Application of Irrigation Water Quality Indices and Multivariate Statistical Techniques for Surface Water Quality Assessments in the Northern Nile Delta, Egypt
, Farahat S. Moghanm 3, Khaled M. Khedher 4,5, Ebrahem M. Eid 6,7,* and Mohamed Gad 8Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
I consider that at this moment the paper can be published. All the errors I identified in the version sent in August were corrected, new data and new analyzes were added, which led to the raising of the quality level of the work.
Author Response
Dr. Morpheus Yang
Assistant Editor
Water
Dear Dr. Morpheus Yang,
Please find attached the revised manuscript titled “Application of irrigation water quality indices and multivariate statistical techniques for surface water quality assessments in the northern Nile Delta, Egypt ” MS ID water-962145, authored by Salah Elsayed, Hend Hussein, Farahat S. Moghanm, Khaled M. Khedher, Ebrahem M. Eid and Mohamed Gad.
We appreciate the positive and constructive comments and suggestions provided by the reviewers for our manuscript. We have carefully studied the reviewers’ comments and have made revisions that are highlighted in yellow in the revised version of the manuscript. We have tried our best to revise our manuscript according to the reviewers’ comments. Please find attached the revised version of our manuscript, which we would like to submit for your kind consideration. Once again, we would like to express our great appreciation to you and the reviewers for the comments on our manuscript.
Please find below our detailed responses to each of the points raised.
Reviewer #1:
Open Review
(x) I would not like to sign my review report
( ) I would like to sign my review report
English language and style
( ) Extensive editing of English language and style required
( ) Moderate English changes required
( ) English language and style are fine/minor spell check required
(x) I don't feel qualified to judge about the English language and style
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Does the introduction provide sufficient background and include all relevant references? |
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Is the research design appropriate? |
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Are the methods adequately described? |
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Are the results clearly presented? |
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Are the conclusions supported by the results? |
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Comments and Suggestions for Authors
I consider that at this moment the paper can be published. All the errors I identified in the version sent in August were corrected, new data and new analyzes were added, which led to the raising of the quality level of the work.
Response: Thanks so much Sir for this positive comment and feedback.
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I would appreciate if the revised version of our manuscript would be considered for publication in Water.
Sincerely,
Ebrahem M. Eid
Kafr El-Sheikh University, Egypt
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Surface water quality in the northern Nile Delta was assessed using the drinking water quality index and pollution indices supported by multivariate statistical analyses in this manuscript. It is interesting and meaningful, it can provide reference for local people’s drinking water. Especially,
This article is the companion volume of “Combining water quality indices and multivariate modelling to assess surface water quality in the northern Nile Delta, Egypt. DOI: 10.3390/w12082142”. This time it focuses the irrigation water quality, it is also interesting and meaningful, for the Nile Delta is the main agricultural area in Egypt, and agricultural irrigation is of great importance. And the results will improve water quality management and reduce water pollution in the northern Nile Delta. The paper is rich in data, exquisite in charts and fluent in language. So I think it can be accepted directly after a minor revision. In my opinion, F is not a metallic element.
Author Response
Dr. Morpheus Yang
Assistant Editor
Water
Dear Dr. Morpheus Yang,
Please find attached the revised manuscript titled “Application of irrigation water quality indices and multivariate statistical techniques for surface water quality assessments in the northern Nile Delta, Egypt ” MS ID water-962145, authored by Salah Elsayed, Hend Hussein, Farahat S. Moghanm, Khaled M. Khedher, Ebrahem M. Eid and Mohamed Gad.
We appreciate the positive and constructive comments and suggestions provided by the reviewers for our manuscript. We have carefully studied the reviewers’ comments and have made revisions that are highlighted in yellow in the revised version of the manuscript. We have tried our best to revise our manuscript according to the reviewers’ comments. Please find attached the revised version of our manuscript, which we would like to submit for your kind consideration. Once again, we would like to express our great appreciation to you and the reviewers for the comments on our manuscript.
Please find below our detailed responses to each of the points raised.
Reviewer #2:
Open Review
(x) I would not like to sign my review report
( ) I would like to sign my review report
English language and style
( ) Extensive editing of English language and style required
( ) Moderate English changes required
( ) English language and style are fine/minor spell check required
(x) I don't feel qualified to judge about the English language and style
|
Yes |
Can be improved |
Must be improved |
Not applicable |
|
|
Does the introduction provide sufficient background and include all relevant references? |
(x) |
( ) |
( ) |
( ) |
|
Is the research design appropriate? |
(x) |
( ) |
( ) |
( ) |
|
Are the methods adequately described? |
(x) |
( ) |
( ) |
( ) |
|
Are the results clearly presented? |
(x) |
( ) |
( ) |
( ) |
|
Are the conclusions supported by the results? |
(x) |
( ) |
( ) |
( ) |
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
Surface water quality in the northern Nile Delta was assessed using the drinking water quality index and pollution indices supported by multivariate statistical analyses in this manuscript. It is interesting and meaningful, it can provide reference for local people’s drinking water. Especially, This article is the companion volume of “Combining water quality indices and multivariate modelling to assess surface water quality in the northern Nile Delta, Egypt. DOI: 10.3390/w12082142”. This time it focuses the irrigation water quality, it is also interesting and meaningful, for the Nile Delta is the main agricultural area in Egypt, and agricultural irrigation is of great importance. And the results will improve water quality management and reduce water pollution in the northern Nile Delta. The paper is rich in data, exquisite in charts and fluent in language. So I think it can be accepted directly after a minor revision. In my opinion, F is not a metallic element.
