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Assessment of Groundwater Quality and Pollution Remediation
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Assessment of Groundwater Quality and Pollution Remediation

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Hydrogeology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 August 2025 | Viewed by 886

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Yong Qian

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Shijiazhuang 060061, China
Interests: regional groundwater environment; poor quality groundwater; aquatic ecology; hydrogeochemical processes; groundwater pollution prevention and control zoning; groundwater pollution remediation; ecological restoration
Prof. Dr. Zhi Dou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Earth Science and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 211100, China
Interests: groundwater; solute transport; multiphase flow; numerical model; NAPL transport; machine learning
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

A scientific assessment of groundwater quality and remediation of severely polluted groundwater is one of the important issues related to human water supply security and ecological safety, especially in arid and semi-arid regions and human gathering areas. Groundwater quality is primarily influenced and controlled by natural and geological environments, such as special groundwater with high fluoride, high iodine, high arsenic, and high salt (brackish water). The quality of groundwater environments in some areas has deteriorated or even become unusable due to the input of pollutants from intensified human activities, accompanied by ecological deterioration, which has emerged as a prominent type of environmental issue. This Special Issue will provide scientific support for the protection, improvement and sustainable use of groundwater to accurately assess and understand groundwater quality, as well as identify its natural causes and potential pollution threats. Effective governance of severely contaminated groundwater is also an efficient approach to enhancing the supply guarantee of groundwater resources and improving ecological environments.

This Special Issue aims to highlight the latest research advances in the methods, technologies and practices of groundwater quality and pollution risk assessment, as well as groundwater pollution prevention control zoning and remediation. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Research on hydrogeochemical processes and environmental background values of groundwater;
  • Groundwater quality assessment and its genesis research at different scales, such as basins, watersheds, administrative regions or sites;
  • Special research on high-fluoride, high-iodine, high-arsenic and high-salt (saline) groundwater;
  • Groundwater pollution and risk assessment;
  • Research on ecological risk assessment and quality standards of emerging pollutants in groundwater;
  • Regional groundwater pollution prevention and control zoning;
  • Research and practice on groundwater pollution remediation and control technology;
  • Research on prevention, control and treatment technology of groundwater pollution in mines.

Dr. Yong Qian
Prof. Dr. Zhi Dou
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • groundwater quality
  • hydrogeochemical processes
  • environmental background values
  • high-fluoride groundwater
  • emerging pollutants
  • pollution prevention and control zoning
  • risk control
  • mine pollution control
  • groundwater pollution remediation

