GEOSPATIAL AND PRINCIPAL COMPONENT ANALYSIS OF GROUNDWATER QUALITY IN EKOSODIN COMMUNITY.

This study assessed the quality of groundwater in Ekosodin community, Edo State, Nigeria, using geospatial techniques and Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The objectives were to analyze selected physicochemical parameters of groundwater, compare the results with World Health Organization (WHO) and Nigerian Industrial Standards (NIS), map the spatial distribution of groundwater quality, and identify the major factors influencing contamination. The study was necessitated by the increasing dependence on groundwater due to inadequate public water supply and the rising risk of contamination from anthropogenic activities. Groundwater samples were collected from eight boreholes across the study area, and their geographic coordinates were recorded using a handheld GPS device. Laboratory analyses were conducted on selected physicochemical parameters including major ions and heavy metals using standard APHA procedures. Geospatial analysis was carried out using GIS (Inverse Distance Weighting) to map the spatial distribution of groundwater quality parameters. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was applied to reduce data dimensionality and identify the dominant factors influencing groundwater quality. The results revealed significant variation in groundwater quality across the study area. The Water Quality Index (WQI) ranged from 30.31 to 227.36, classifying samples into excellent, good, poor, and very poor categories. Samples 6 and 7 recorded excellent quality (30.54– 41.84), while samples 2, 3, and 4 showed poor to very poor quality (136.47–227.36), indicating unsuitability for drinking without treatment. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) extracted four components accounting for 97.4% of the total variance, indicating that both geogenic processes and anthropogenic activities are the major factors influencing groundwater quality in the area. The study concluded that groundwater in Ekosodin is vulnerable to contamination and requires regular monitoring, improved waste management, and public awareness to ensure safe and sustainable use