Distributions, Sources, and Species of Heavy Metals/Trace Elements in Shallow Groundwater Around the Poyang Lake, East China

Abstract

The shallow groundwater in the Poyang Lake area is one of the important sources of drinking water. However, there has been no systematic assessment on the groundwater quality associated with human consumptions. Here, we reported the concentrations and distributions of heavy metals/trace elements in the groundwater. Geographic Information System, ions relationship, and geochemical modeling program PHREEQC were used to investigate the distributions, sources, and chemical species of heavy metals/trace elements. The results showed that most of the shallow groundwater samples in the Poyang Lake area were in neutral or slightly acidic and oxidizing environment. The concentrations of Fe, Cr, Se, Cu, Zn, As, and Cd in most of the shallow groundwater samples were not significant in the area. However, the concentrations of Mn, Al in a few of samples and Pb in half of samples exceeded the limits, which makes the water unsuitable for drinking. The chemical components of shallow groundwater originated mainly from the dissolution of minerals and the input of anthropogenic activities. The concentrations and distributions of Pb, Mn, Al in groundwater largely depended on the dissolution of silicate and carbonate minerals, as well as the influence of human activities, as some of samples with high concentrations were found near industrial and domestic sites. The dissolution of minerals dominated the concentration distributions of Sr, Si, and Li. The concentrations of Al and Si in groundwater were also affected by pH. Chemical species of heavy metals/trace elements were also analyzed in this study. The data evaluation methods and results of this study could be useful to the water resource management and utilization in the area and other similar areas.