariate water quality index to evaluate the groundwater geochemistry of Jajpur district, Odisha, India and assessment of potential health risks

Abstract

There are several water quality issues with groundwater in India, including fluoride and nitrate, which are all harmful to human health. In the current study, 14 distinct hydrochemical parameters were examined in a total of 76 groundwater samples collected from the Jajpur district of Odisha India. Nearly 36.8% and 11.84% of the samples had F- and NO3- values over the WHO permissible limit. The entropy-weighted water quality index (EWQI), the fixed-weight groundwater quality index (GWQI), principal component analysis (PCA) factor (or rotational factor) loading based water quality index (PCWQI) were employed. The four different water quality indices rated about 65.79± 4.68%, 33.55± 3.95%, and 0.66 ±0.76% of the samples as "Excellent," "Good," or "Medium" quality, with a nominal rating discrepancy of 13.15%. Across the WQI ranking, more than 86% of samples were consistently rated as excellent or good. About 38.15% samples surpassed the allowed limit for F- (hazard quotient HQ>1), posing non-carcinogenic health risks for children. Contrarily, 55.26% and 11.84% of NO3-samples, exceeding the permissible limit, and showed non-carcinogenic health risks for both children and adults. Groundwater pollution may increase as a result of some samples having substantial concentrations of NO3- and notably HCO3- ions as well as their positive interdependence. The moderate correlation between Ca2+ and HCO3- (r = 0.410) and the insignificance correlation between Mg2+ and HCO3- (r = 0.234) show that calcite dissolution is far more common than dolomite.