Spatial assessment of groundwater quality in Guna Tana landscape

Abstract

This study focuses on investigating the quality of groundwater for irrigation and drinking water purposes. Spatial distribution of physicochemical and microbiological parameters was assessed from samples collected from springs, hand-dug wells, and boreholes found the Guna Tana landscape. A total of 70 samples were considered for physical, chemical, and bacteriological water quality determination. The results revealed that most of the groundwater quality index (WQI) values lie between good and excellent. The maximum, minimum, mean, and standard deviation of each water quality parameter were prepared for evaluating groundwater quality. According to the WQI values, more than 83% of the water samples were classified as excellent water for drinking.More than 92% of the water samples showed low sodium hazards for irrigation and about 48% and 46% of the water samples were classified as within the excellent and good water classes for irrigation based on their electrical conductance levels. Therefore, the groundwater that is found in the Guna Tana landscape could be used for drinking and irrigation purposes without any advanced treatment. K E Y W O R D SEthiopia, GIS, groundwater quality, SAR, WQI, water class

The use of the multi-criteria analysis for the exploration of surface irrigation potential zones: A case of the Didesa sub-basin, Abay basin, Ethiopia

“…Because of the topographic and availability of surface water sources, the Didesa sub-basin was confirmed for the exploration of surface irrigation potential zones. To explore the surface irrigation potential zones in this sub-basin, the key significant components, such as terrain, slope, soil, and rainfall, were tested as surface irrigation development criteria (Mandal, Dolui and Satpathy, 2018;Andualem et al, 2019;Tolche, 2020). Data obtained from the local government office in a vector and raster format had different pixel resolution and the resampling technique in ArcGIS 10.4 version was applied and brought to the same resolution (30 × 30 m).…”

The optimistic implication of hand-dug wells in water resources development and handling in Ethiopia, a developing economy, such as in Guna Tana landscape

“…In the north-western highlands of Ethiopia (Guna Tana landscape), groundwater for the most part is utilized for residential (i.e., drinking, washing, and cooking) and water system purposes (Andualem et al 2020). The greater part of the system in the Guna Tana landscape area is endeavoring to develop shallow and deep hand-dug wells for their day-to-day utilization of water.…”