Application of Water Quality Index for Groundwater Quality Monitoring and Management in Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe University Ideato and Environs

This study was an evaluation of the groundwater quality in Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe University Ideato and environs using water quality index to determine its suitability for drinking and domestic purposes. Five borehole water samples were collected in the study area to evaluate the groundwater chemistry. The samples were sent to the laboratory within 24 hours for analysis. Electrical conductivity, turbidity and pH were calculated using their respective meters. The samples were examined for key cations (Ca, Mg, Na, Fe, and K), anions (HCO3, Cl, F, SO2, and NO3), total hardness, and dissolved silica (SiO2). In general, the results of the physicochemical analysis, except for iron, were below the allowable limits set by the Nigerian Industrial Standard and World Health Organization for drinking water. The water quality index (WQI) was calculated for the five water samples. This was then used to generate the groundwater quality map for the study area. The map shows that the highest WQI value of 41.42 is found at Senate Building KOMU while the lowest value of 29.74 is found at Amaikpa Ogboko. All the water samples are found to be excellent and potable f