Response: Thanks so much Sir for this positive comment and feedback. Of course, it is not metallic element. It is an inorganic, monatomic anion. In the text, it was corrected accordingly.
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I would appreciate if the revised version of our manuscript would be considered for publication in Water.
Sincerely,
Ebrahem M. Eid
Kafr El-Sheikh University, Egypt
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
The present manuscript deals with the assessment of the water quality (110 water samples) in the northern Nile Delta in Egypt. The water quality has also been modelled based on different mathematic and statistic approximations.
For this kind of manuscripts, it is sometimes hard to find the scientific part, apart from the mechanical analysis the authors perform. They collect 110 samples and analyze them providing different WQIs. Data are analyzed by cluster analysis, correlation coefficients and the suitability for irrigation is also evaluated. Additionally, some multiple linear regression models are provided.
The manuscript is well organized but very descriptive with little scientific fundament. It merely limits to describe the water analytics from different points of view. Therefore, it has been complicated to find the science behind it.
English is fine but some grammatical and orthographic flaws have been detected, so revision is required.
Introduction is fine but it should include similar cases and similar results achieved in other similar and different locations. It limits to describe de water quality indexes and procedures to carry out. Consequently, a deep introduction could be more than valuable.
Mat and Meths and Results are ok but I missed some discussion of the results. This is a quite mechanical and descriptive manuscript in which finding the novelty has been quite hard. In addition this is a manuscript with low regional interest, mostly focused on that region.
Figures and Tables are OK.
Author Response
Dr. Morpheus Yang
Assistant Editor
Water
Dear Dr. Morpheus Yang,
Please find attached the revised manuscript titled “Application of irrigation water quality indices and multivariate statistical techniques for surface water quality assessments in the northern Nile Delta, Egypt ” MS ID water-962145, authored by Salah Elsayed, Hend Hussein, Farahat S. Moghanm, Khaled M. Khedher, Ebrahem M. Eid and Mohamed Gad.
We appreciate the positive and constructive comments and suggestions provided by the reviewers for our manuscript. We have carefully studied the reviewers’ comments and have made revisions that are highlighted in yellow in the revised version of the manuscript. We have tried our best to revise our manuscript according to the reviewers’ comments. Please find attached the revised version of our manuscript, which we would like to submit for your kind consideration. Once again, we would like to express our great appreciation to you and the reviewers for the comments on our manuscript.
Please find below our detailed responses to each of the points raised.
Reviewer #3:
Open Review
(x) I would not like to sign my review report
( ) I would like to sign my review report
English language and style
( ) Extensive editing of English language and style required
( ) Moderate English changes required
(x) English language and style are fine/minor spell check required
( ) I don't feel qualified to judge about the English language and style
|
Yes |
Can be improved |
Must be improved |
Not applicable |
|
|
Does the introduction provide sufficient background and include all relevant references? |
( ) |
(x) |
( ) |
( ) |
|
Is the research design appropriate? |
( ) |
( ) |
( ) |
(x) |
|
Are the methods adequately described? |
(x) |
( ) |
( ) |
( ) |
|
Are the results clearly presented? |
(x) |
( ) |
( ) |
( ) |
|
Are the conclusions supported by the results? |
(x) |
( ) |
( ) |
( ) |
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
The present manuscript deals with the assessment of the water quality (110 water samples) in the northern Nile Delta in Egypt. The water quality has also been modelled based on different mathematic and statistic approximations.
For this kind of manuscripts, it is sometimes hard to find the scientific part, apart from the mechanical analysis the authors perform. They collect 110 samples and analyze them providing different WQIs. Data are analyzed by cluster analysis, correlation coefficients and the suitability for irrigation is also evaluated. Additionally, some multiple linear regression models are provided.
The manuscript is well organized but very descriptive with little scientific fundament. It merely limits to describe the water analytics from different points of view. Therefore, it has been complicated to find the science behind it.
English is fine but some grammatical and orthographic flaws have been detected, so revision is required.
Response: Thanks so much Sir fot these positive comments. The language of the manuscript was checked carefully.
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Introduction is fine but it should include similar cases and similar results achieved in other similar and different locations. It limits to describe de water quality indexes and procedures to carry out. Consequently, a deep introduction could be more than valuable.
Response: Thanks once again Sir. Some similar cases and results were added. In addition, the description of water quality indexes and procedures were added. As well as more description for water quality indexes presented in results and discussion section.
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Mat and Meths and Results are ok but I missed some discussion of the results. This is a quite mechanical and descriptive manuscript in which finding the novelty has been quite hard. In addition this is a manuscript with low regional interest, mostly focused on that region.
Response: Some discussions of the results were added as suggested.
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Figures and Tables are OK.
Response: Thanks Sir.
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I hope the explanation given above adequately addresses all the reviewer’ comments. I would appreciate if the revised version of our manuscript would be considered for publication in Water.
Sincerely,
Ebrahem M. Eid
Kafr El-Sheikh University, Egypt
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
