Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Drinking Water Quality Using GIS-Based Geostatistical Techniques

Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Drinking Water Quality Using GIS-Based Geostatistical Techniques | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Drinking Water Quality Using GIS-Based Geostatistical Techniques Abayneh Agumass Amogne This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8234836/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 8 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Regular spatial and temporal assessment of freshwater resources used for drinking water is essential for ensuring water quality and protecting public health. This study evaluated changes in key water quality parameters using a GIS-based Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) interpolation method. Water samples were collected from four drinking water sources during the wet and dry seasons of 2017 and 2020 and analyzed for ten parameters using the Palin-test method. Spatial distribution maps revealed notable variations in parameter concentrations across the study area for both seasons and years. Overall, the mean concentrations of most parameters increased from 2017 to 2020, except for pH, indicating a general deterioration in water quality. In 2017, all parameters met drinking water standards except pH at half of the sampling locations during the dry season and electrical conductivity (EC) at all locations in both seasons. By 2020, turbidity exceeded allowable limits at most sampling points during both seasons. Additionally, phosphate (PO₄) levels at site S4, and EC and pH at nearly all sites and seasons (except pH at S1 in the wet season), were outside acceptable thresholds. These results demonstrate worsening pollution levels by 2020, likely driven by increasing human activities and natural influences. To safeguard these drinking water sources, it is imperative for stakeholders to establish and enforce regulations that restrict new human activities near water bodies. Furthermore, systematic water quality monitoring, appropriate treatment, and effective protection and management strategies are necessary to ensure sustained access to safe potable water. Drinking water quality GIS Geostatistics Spatial analysis Temporal analysis Water quality parameter Environmental monitoring Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files SuppMaterials.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 05 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 05 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 05 Feb, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 04 Feb, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 04 Feb, 2026 Editor invited by journal 12 Jan, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 08 Jan, 2026 First submitted to journal 08 Jan, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8234836","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":586542846,"identity":"8bbd0205-5e33-4150-aa9c-0dadf5856e5f","order_by":0,"name":"Abayneh Agumass Amogne","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABCklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACCTB5AMa1AWLGxgPY1WLXkgbS0kCSlsOoXGyAf3bzM+mCijvy8hHZiR9//Dlvt7b9MNCWGptonJbcOWYmPePMM8ONN3I3S/O23U7ediYRqOVYWm4DLj03EsyAKg8zbpyRu0GaseF2stkBoBbGhsM4tcjfSP8mzfvvsD1Qy+afP/6cSzY7/xC/FoMbOUBbGg4nzpfI3SbBw3bAzuwGAVsM75wptuY5djh5A8/bbda8bckJZjeAtiTg8Yvc7faNt3lqDtvOb8/dfPPHHzt7s/PpDx98qLHB7X0GBhZw1BgcgPASwSoTcCsHAeYPIFIeaqg9fsWjYBSMglEwEgEAt2Nsze/sQykAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Debre Markos University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Abayneh","middleName":"Agumass","lastName":"Amogne","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-11-29 06:38:16","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8234836/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8234836/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":102296728,"identity":"e2e2bfd1-015a-4ea1-aa49-90f2428bd916","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-10 10:21:09","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1922459,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"AbaynehSSAR35revised.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8234836/v1_covered_ee3e76f7-4b4f-4b4c-8499-2d1d1cfa03cc.pdf"},{"id":102172685,"identity":"0e09d214-acab-4678-8aac-098d939c34ea","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-09 05:05:44","extension":"docx","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":38595,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SuppMaterials.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8234836/v1/21a7da9e421c4ffc7f956916.docx"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Drinking Water Quality Using GIS-Based Geostatistical Techniques","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-hazards","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Hazards](https://link.springer.com/journal/44475)","snPcode":"44475","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/44475/3","title":"Discover Hazards","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Drinking water quality, GIS, Geostatistics, Spatial analysis, Temporal analysis, Water quality parameter, Environmental monitoring","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8234836/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8234836/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eRegular spatial and temporal assessment of freshwater resources used for drinking water is essential for ensuring water quality and protecting public health. 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