Assessment of drinking water quality in Dacope Upazila Khulna, Bangladesh

The availability of safe drinking water has become a great challenge for most parts of Bangladesh. The condition of Dacope is deteriorating day by day; as a result, they are raising their voice demanding safe drinking water nowadays. Motivating from this the aims of the study were to assess the drinking water quality parameters, categorize the water quality by applying WQI and representing specific spatial imagery of the distribution of the parameters with the help of ArcGIS software. In February 2022, 47 samples were collected including tube well, filter station, rain water and pond water which are utilized for drinking purposes by the local dwellers of Dacope Upazila. pH, EC and temperature were recorded in the field and the other parameters were analyzed in the laboratory. The spatial distribution map reveals that the parameters are varying from point to point unpredictably. EC and TSS values of all samples exceeded the standard value recommended by WHO. The concentration of CO32-, HCO3-, Cl-, Na+, K+, Mg2+ & B for most tube well water samples were above the permissible limit and too much higher was the Na+ content 5 times greater than the optimum value. HCO3-, Cl-, Na+, K+, Mg2+ and B contents in large number of filter water samples crossed the safe level. Both for tube well and filter water samples arsenic concentration was above the recommended value. Na+ and K+ concentration in the pond water samples were slightly higher than the permissible limit. Rainwater samples were found safer in relation to the parameters studied. The estimated WQI value ranged between 3.76 and 716.98. Evaluation of the drinking water quality on the basis of WQI showed that 2.13% of samples were excellent, 29.79% good, 23.40% poor, 12.77% very poor and 31.91% were unsuitable for drink purpose. Because of the high concentration of As, B, Na+, K+, Mg2+ and TSS water quality index value has been calculated as very high. The overall result of the study confirms that most drinking water sources are not safe for the health of the consumers in the study area.
Key words: Drinking water, Challenge, WQI, Spatial distribution, Coastal region, Arsenic

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