ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Evaluation of Groundwater Quality Using WQI Models and Its Application to Plants Vulnerable to Ecological Stress

This study focuses on the groundwater found at depths of 10-20 meters in the Amudarya district of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, within Uzbekistan. The primary objective of the research is to determine the suitability of this water for irrigating plants that are not resistant to environmental stress. Water samples were collected from 12 wells over the period of 2020-2024, and laboratory analyses were conducted based on four key indicators: Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), chloride (Cl⁻), potential of Hydrogen (pH), and nitrate (NO₃⁻). To assess the overall water quality, the “Weighted Arithmetic Water Quality Index (WA-WQI)” and the “Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME)” models were used. According to the research findings, the overall quality of groundwater in the Amudarya district falls under the “Unsuitable for drinking and fish culture” category according to the WA-WQI model and the “poor” category according to the CCME WQI model, limiting its use for irrigating plants with low tolerance. The novelty of this study lies in the confirmation that groundwater is unsuitable for irrigating plants that are not resistant to environmental stress. However, it can be used for irrigating certain semi-tolerant and tolerant plant species.