Abstract
This research aims to assess the hydrogeochemical evolution of the groundwater in Oued souf valley for drinking and irrigation purposes. To achieve this, 49 groundwater samples from the complex terminal were examined and treated concurrently with multivariate statistical methods, geostatistical modeling and the WQI (water quality index). Focusing on the physico-chemical parameters, Q mode clustering analysis detected four major water groups, where the mineralization augmented from group 1 to group 4. The hydro-chemical type was the same, Ca-Mg-Cl-SO4 for all the groups. Calcite, dolomite, anhydrite, and gypsum would be the dominant reactions with the undersaturation of evaporates minerals, based on geochemical modeling, while the carbonate minerals are precipitating. Geostatistical analysis using ordinary Kriging demonstrated the exponential semi-variogram model fitted for EC (electrical conductivity), Ca2+ (calcium), Mg2+ (magnesium), K+ (potassium), HCO3− (bicarbonate), Cl− (chloride), and SO42− (sulfate). At the same time, the rational quadratic model was the best-fitted semi-variogram model for Na+ (sodium) and NO3− (nitrate). EC, SO42−, and NO3− have a strong spatial structure, while Ca2+, Na+, K+, and HCO3− have a moderate spatial structure. Moreover, there was a weak spatial structure for Mg2+ and Cl−. The WQI shows that CT (complex terminal groundwater aquifers) are not suitable for drinking and their quality for irrigation fluctuates from excellent to moderate quality.
Highlights
Oued souf valley lies in the southeast of Algeria
A microbiological examination of the complex terminal groundwater aquifer reveals the absence of microbiological contamination
The techniques included in this study assisted in the identification of the factors that influence groundwater chemistry in the study area (Oued souf valley—southeast of Algeria)
Summary
Natural resources are very limited and continuously degraded due to climate change, rapid population growth, poor management, and misunderstanding of the resources’. Nature caused by the miscoordination and approaches’ integration. Water is the primary natural resource and the most vital one, which is responsible for nourishing and productivity functions of any ecosystem. Despite this natural resource being limited spatially and temporally to humans and other living beings, many problems related to its sustainability are due to humankind’s competition over it [1]. A country such as Algeria receives approximately 90 billion m3 of rain per year, 85%
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