Search Results (12)

This study aims to assess the vulnerability of groundwater in the Nile Delta to contamination and evaluate its suitability for drinking and irrigation. A total of 28 groundwater wells (ranging from 23 to 120 m in depth) and two Nile surface water samples were analyzed for total dissolved solids (TDS), heavy metals, groundwater quality index (GWQI), and hazard quotient (HQ). The findings reveal that deep groundwater (60–120 m) displays paleo-water characteristics, with low TDS, total hardness, and minimal heavy metal contamination. In contrast, shallow groundwater (<60 m) is categorized into three groups: paleo-water-like, recent Nile water with elevated TDS and heavy metals, and mixed water. Most groundwater samples (64%) are of the Ca-HCO₃ type, while 28% are Na-HCO₃, and 8% are Na-Cl, the latter associated with sewage infiltration. Most groundwater samples were deemed suitable for irrigation, but drinking water quality varied significantly—4% were classified as “excellent”, 64% as “good”, and 32% as “poor”. HQ analysis identified manganese as a significant health risk, with 56% of shallow groundwater samples exceeding safe levels. These findings highlight the varying groundwater quality in the Nile Delta, emphasizing concerns regarding health risks from heavy metals, particularly manganese, and the need for improved monitoring and management. Full article

The Ramganga River basin, comprising three rivers, the Dhela, Dhandi, and Ramganga, plays a vital role in groundwater recharge, sustaining numerous industries, urban areas, and rural communities reliant on these rivers for daily activities. The study’s primary purpose was to analyze the groundwater quality in the context of potability, irrigation, and health risks to the local inhabitants of the Ramganga River basin. In 2021–2022, 52 samples (26 × 2) were collected from 13 locations in two different seasons, i.e., pre-monsoon and post-monsoon, and 20 physico-chemical and heavy metal and metalloids were analyzed using the standard protocols. The result shows that heavy metal and metalloids and metalloid concentrations of Zn (0.309–1.787 and 0.613–1.633); Fe (0.290–0.965 and 0.253–1.720), Cd (0.001–0.002 and 0.001–0.002); As (0.001–0.002 and 0.001–0.002), Cr (0.009–0.027 and 0.011–0.029), and Pb (−0.001–0.010 and 0.00–0.010) values in mg/L are present in both seasons. The groundwater quality index (GWQI), heavy metal pollution Index (HPI), and heavy metal evaluation index (HEI) were used to assess the water quality and metal pollution in the basin area. As per GWQI values, water quality lies from excellent water quality (41.639 and 43.091) to good water quality (56.326 and 53.902); as per HPI values, it shows good (29.51 and 30.03) to poor quality (60.26 and 59.75) and HEI values show the low-level contamination (1.03–2.57 and 1.13–3.37) of heavy metal and metalloids in both seasons. According to the potential health risk assessment, infants show low risk in pre-monsoon and low risk to medium post-monsoon, while children and adults show low risk to high risk in both seasons. From the health risk perspective, it shows that children and adults have more concerns about non-carcinogenic effects, so adequate remedial measures and treatment are required to avoid the groundwater quality of the Ramganga River basin. Full article

The assessment of hydrochemical characteristics and groundwater quality is crucial for environmental sustainability in developing economies. This study employed hydrogeochemical analysis, geospatial analysis, and groundwater quality index to assess hydrogeochemical processes and quality of groundwater in the Komadugu-Yobe basin. The pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), and electrical conductivity (EC) were assessed in situ using a handheld portable electrical conductivity meter. The concentrations of the major cations (Na⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, and K⁺), were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The major anions (chloride, fluoride, sulfate, and nitrate) were analyzed via ion chromatography (IC). Total alkalinity and bicarbonate were measured in situ using a HACH digital alkalinity kit by the titrimetric method. Hydrochemical results indicate some physicochemical properties of the groundwater samples exceeded the maximum permissible limits as recommended by the World Health Organization guidelines for drinking water. Gibbs diagrams indicate rock–water interaction/rock weathering processes are the dominant mechanisms influencing the groundwater chemistry. Groundwater is predominantly Ca²⁺-Mg²⁺-HCO⁻₃ water type, constituting 59% of the groundwater samples analyzed. The groundwater quality index (GWQI) depicted 63 and 27% of the groundwater samples as excellent and good water types for drinking purposes, respectively. This study further relates the interaction between geology, hydrochemical characteristics, and groundwater quality parameters. The results are essential to inform a sustainable management strategy and protection of groundwater resources. Full article

