A Multivariate Technique to Develop Hybrid Water Quality Index of the Bengawan Solo River, Indonesia

Surface water resource, such as river, is constantly contaminated by domestic and industrial pollutants. In order to properly manage the water resource, a composite index for water quality assessment, such as water quality index (WQI), has been designed to monitor and evaluate the properties of surface water. However, this index is quite subjective in terms of determination of relative weights. A principal component analysis (PCA) can be used to reduce the dimension and subjectivity of water quality variables. The purpose of this study was to implement the use of hybrid PCA and WQI methods to assess and monitor the water quality of the Bengawan Solo River, which is located in Java Island, Indonesia. The result suggested that COD, BOD, TSS, TDS, nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia were the main factors that determine water quality of the Bengawan Solo River. Furthermore, it was revealed that most samples from the river showed water quality status as slightly polluted. In addition to this, the seasonal variation of the PCWI values indicated a significant increase of water pollution in the Bengawan Solo River per year.