Abstract
Karst groundwater is one of the primary water resources in most provinces of Southwestern China where karst topography is strongly featured. In Guizhou Province, a prominent geologic sedimentary formation is the dolomite stratum which exists as the restricted platform facies and potentially provides a large reservoir for drinking water. A proper understanding and evaluation of its hydrogeochemical characteristics and water quality is the key to ensuring the drinking water safety. In the present study, groundwater samples were collected from 25 locations of the dolomite aquifer across Guizhou to determine their major chemical compounds, including the cations (K+, Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+) and the anions (HCO3−, F−, Cl−, NO3−, SO42−), as well as the pH, total hardness, and total dissolved solids. HCO3− and Ca2+ were found to be the dominant anion and cation, respectively, which is characteristic of typical karst groundwater and supports the overall observation of a slightly weak acid to weak alkaline environment in the studied groundwater, as the pH measurements ranged from 6.80 to 8.37. Fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method is used to evaluate the groundwater quality based on typical drinking water safety standard. The results show that the groundwater in most of the studied aquifers is of reasonably good quality. However, in some aquifers, concentrations of NO3− and/or SO42− were found to be excessively high. Overall, the studied dolomite aquifer in its natural environment as investigated in the present study can be considered as a potential geological stratum for water resources exploitation in Guizhou.
Highlights
Today, water scarcity remains one of the main challenges facing the modern world in the21st century [1]; with continuous population growth and economic development, this threat is predicted to grow in the future [2]
Guizhou Province is located at the center of southwest China, and nearly three fourths of its area is formed by karst landscapes; the dolomite stratum that exists as
The present study aims to investigate the dolomite aquifer at its natural environment across Guizhou Province and offer a preliminary assessment of its quality and suitability for drinking water
Summary
Water scarcity remains one of the main challenges facing the modern world in the. Guizhou Province is located at the center of southwest China, and nearly three fourths of its area is formed by karst landscapes; the dolomite stratum that exists as. Boyer and Pasquarell [21] studied the fecal bacteria in the karst groundwater aquifer influenced by agricultural activity in Appalachian Region where karst areas comprise about 18 percent of the region’s land area. Zhang and Yuan [29] found that the land use and irrigation systems had altered the groundwater quality of Guizhou considerably; many underground water resources had been polluted by municipal and industrial wastewater disposal as well as excessive use of pesticide and fertilizer. The present study aims to investigate the dolomite aquifer at its natural environment across Guizhou Province and offer a preliminary assessment of its quality and suitability for drinking water
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