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 2796 KiB  
Article
Processes of Groundwater Contamination in Coastal Aquifers in Sri Lanka: A Geochemical and Isotope-Based Approach
by Movini Sathma Ratnayake, Sachintha Lakshan Senarathne, Saranga Diyabalanage, Chaminda Bandara, Sudeera Wickramarathne and Rohana Chandrajith
Water 2025, 17(11), 1571; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17111571 - 23 May 2025
Abstract
Over the last decade, concern has increased about the deterioration of groundwater quality in coastal aquifers due to salinization processes resulting from uncontrolled abstraction and the impacts of global climate change. This study investigated the groundwater geochemistry of a narrow sandy peninsula bounded [...] Read more.
Over the last decade, concern has increased about the deterioration of groundwater quality in coastal aquifers due to salinization processes resulting from uncontrolled abstraction and the impacts of global climate change. This study investigated the groundwater geochemistry of a narrow sandy peninsula bounded by the ocean and brackish water lagoons in northern Sri Lanka. The population of the region has grown rapidly over the last decade with increasing agricultural activities, and therefore, the use of groundwater has increased. To investigate the effects of seawater intrusion and anthropogenic activities, selected water quality parameters and water isotopes (δ2H and δ18O) were measured in 51 groundwater samples. The results showed that selected shallow groundwater wells are vulnerable to contamination from anthropogenic processes and seawater intrusion, mainly indicated by Cl/Br ratios. Iron-rich groundwater (0.11 to 4.2 mg/L) could represent another problem in the studied groundwater. According to Water Quality Index calculations, 41% of shallow wells contained poor and unsuitable water for domestic and irrigation purposes. Most of the groundwater in the region was saturated with Ca and Mg containing mineral phases such as calcite, dolomite, magnesite and gypsum. Water isotopes (δ2H and δ18O) showed that about 50% of the groundwater samples were scattered near the local meteoric water line. This indicates sufficient rainwater infiltration. However, some samples exhibit elevated isotope values due to seawater admixture and secondary evaporation under semi-arid conditions. This study showed the utility of Cl/Br ratios as indicators for distinguishing anthropogenic sources of Cl contributions to groundwater in shallow, permeable aquifer systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assessment of Groundwater Quality and Pollution Remediation)
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15 pages, 5204 KiB  
Article
Correlation Analysis of Wetland Pattern Changes and Groundwater in Kaifeng Downstream of the Yellow River, China
by Xiangxiang Cui, Lin Guo, Xueqing Zhang, Suhua Meng, Shan Lei, Wengeng Cao and Xiangzhi Li
Water 2025, 17(9), 1374; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17091374 - 2 May 2025
Viewed by 217
Abstract
(1) Background: This study aims to provide a viable theoretical framework for wetland ecological restoration in the lower reaches of the Yellow River within the city of Kaifeng, China. (2) Methods: Using remote sensing and image interpretation to identify the long-term evolution characteristics [...] Read more.
(1) Background: This study aims to provide a viable theoretical framework for wetland ecological restoration in the lower reaches of the Yellow River within the city of Kaifeng, China. (2) Methods: Using remote sensing and image interpretation to identify the long-term evolution characteristics of wetlands in the study area and analyzing the impact of runoff, riverway changes, and groundwater flow fields in the lower reaches of the Yellow River on wetland conditions along the Yellow River. (3) Results: With natural wetland as its major wetland type, the study area saw an increase in the total wetland area from 2000–2021. Among others, the total area of artificial wetlands increased by 43%, while that of flooding wetlands in natural wetlands decreased by 37%. Surface water discharge and water level saw a year-by-year drop. Moreover, the significant wandering and oscillations of riverways led to a direct impact on the area and stability of tidal flat wetlands. After 2010, affected by rainfall and exploitation, the groundwater level declined sharply. The degraded areas of artificial wetlands were mainly distributed at the northern embankment of the Yellow River, where the groundwater burial depth decreased significantly. In contrast, at the southern embankment, for the sake of the irrigation canal diverted from the Yellow River, new back river depressions had formed and helped build a more stable ecological environment. Yellow River water levels and discharge directly impacted the area of rivers and flooding wetlands. The decline in groundwater levels led to the degradation of ponds in artificial wetlands. (4) Conclusions: The reduction of groundwater exploitation and an adequate supply of diverted Yellow River water were conducive to the development of wetlands in the back river depressions on the outside of the Yellow River embankment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assessment of Groundwater Quality and Pollution Remediation)
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15 pages, 6484 KiB  
Article
Multivariate Statistics and Hydrochemistry Combined to Reveal the Factors Affecting Shallow Groundwater Evolution in a Typical Area of the Huaibei Plain, China
by Xi Qin, Hesheng Wang, Jianshi Gong, Yonghong Ye, Kaie Zhou, Naizheng Xu, Liang Li and Jie Li
Water 2025, 17(7), 962; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17070962 - 26 Mar 2025
Viewed by 247
Abstract
Understanding the characteristics of groundwater chemistry is essential for water resource development and utilization. However, few studies have focused on the chemical evolution processes of shallow groundwater in typical areas of the Huaibei Plain. We analyzed 28 water samples from the study area [...] Read more.
Understanding the characteristics of groundwater chemistry is essential for water resource development and utilization. However, few studies have focused on the chemical evolution processes of shallow groundwater in typical areas of the Huaibei Plain. We analyzed 28 water samples from the study area using hydrogeochemical mapping, multivariate statistical analysis, and other approaches. The study found that the hydrogeochemical facies of groundwater are mainly HCO3-Ca·Mg (64.3%), mixed SO4·Cl-Ca·Mg, and SO4·Cl-Na. The hydrochemical composition is primarily controlled by natural water–rock interactions, including carbonate weathering and cation exchange processes. Correlation analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that mineral dissolution was the predominant source of Na+, Mg2+, Cl−, and SO42− in shallow groundwater, significantly contributing to total dissolved solids (TDS) accumulation. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) identified three characteristic zones: (1) agricultural/urban-influenced areas, (2) high-F−/low-hardness zones, and (3) nitrate-contaminated regions. These findings provide critical insights for assessing the geochemical status of groundwater in the Huaibei Plain and formulating targeted resource management strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assessment of Groundwater Quality and Pollution Remediation)
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