Evaluating groundwater quality for certain purposes requires accurate quantitative and qualitative management, accessibility to the study area, and knowledge of the governing environmental processes. Groundwater resources are used to supply drinking water consumption alongside surface water in most countries. This study aims to investigate the quality of groundwater resources in the city of Ottawa, located in Ontario, Canada, using the Schoeller diagram and the Canadian Groundwater Quality Index (GWQI) in a fuzzy environment. To determine the water quality, the qualitative groundwater parameters including Ca, Mg, Na, Cl, SO₄, HCO₃, NO₃, F, pH, TDS, TH, K, EC, and Alkalinity were considered in the Schoeller diagram and GWQI. Each parameter’s interpolated water quality map layer was prepared using the Kriging method in a GIS environment. The results of Schoeller’s diagram indicated that the range of drinking water quality was non-potable to inappropriate in more than 22% of the investigated groundwater resources. Moreover, the obtained results of the groundwater quality interpolation map layer based on the GWQI revealed that more than 70% of the groundwater resources were examined in the good and excellent range for drinking purposes. Finally, the obtained interpolated map layers of the Schoeller diagram and GWQI were integrated using GIS. Accordingly, the results indicate that the interpolation values of an integrated layer in the study area are well within the permissible limits, and the quality of the groundwater is suitable for drinking and other consumption purposes. Full article

The most critical issue that was the main research interest is its groundwater quality which is vital for public health concerns. Groundwater is a significant worldwide water supply for diverse communities, especially in dryland regions. Groundwater quality assessment in desert systems is largely hindered by the lack of hydrological data and the remote location of desert Oases. This study provides a preliminary understanding of the influences of climate, land usage, and population growth on the groundwater quality in El-Farafra Oasis in the Western Desert in Egypt from 2000 to now. Therefore, the study’s main objective was to determine the extent of change in temporal water quality and the factors causing it. The present study integrates chemical analyses and geospatial modeling better to assess groundwater quality in the study area. A chemical analysis of thirty-one groundwater samples from wells representing each study area was carried out during three time periods (2000, 2010, and 2022). Several chemical properties of groundwater samples gathered from wells in the research area were analyzed. Furthermore, the groundwater quality trend from 2000 to the present was identified using three approaches: Wilcox and Schoeller Diagram in Aq.QA software, interpolation in the ArcGIS software, and Ground Water Quality Index (GWQI). Moreover, the influence of changing land usage on groundwater quality was studied, and it was found that the increase in agriculture and urbanization areas is linked to groundwater quality degradation. The findings revealed that the barren area in 2000, 2010, and 2022 was 371.7, 362.0, and 343.2 km², respectively, which indicates a substantial decrease of 6.2% within this research timeframe. In contrast, agriculture and human-made structures have expanded by 1.8%. Also, population growth has led to an increase in water consumption as the population has grown at a rate of 7.52% annually from 2000 to 2020. As the climatic condition increases from 2000 to 2022, these changes could extend to the water quality in shallow aquifers with increasing evaporation. Based on the water quality spatial model, it is found that, despite a declining tendency in the rate of precipitation and an expansion in agricultural areas and population growth, the water quality was still appropriate for human and farming consumption in large areas of the study area. The presented approach is applicable to the assessment of groundwater in desert regions in the Middle East area. Full article

The study of groundwater quality is typically conducted using water quality indices such as the Groundwater Quality Index (GQI) or the GroundWater Quality Index (GWQI). The indices are calculated using field data and a scoring system that uses ratios of the constituents to the prescribed standards and weights based on each constituent’s relative importance. The results obtained by this procedure suffer from inherent subjectivity, and consequently may have some conflicts between different water quality indices. An innovative feature drives this research to mitigate the conflicts in the results of GQI and GWQI by using the predictive power of artificial intelligence (AI) models and the integration of multiple water quality indicators into one representative index using the concept of data fusion through the catastrophe theory. This study employed a two-level AI modeling strategy. In Level 1, three indices were calculated: GQI, GWQI, and a data-fusion index based on four pollutants including manganese (Mn), arsenic (As), lead (Pb), and iron (Fe). Further data fusion was applied at Level 2 using supervised learning methods, including Mamdani fuzzy logic (MFL), support vector machine (SVM), artificial neural network (ANN), and random forest (RF), with calculated GQI and GWQI indices at Level 1 as inputs, and data-fused indices target values derived from Level 1 fusion as targets. We applied these methods to the Gulfepe-Zarinabad subbasin in northwest Iran. The results show that all AI models performed reasonably well, and the difference between models was negligible based on the root mean square errors (RMSE), and the coefficient of determination (r²) metrics. RF (r² = 0.995 and RMSE = 0.006 in the test phase) and MFL (r = 0.921 and RMSE = 0.022 in the test phase) had the best and worst performances, respectively. The results indicate that AI models mitigate the conflicts between GQI and GWQI results. The method presented in this study can also be applied to modeling other aquifers. Full article

