Application of Integrated-Weight Water Quality Index in Groundwater Quality Evaluation

Groundwater is one of the most crucial freshwater resources in many parts of the world. However, the growth of the population and different economic activities have negatively impacted groundwater quality. This study aims to assess the groundwater quality in An-Giang province, Vietnam, from ۲۰۱۷–۲۰۲۰ and investigate its suitability for drinking via a new integrated-weight water quality index (IWQI). The samples were collected at thirteen wells in dry and rainy seasons and analyzed for eleven physicochemical parameters, including pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), total hardness, nitrate (NO۳ˉ), ammonium (NH۴+), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), arsenic (As), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), and coliform. These values were compared to the Vietnamese standard. The entropy weight method and the Criteria Importance Though Inter-criteria The correlation weighting method was integrated to compute the weights in IWQI. The results showed that NH۴+and coliform concentrations were consecutively higher than the standard over the study period. No detection of As, Hg, and Pb concentrations in groundwater was in ۲۰۱۹ – ۲۰۲۰. There were significant statistical differences between parameters from ۲۰۱۷–۲۰۲۰ in the dry and rainy seasons. The results of IWQI revealed that about ۴۰% of the total samples in ۲۰۲۰ were categorized as unsuitable for drinking. IWQI values range from ۷۲ to ۷۹۷۳ in ۲۰۲۰, ۱۲ to ۳۰۲۰ in ۲۰۱۹, ۲۱ to ۱۱۱۵ in ۲۰۱۸, and ۵۳ to ۲۲۴۶ in ۲۰۱۷. Most samples with high IWQI values are located near the burial pits of African fever-infected swine. The findings of this study could provide further information about the changes in groundwater quality from ۲۰۱۷–۲۰۲۰ in An Giang province, Vietnam, and the IWQI method can be proposed for other studies to evaluate groundwater quality effectively. Doi: ۱۰.۲۸۹۹۱/CEJ-۲۰۲۲-۰۸-۱۱-۰۲۰ Full Text: PDF

Keywords:

Coliform , Groundwater , Integrated-Weight Water Quality Index (IWQI) , An-Giang (Vietnam).