Usongo P. Ajonina^1,, Guy E. Ediamam¹, Gordon N. Ajonina^{2, 3}, Enjongaya Z. Atiekum¹

The present study aimed to calculate water quality index (WQI) through the analysis of eleven chemical parameters on the basis of the Weighted Arithmetic Index on six water sources; rain, well, stream, tap, river and spring during the dry and rainy seasons in order to assess their suitability for drinking purpose in Mbonge Marumba a peri urban area on the north eastern flank of Mount Cameroon. Water samples were collected from the field and analyzed at the nearby Ekona Research Laboratory. The Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test if there were any significant differences of water parameters between the water sources and season. The WHO standard was used to compare the values of the water parameters tested through the percentage variance. Results revealed that Ca²⁺ is the most abundant cation followed by Mg²⁺, K⁺, Na⁺ and NH₄⁺. The relative abundance of anions (mg/l) in different water sources were as follows: HCO₃‾ > Cl‾ > NO₃‾ > SO₄²‾ >H PO₄²‾. These results reflect an influence of natural processes mainly from rock weathering. A wide variation (>-80%) between the actual values and the WHO standard was observed for most parameters with the exception of pH with a variance of -32% to -34%. HCO₃^- showed a higher value than that of the WHO standard. It ranged from 4.9 in rain water to 66.9 in tap water while the WHO standard permissible limit is 0.1. The WQI ranged from 3,137 for rain water, during the rainy season to 42,981 for tap water during the dry season. These index values revealed that the status of the various water sources in terms of ions and cations composition in the area are unsuitable for drinking.

anions, Cations, Drinking water quality, chemical parameters, Water Quality Index (WQI)