dc.description.abstract |
The Hotta catchment is found in Northwestern part of Ethiopia in North Gondar basin of
the Upper Tekeze Basin. This catchment is one of the areas where groundwater is the
main sources of water supply for domestic and irrigation purposes. In hydrogeological
context, the Hotta River catchment is not a studied catchment. This study aimed to assess
the groundwater potential and water quality of Hotta catchment using GIS-based
Multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and water
quality techniques as methods for assessing and classifying the groundwater potential and
water quality of the study area. Eight hydrological and hydrogeological criteria were
used as thematic layers, namely, geology, rainfall, geomorphology, drainage density,
slope, lineament density, land use, and soil texture. Groundwater-potential-zone
evaluations of the study area showed as: very high (11%), high (4%), moderate (16%),
low (35%), very low (34%); and groundwater potential zone (GWPZ) maps of the
catchment were prepared.
The water quality assessment was carried out against WHO and Ethiopian standards for
domestic use and irrigation purpose. The major ion concentration belongs to the suitable
category for drinking and irrigation purposes based on WHO and MoWR standards. The
calculated results of the WQI indicate that the majority of samples are comprised as good
water class, which covers 83.33% of the total samples. The other WQI water class type is
classified as excellent water type which covers 16.67% out of the total samples in the
study area. The irrigation water quality parameters indicated that the majority of the
water samples are suitable for irrigation purposes. Based on SAR and MH calculated
results the samples are classified as excellent and suitable, respectively. The KR values
indicate the majority samples (N=10) are suitable and fewer samples (N=2) are grouped
under unsuitable and based on Na% values the majority samples fall under suitable in the
study area. |
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