Hydro-Geochemical Characteristics and Evaluation of Groundwater Quality Assessment for Drinking and Domestic Purposes in Aswan, Egypt

Abstract

In arid regions, people strive to have high drinking water quality resource. Limited water resources in arid regions present a critical factor that affects economic and societal development. The hydrogeological and hydrological conditions in such areas are extreme variable and affect largely the hydrochemical characteristics of the groundwater system. This study was carried out in Elhasya (Edfu, Aswan, Egypt) with an objective of understanding the suitability of local groundwater quality for domestic purposes in such arid climate region and to investigate the potential impact of untreated sewage discharges and irrigation canals on groundwater quality. In order to accomplish these targets, 250 water samples were collected from 4 groundwater wells and analyzed for physical, chemical and biological parameters in the period from Jan. 2007 to Dec. 2012. The hydrological characteristics of the region have been identified. Aquachem tool was used to define and characterize the hydrchemistry of the pumped water samples. Wells can be considered neutral to slightly alkaline, pH is around (6.5-8.5). Cations (Mg2+, Na+ and Ca2+) and anions (HCO3–, Cl–, and SO42–) were measured using ion chromatography instrument and it was clear that they did not exceed the recommended limits of world health organization (WHO) nor the Egyptian standards. However, bacteriological and biological results refer to that the wells are contaminated and a dose of disinfectant should be injected for drinking use. Stiff and piper diagrams were used to evaluate the hydrochemistry of groundwater of the study area. According to the plotting results, we can say that the majority of groundwater samples was characterized by the abundance alkaline earth metals (Ca2+, Mg2+) over of the alkalis (Na+, K+). In conclusion, it is apparent that the pumped water in El-Hasya city needs to be injected with dose of disinfectant to promote the biological activity so as to be suitable for drinking uses.