Diagnosis of Groundwater Quality in North Assiut Province, Egypt, for Drinking and Irrigation Uses by Applying Multivariate Statistics and Hydrochemical Methods

Abstract

Globally, groundwater is a valuable natural resource that may be relied upon for irrigation and drinking needs. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the groundwater geochemistry in the West of El Qusiya, Assuit, Egypt. Groundwater suitability for irrigation has been estimated with some methods, for instance, electrical conductivity (EC), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), residual sodium carbonate (RSC), Killey ratio (KR), magnesium hazard (MH), permeability index (PI), Piper trilinear diagram, and USSL diagram. The Piper diagram shows that the sodium and potassium (Na+K) kind dominates the water chemistry, followed by the mixed type. The principal coordinate analysis (PCoA), cluster analysis (CA), principal component analysis (PCA), and Pearson correlation matrix analysis (PCMA) statistical methods reveal that the physicochemical parameters of water collected from the Eocene and Pleistocene aquifers are produced from mixed origins. The geogenic origin reflects the lithologic impact of aquifers matrix and water interactions, in addition to anthropogenic sources caused by infiltration of secondary salts initiated due to fertilizers and agriculture water. These factors are the controller for groundwater’s ionic (Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, Cl−, SO42−, and HCO3−) variation in the area studied. Based on SAR, KR, and PI results, groundwater is acceptable for irrigation. Consistent with RSC, MH, and Na% results, approximately 50% of the groundwater samples are unsuitable for irrigation use.