Evaluation of groundwater quality for drinking and irrigation purposes using GIS-based water quality index in urban area of Abaya-Chemo sub-basin of Great Rift Valley, Ethiopia

Abstract Groundwater is the major resource for drinking and irrigation purposes in urban areas of Abaya-Chemo sub-basin of Great Rift Valley, Ethiopia. There is an incredible increase in demand in the sub-basin for good-quality groundwater resources. However, the exhaustive irrigation and rapid urbanization has posed a serious threat to groundwater quality in the urban districts of sub-basin like Arba Minch town. The aim of the study was to evaluate the groundwater quality status and to map their spatial distribution with respect to the suitability for drinking and irrigation purposes in Arba Minch town, Ethiopia. Fourteen bore well samples were examined for geochemical variations and groundwater qualities. The spatial distribution maps of quality parameters were prepared using the kriging method in ArcGIS 10.3. Drinking water quality index, sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), percentage sodium (Na%), residual sodium carbonate (RSC), and permeability index (PI) were considered for drinking and irrigation suitability assessment. Comparison of the hydrochemical results with the World Health Organization (WHO) and Ethiopian drinking water standards (ES) and various classifications revealed that the current status of the groundwaters is suitable for drinking and irrigation purposes except for a few sites at the northwestern part of the study area. The WQI results revealed that 7% and 64% of samples fall from excellent to good classes for drinking categories. Irrigation indices also demonstrated that 80% of samples fall in good classes for irrigation purposes. About 75 percent of samples belong to Ca–Mg-HCO3 facies, and the reaming samples belong to Ca–Mg–Cl facies. The results of the study concluded that the proposed approach is reliable and efficient for the groundwater pollution status evaluation and can also be applied in decision making for effective groundwater resources monitoring in the study area.