Water scarcity in the hill tract districts of Bangladesh becomes acute in the dry season as most of the streams, the primary source of water, dry up. However, groundwater, where available, can supply water throughout the year. In this study, a total of 37 water samples were collected and analyzed from shallow (34) and deep (3) wells in Khagrachhari Sadar to assess their geochemical type and suitability for drinking using a multiparameter groundwater quality index (GWQI), as well as their suitability for irrigation uses using the sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), residual sodium carbonate (RSC), sodium percentage (SP), and the Riverside and Wilcox classifications. The physicochemical parameters of the groundwater were characterized by relatively low EC, low pH, positive redox potentials (Eh) in millivolts, and mostly soft water. Shallow wells were dominated by Ca–HCO₃- and Ca–Na–HCO₃-type water, and deep wells by Na–HCO₃-type water. Among major and trace ions, there were higher concentrations, exceeding safe water standards, of HCO₃⁻ in deep wells and NO₃⁻, Fe²⁺, and Mn²⁺ in shallow wells. Irrigation water quality assessments and GWQI results reveal that most shallow wells can be considered good and safe options for both drinking and irrigation, while groundwater from deep wells requires additional caution prior to use for agricultural purposes. Full article

Population growth, increasing urbanization and industrialization, mismanagement, and climate change are accountable for the rising depletion and pollution of groundwater worldwide. Consequently, water security, food security, and environmental security are in jeopardy, leading to a severe concern for the sustainable water supply on the Earth. The contamination of groundwater, a complex and hidden resource, is difficult to detect and treat. Therefore, it is essential to evaluate aquifer’s propensity for contamination to protect this precious resource. In this paper, a novel approach integrating the GWQI (Groundwater Quality Index), AVI (Aquifer Vulnerability Index), and geospatial modeling is proposed to explore aquifer susceptibility to contamination, applied to an unconfined aquifer. The Groundwater Quality Index (GWQI) was developed by the conventional method and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), whereas the Aquifer Vulnerability Index (AVI) was developed using a modified DRASTIC model. It was found that the spherical semi-variogram along with simple Kriging is suitable for interpolating concentrations of groundwater quality parameters. Geospatial modeling indicated that the AHP-based GWQI map is more accurate than the conventional method. The integration of the best GWQI and AVI resulted in an Aquifer Susceptibility Index (ASI) map, which revealed that >80% of the study area falls under ‘severe’ to ‘very severe’ susceptible zones, while about 20% of the area falls under ‘moderate’ or ‘minimum’ susceptible zones. The validation results confirmed that the developed ASI map is reliable. The ASI map can serve as a useful tool for planners and decision makers to devise sustainable aquifer management programs to protect vital groundwater resources from contamination and ensure a safe and reliable water supply under climate change. Full article

This paper aims to assess groundwater potability and palatability in the West Bank, Palestine. It combines the adjusted weighted arithmetic water quality index method (AWAWQIM), a close-ended questionnaire, and step-wise assessment ratio analysis (SWARA) to develop groundwater potability (PoGWQI) and palatability (PaGWQI) indices. Both a geographic information system (GIS) and the kriging interpolation method (KIM) are employed to create spatiotemporal mapping of PoGWQI and PaGWQI. The research is based on data from 79 wells, which were provided by the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA). Data include fecal coliform (FC), nitrate (NO₃), pH, chloride (Cl), sulfate (SO₄), bicarbonate (HCO₃), total dissolved solids (TDS), turbidity, and hardness. Results indicate that 2% and 5% of water samples were unpotable and unpalatable, respectively. Unpotable samples were found in areas with poor sewer networks and intensive use of agrochemicals. All groundwater samples (100%) in the eastern part of the West Bank were unpalatable because of seawater intrusion. Unconfined aquifers were more vulnerable to potability and palatability contamination. It was noticed that PoGWQI is sensitive to FC and NO_3, while PaGWQI is sensitive to HCO₃, TDS, and Cl. Consequently, these quality parameters should be monitored well. The proposed method is of great interest to water decision-makers in Palestine for establishing strategies to protect water resources. Full article

