Development of groundwater quality index

Abstract

Assessing the water quality status for special use is the main objective of any water quality monitoring studies. The water quality index (WQI) is a mathematical instrument used to transform large quantities of water quality data into a single number which represents the water quality level. In fact, developing WQI in an area is a fundamental process in the planning of land use and water resources management. In this study, a simple methodology based on multivariate analysis is developed to create a groundwater quality index (GWQI), with the aim of identifying places with best quality for drinking within the Qazvin province, west central of Iran. The methodology is based on the definition of GWQI using average value of eight cation and anion parameters for 163 wells during a 3-year period. The proportion of observed concentrations to the maximum allowable concentration is calculated as normalized value of each parameter in observing wells. Final indices for each well are calculated considering weight of each parameter. In order to assess the groundwater quality of study area, the derived indices are compared with those of well-known mineral waters. Using developed indices, groundwater iso-index map for study area and the map of areas of which the indices are near to mineral waters was drawn. In the case study, the GWQI map reveals that groundwater quality in two areas is extremely near to mineral water quality. Created index map provides a comprehensive picture of easily interpretable for regional decision makers for better planning and management.

A method of groundwater quality assessment based on fuzzy network-CANFIS and geographic information system (GIS)

“…10) shows the performance of the neuro-fuzzy network and also high performance of the approach of integrating the neuro-fuzzy network and GIS in groundwater quality modeling (Gangopadhyay et al 1999;Krishna et al 2008). The groundwater quality based on GWQI index is classified into three categories included very good quality (GWQI [ 0.15), good quality (0.04 \ GWQI \ 0.15) and poor quality (GWQI \ 0.04) (Saeedi et al 2010). As can be seen in the resulting map, the presented methodology in this study could provide an acceptable simulation for the classification of groundwater quality and the current error in simulation, not enter any prejudice to the water quality classification accuracy of a plain or a watershed (Figs.…”

Pollution of the quaternary aquifer of Mitidja (Algeria) by nitrates: Origins and impacts on the quality of water for human consumption

“…Cette méthode a été initialement proposée par Horton [22] et Brown et al [23]. Au cours des dernières années, plusieus études ont eu recours à ce concept pour estimer la qualité de l'eau souterraine en utilisant différentes méthodes de calculations [24,25,26,27,28]. Par conséquent, l'IQE a été appliqué dans cette étude pour estimer l'influence des facteurs naturels et anthropiques sur la base de plusieurs paramètres clés du chimisme des eaux souterraines.…”

Analysis of Groundwater Quality of Aligarh City, (India): Using Water Quality Index

“…The water quality index (WQI) is regarded as one of the most effective ways to communicate water quality 8 .The water quality index (WQI) is a mathematical instrument used to transform large quantities of water quality data into a single number which represents the water quality level [9]. The objective of the index is to turn complex water quality data into information that is understandable and useable by the public.…”