Drinking Water Quality Mapping Using Water Quality Index and Geospatial Analysis in Primary Schools of Pakistan

Abstract

Primary school children in the developing world often lack potable water, which may result in a high burden of water-related diseases and poor school performance. The present study aimed to characterize the drinking water quality in primary schools of Pakistan. We used a multistage random-sampling method to select 425 primary schools from selected districts of Sindh province. Standard methods were used to characterize water quality. The results were compared with maximum acceptable values recommended by the Pakistani National Environmental Quality Standards (Pak NEQS) and the World Health Organization (WHO) drinking water quality standards. Groundwater (62%) and surface water (38%) were identified as two major drinking water sources in the selected schools with varying levels of water quality. Among all parameters, dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, and nitrate remained within WHO and Pak NEQS water quality standard limit, while total dissolved solids (TDS) (33%), electrical conductivity (EC) (46%), chloride (34%), turbidity (27%), and hardness (11%) samples exceeded standard limits. All dissolved salts had moderate to strong positive correlations with TDS and EC values. Based on a water quality index (WQI), 74% of primary schools had access to excellent or good quality drinking water compared to 26% of schools that had access to either poor, very poor or unsuitable drinking water. Among all three regions, more schools from South Sindh had either poor, very poor or unsuitable drinking water (33%) compared to the Central (25%) and North zones (15%). Hence, water from these locations is unfit for human consumption and these schools need better water quality management plans to stop the spread of water-related diseases in primary school children.

Untitled

“…Mean conductivity, TDS, pH values of Ngo and Ukwa community were similar compared to the Inyorong community, and this may be due to proximity/closeness of both communities compared to the Inyorong community that is farther. A research on the community water sources in Primary Schools of Pakistan reported a variation in TDS with respect to location studied [23]. This is consistent with findings in this study (Table 2).…”

Antibiotic‐resistant bacteria and blaNDM‐1 genes in the drinking tap water of a megacity

“…The high concentration of TDS in some of the samples might be due to the presence of inorganic compounds such as salts and metal ions. Ahmed et al (2020) reported the high TDS concentration in drinking water sources in schools in Karachi as well as other parts of Pakistan.…”

“…The contamination of water could occur during storage (Falkinham, 2015;Falkinham et al, 2015) and it is a major issue in the city of Karachi especially in areas such as Gadap, Kiamari and Korangi with poor infrastructure and limited facilities (Duad et al, 2017). Study by Ahmed et al, 2020 wastewater (Zainab et al, 2020). The presence of antibiotics and resistant bacteria in groundwater became an environmental concern.…”

Feasibility of Rainwater Harvesting and Consumption in a Middle Eastern Semiarid Urban Area

“…Quality of a water resource reflects combination effects of the climatical, hydrologic, geological, and environmental situations of the region, as well as demographic and social behavior of the residents. Monitoring and assessment of the water resources quality can serve us valuable information on interactions of such characteristic elements and help with decision-making about the suitability of water resources for different applications [39].…”