The aim of this study was to propose a groundwater quality index (GWQI) that presents water quality data as a single number and represents the water quality level. The development of the GWQI in agricultural areas is vital as the groundwater considered as an alternative water source for domestic purposes. The insufficiency of the groundwater quality standard in Malaysia revealed the importance of the GWQI development in determining the quality of groundwater. Groundwater samples were collected from thirteen groundwater wells in the Northern Kuala Langat and the Southern Kuala Langat regions from February 2018 to January 2019. Thirty-four parameters that embodied physicochemical characteristics, aggregate indicator, major ions, and trace elements were considered in the development of the GWQI. Multivariate analysis has been used to finalize the important parameters by using principal component analysis (PCA). Notably, seven parameters—electrical conductivity, chemical oxygen demand (COD), magnesium, calcium, potassium, sodium, and chloride were chosen to evaluate the quality of groundwater. The GWQI was then verified by comparing the groundwater quality in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. A sensitivity analysis was performed on this index to verify its reliability. The sensitivity GWQI has been analyzed and showed high sensitivity to any changes of the pollutant parameters. The development of GWQI should be beneficial to the public, practitioners, and industries. From another angle, this index can help to detect any form of pollution which ultimately could be minimized by controlling the sources of pollutants. Full article

Human activities and natural factors determine the hydrogeochemical characteristics of karst groundwaters and their use as drinking water. This study assesses the hydrogeochemical characteristics of 14 karst water sources in the Apuseni Mountains (NW Romania) and their potential use as drinking water sources. As shown by the Durov and by the Piper diagrams, the chemical composition of the waters is typical of karst waters as it is dominated by HCO₃⁻ and Ca²⁺, having a circumneutral to alkaline pH and total dissolved solids ranging between 131 and 1092 mg L⁻¹. The relation between the major ions revealed that dissolution is the main process contributing to the water chemistry. Limestone and dolostone are the main Ca and Mg sources, while halite is the main Na and Cl source. The Gibbs diagram confirmed the rock dominance of the water chemistry. The groundwater quality index (GWQI) showed that the waters are of excellent quality, except for two waters that displayed medium and good quality status. The quality of the studied karst waters is influenced by the geological characteristics, mainly by the water–rock interaction and, to a more limited extent, by anthropogenic activities. The investigated karst waters could be exploited as drinking water resources in the study area. The results of the present study highlight the importance of karst waters in the context of good-quality water shortage but also the vulnerability of this resource to anthropogenic influences. Full article

Along with rapid population growth in Vietnam, there is an increasing dependence on groundwater for various activities. An Giang province is known to be one of the agricultural intensification areas of The Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD). This study aimed to evaluate the spatiotemporal variation of groundwater quality for a period of ten years from 2009 to 2018 in An Giang. The weighted groundwater quality index (GWQI) was developed based on the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (Fuzzy-AHP) for assigning weighted parameters. The results show that that shallow wells in the Northeast and Southeast regions of An Giang were mostly categorized under “bad water” quality with high arsenic (As) concentration over the years partly due to huge amounts of sediment deposition in monsoon season. Overall, the reason for the poor groundwater quality in An Giang was the combined effect of both natural and human activities. On the other hand, we detected high values of GWQI links with high As concentration in areas where people extract more groundwater for irrigation. Temporal variation of GWQI suggested that groundwater quality at eight wells has improved from 2009 to 2018 in the wet season as compared to the dry season. The reason behind the improvement of groundwater quality during wet season was the decrease in river discharge, which causes less deposition of suspended solids near the flood plains. Moreover, the filling of unused wells can reduce the movement of pollutants from unused wells to groundwater aquifers. Although there was not sufficient evidence to show the relationship between As and sediment concentration, the temporal reduction trend in river discharge and suspended solids was detected in An Giang. The understanding of groundwater quality can help policymakers protect and manage limited water resources in the long-term. Full article