Academic Journal
Evaluation of drinking water suitability in rural primary school environments: linking hydrochemistry, multivariate analysis, and water quality indices in Northern Uganda.
| Τίτλος: | Evaluation of drinking water suitability in rural primary school environments: linking hydrochemistry, multivariate analysis, and water quality indices in Northern Uganda. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Ojok W; Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Muni University, P.O Box 725, Arua, Uganda.; Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Gulu University, P.O Box 166, Gulu, Uganda E-mail: walter.ojok@gu.ac.ug., Edema W; Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Muni University, Arua, Uganda., Akwongo B; Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Muni University, Arua, Uganda., Nielsen AH; Department of the Built Environment, Aalborg University, Thomas Manns Vej 23, 9220 Aalborg E, Denmark., Andama M; Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Muni University, Arua, Uganda. |
| Πηγή: | Journal of water and health [J Water Health] 2026 Aug; Vol. 24 (8), pp. 1174-1186. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Jul 17. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: IWA Pub Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 101185420 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Print ISSN: 1477-8920 (Print) Linking ISSN: 14778920 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Water Health Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: London ; Avenel, NJ : IWA Pub., c2003- |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Drinking Water*/analysis , Drinking Water*/chemistry , Groundwater*/chemistry , Groundwater*/analysis , Water Quality* , Schools* , Environmental Monitoring*, Water Pollutants, Chemical/analysis ; Uganda ; Multivariate Analysis ; Rural Population ; Principal Component Analysis ; Water Supply |
| Περίληψη: | Groundwater is the dominant source of drinking water in rural Sub-Saharan Africa, yet its suitability in school environments is rarely evaluated using process-based approaches. This study assesses groundwater sources used by government aided primary schools in Vurra Subcounty, Northern Uganda, integrating hydrochemical analysis with principal component analysis (PCA), hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), and Water Quality Index (WQI) assessment. Water sources exhibited slightly acidic to near-neutral conditions (pH 5.59-7.17) and low mineralization (TDS: 4-356 mg L-1), consistent with dilute basement aquifers. PCA indicates that hydrochemical variability is primarily controlled by carbonate-mediated water-rock interaction (PC1: 41.0%), while redox-sensitive mobilization of iron and manganese accounts for secondary variability (PC2: 22.8%). WQI values ranged from 27.07 to 219.96, with 55% of sites classified as poor to very poor. Sites with elevated WQI values correspond to higher Fe and Mn concentrations rather than total dissolved solids. These results indicate that groundwater suitability in the study area is constrained by trace metal dynamics within an otherwise low-mineralization system. The findings highlight the need for targeted monitoring and treatment strategies that explicitly address redox-driven contaminants in rural water supply systems. (© 2026 The Authors This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC BY-NC 4.0), which permits copying, adaptation and redistribution for non-commercial purposes, provided the original work is properly cited (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).) |
| Competing Interests: | The authors declare there is no conflict. |
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| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Northern Uganda; groundwater quality; principal component analysis; rural water supply; trace metals; water quality index |
| Substance Nomenclature: | 0 (Drinking Water) 0 (Water Pollutants, Chemical) |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260831 Date Completed: 20260831 Latest Revision: 20260831 |
| Update Code: | 20260901 |
| DOI: | 10.2166/wh.2026.263 |
| PMID: | 42670998 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1477-8920 |
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| DOI: | 10.2166/wh.2026.263 |