Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, Hawassa University, Hawassa University Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources, 128, Shashemene, Ethiopia.
, Hawassa, Ethiopia.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2020 Jan;27(1):279-290. doi: 10.1007/s11356-019-06794-4. Epub 2019 Nov 30.
The availability of quality water is imperative to human health and ecosystem functioning. This study was aimed at determining the water quality index and examining its suitability to different water uses. Water samples were collected in dry and rainy seasons to capture the influence of seasonal variation. Water quality indicators (pH, electric conductivity (EC), temperature, total dissolved solids (TDS), turbidity, total suspended solids (TSS), nitrate, phosphate, and ammonia) were analyzed in the laboratory, and weighted arithmetic index method was employed to determine the quality index. The water quality index (WQI) showed higher value 870.3 and 1,313 for dry and rainy seasons which indicates that the water is unfit for human use, and the status of the water body is hypereutrophic. With cautions handling, the water appeared to be suitable for irrigation and livestock production but undesirable for aquatic life and resulted in an impairment of the ecosystem. The statistical analysis revealed a significant difference in water quality parameters between dry and rainy seasons (p < 0.05). The overall water quality status demonstrated concerns that could pose a significant risk; hence, measures should be taken to improve the quality and manage water to safeguard human health and environmental safety.
水质的好坏对人类健康和生态系统的正常运转至关重要。本研究旨在确定水质指数,并研究其对不同用途水的适用性。本研究分别在旱季和雨季采集水样,以捕捉季节性变化的影响。在实验室中分析了水质指标(pH 值、电导率 (EC)、温度、总溶解固体 (TDS)、浊度、总悬浮固体 (TSS)、硝酸盐、磷酸盐和氨),并采用加权算术指数法确定了水质指数。旱季和雨季的水质指数(WQI)分别为 870.3 和 1313,表明水不适合人类使用,水体处于富营养化状态。谨慎处理后,水似乎适合灌溉和畜牧业生产,但不适合水生生物,会破坏生态系统。统计分析表明,旱季和雨季的水质参数有显著差异(p<0.05)。整体水质状况令人担忧,可能带来重大风险;因此,应采取措施改善水质并管理水资源,以保障人类健康和环境安全。