Evaluation of water quality using water quality index (WQI) and GIS in Beira Lake, Sri Lanka

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume V, Issue XI, November 2021 | ISSN 2454–6186

Evaluation of water quality using water quality index (WQI) and GIS in Beira Lake, Sri Lanka

K. Nishanthi^1*, R. Dushanan^2
1Department of Wetland Management, Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation, Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka
²Department of Chemistry, The Open University of Sri Lanka, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka
Corresponding Author*

Abstract: The impact of anthropogenic disturbances on urban lakes can be significant due to their size, depth, and stagnancy. Increased population, urbanization, and modernization are causing sewage disposal issues and contamination of surface waters bodies. The study established three goals to determine the current state of selected physio-chemical parameters in Beira lake’s surface and deep water. Creating a map to demonstrate the distribution of water quality parameters identifies the correlation between water quality parameters and calculates the water quality index. The interpolation map for each parameter was created using the inverse distance weighted (IDW) interpolation method. The weighted arithmetic water quality index approach calculates the water quality index of the Beira lake’s surfaces and deep water. Pearson linear correlation shows the relationship between water quality parameters, including temperature, salinity, pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, phosphate, nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia. According to the weighted arithmetic WQI technique, it can say that the quality of Beira lake is unfit for drinking and irrigation. It is incredibly polluted and receives an “E” rating. The findings reveal a strong positive relationship between electrical conductivity and salinity and TDS with salinity and electrical conductivity. It can be concluded that Beira lake is in terrible condition and that water treatment will be costly. As a result, immediate action is compulsory to prevent the inflow of contaminated water and restore the lake’s overall water quality.

Keywords: Beira lake, IDW, weighted arithmetic water quality index, Pearson linear correlation

I. INTRODUCTION

Water quality is a controversial issue in developing countries. Standard water quality is essential to human health, plants, and aquatic life. Only a tiny fraction of the area is dominated by lakes and ponds, known as freshwater[1]. The ponds and lakes are a substantial wealth of the nation, providing water for both agriculture and drinking[2]. Surface water quality is a sensitive and crucial problem in many countries since it is an integral aspect of the natural ecosystem[3].
Furthermore, as individuals become aware of the relevance of drinking water quality to public health thus, there is a greater need to analyze surface water quality.The quality of a region’s surface water is mainly affected by natural processes like weathering and soil erosion and artificial contributions such as municipal and industrial wastewater discharge[4].

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