Assessment of a groundwater quality monitoring network for Disi-Aquifer in southern Jordan using Water Quality Index (WQI)

Global Water security is significantly affected by declining groundwater supplies. To reduce the harmful impacts of drinking water and ensure the efficacy of the actions taken to delay, stop, reverse, or repair water quantity and quality deterioration, monitoring and raising awareness among all stakeholders are essential. Case studies were conducted to examine the Disi aquifer's water quality, one of the country's most productive and porous sandstone aquifers and the main source of Jordan's water supply. From Saudi Arabia in the south to Jordan's northeastern heartland, groundwater flows. The likelihood of finding contaminated water sources is examined in this study using the regional distribution of water quality. A helpful tool for assessing and displaying Disi water's overall quality and quality trends is the Water Quality Index (WQI). The water quality of the Disi watershed is evaluated using the WQI of the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment. Twelve physical- chemical factors, including EC, pH, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, Cl-, HCO3-, SO4-, NO3-, CO2, and TDS, were used to find the WQI. The Disi aquifer groundwater has a WQI range of 48 to 97, with an average WQI of 68, and is categorized as awful to exceptional and ordinary to fair. The findings show that geological formation affects groundwater quality more than human activities do, and that the disintegration of nearby carbonate rocks has enriched the Quaternary-Tertiary aquifer's water with Ca2+. The results of an analysis of the water sample reveal that the water is adequate for consumption and meets with Jordan's water standards from 2008 and the EU drinking water criteria from 1998. The findings of this study might serve as the foundation for future groundwater management strategies as well as carefully thought-out plans for pumping water from wells (old or new), improving WQI outcomes, improving the quality of the water, and lowering the costs associated with using this water. Based on the WQI values, the study's findings might potentially be used to map the basin's regional distribution of groundwater quality.