Pollution sources apportionment and suitability assessment of Lah River, Ethiopia: Conjunctive application of multivariate statistical analysis and water quality index

Abstract

This study aimed to assess spatiotemporal water quality variation and its suitability for irrigation and domestic purposes in Lah River using the irrigation water quality index (IWQI) and the weighted arithmetic water quality index (WAWQI). The IWQI analysis result showed that the sodium absorption ratio, residual sodium carbonate, potential salinity, Kelly index, magnesium ratio, sodium percentage, and permeability index were found to be 1.07 mEq/L, −0.43 mEq/L, 0.8 mEq/L, 0.78 mEq/L, 43.01%, 42.95%, and 63.46%, respectively. The IWQIs revealed that the water quality of the river was appropriate for agricultural use during the dry season. Furthermore, the calculated WAWQI of the river water ranged from 123.13 to 394.72 during the wet season, indicating the high pollution levels in the Lah River and incompatibility for drinking purposes. On the other hand, the principal component analysis identified two pollution sources during the wet season and three during the dry season. In addition, the positive matrix prioritization model predicted the pollution source's contribution quite well with a signal-to-noise ratio of >2 and a residual error between −3 and 3 for both seasons. This study suggests that water quality of Lah River is degrading periodically necessitating proper pollution management. HIGHLIGHTS In this study, water quality and its suitability were assessed using multivariate statistical techniques and receptor models conjunctively.; The middle segment of the Lah River is more polluted than the upstream and downstream sections necessitating coordinated intervention measures.; During the dry season, the Lah River is suitable for irrigation.; Integrated water quality index and multivariate statistical techniques can be used for preliminary pollution management in Lah River.;

Keywords

• lah river
• pca
• pmf
• water quality
• wqi