Assessment of the quality of dug well water samples in Nigeria and their suitability for drinking and irrigation purposes

The quality of dug well water for drinking and irrigation purposes must be measured as part of a sustainable groundwater analysis. The study aimed to assess water quality and to evaluate their usefulness for drinking and irrigation, using the Drinking Water Quality Index (DWQI) and Irrigation Water Quality Index (IWQI). To achieve this, standard methods were used for the determination of physicochemical parameters of the water samples, while using models (ESP, SSP, SAR, MAR, KR, TDS, and EC) to ascertain their suitability for drinking and irrigation. According to the findings, the determined physico-chemical parameters were compared to standard limits and found desirable because they were within the guidelines. Low pH (6.4–7), total dissolved solids (106–130 mg/L), total hardness (42–56 mg/L), calcium (3.5–8.3 mg/L), magnesium (1.13.6 mg/L), nitrate (4.6–16 mg/L), chloride (1.8–3.1), and sulphate (14–15. mg/L) in the well samples were found to be the key cause of the low DWQI and IWQI value at these sites. The results also depicted that all the water samples are of excellent quality.