Authors : S. C. Anyanwu; E. R. Onukwugha; O. H. Ibearugbulem; O. C. Iwuamadi; E. I. Iwuchukwu; C. O. Okeke; E. N Uzohuo; C. N. Ononogbo

Volume/Issue : Volume 11 - 2026, Issue 2 - February

Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/bdhkyf67

Scribd : https://tinyurl.com/3xjtt6yz

DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/26feb321

Note : A published paper may take 4-5 working days from the publication date to appear in PlumX Metrics, Semantic Scholar, and ResearchGate.

Abstract : This study examined the influence of physicochemical parameters on the Water Quality Index percentage (WQI%) of groundwater and selected surface water sources in Rivers State, Nigeria. The research was conducted as a follow-up to earlier water quality assessments carried out in selected cities within the state, where significant variations in WQI% values were observed depending on whether all water quality parameters or only heavy metal parameters were considered. This observation prompted further investigation to better understand the individual and collective contributions of each parameter to the overall WQI outcome. Water samples were collected from groundwater sources and selected rivers across different locations in Rivers State, and laboratory analyses were carried out around March 2022. The parameters analyzed included pH, temperature, electrical conductivity, turbidity, total dissolved solids (TDS), hardness, chloride, nitrate, phosphate, biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), dissolved oxygen (DO), and heavy metals such as lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), and manganese (Mn), as well as microbiological indicators including Escherichia coli and total coliforms. The Weighted Arithmetic Water Quality Index (WAWQI) method was used to compute WQI% values under two conditions: first, by considering all analyzed parameters, and second, by excluding parameters with zero or negligible values (≤0.0001). The comparison of results highlights the sensitivity of WQI% to parameter selection and underscores the importance of comprehensive parameter inclusion in water quality assessment.

Keywords : Water Quality Index (WQI), physicochemical parameters, groundwater, surface water, heavy metals, Rivers State, Nigeria.

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