Abstract
SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL ASSESSMENT OF GROUNDWATER QUALITY IN LILONGWE DISTRICT IN MALAWI USING GIS TECHNOLOGY

Groundwater of good quality is necessary for domestic use and agricultural productivity. The chemical constituents of the groundwater determine its suitability for different usage. Proper analysis (both statistical and geophysical) is needed to analyze water quality parameters such as Hydrogen ion concentration (pH), Electrical Conductivity, turbidity, total hardness, Chloride, Calcium, Magnesium and Sodium. Spatial analysis using inverse distance weighted method in Surfer 12 software was used to prepare the groundwater quality distribution maps. These maps were used to assess temporal and spatial changes in groundwater quality in Lilongwe western zones. The results showed both spatial and temporal variations in groundwater quality in the study area. This study demonstrated that the use of GIS could provide useful information for groundwater quality assessment. This study therefore recommends periodic monitoring and evaluation of groundwater using Geographic information systems (GIS).