Abstract
Fifty-four groundwater samples were collected from Hamra Alasad in Al-Madinah City. The chemical and microbial characteristics of the samples were analyzed and compared with their respective standards. The results revealed that 90.7% of the samples showed higher amounts of NO3. However, 59.3% of the samples were found unfit for irrigation purposes due to a high salinity hazard. Most of the groundwater samples were highly saline, yet no sodicity hazards were anticipated as predicted by sodium adsorption ratio (SAR). Generally, the soluble cations and anions, dissolved salts, boron, and NO3− exceeded the maximum permissible limits for drinking water in most of the samples; however, Pb, Cd, As, Zn, Cu, Ni, Co, Fe, Mn, and Cr were within the permissible limits. Furthermore, 42.6%, 24.1%, 18.5%, 14.8%, 1.9%, and 37.0% of the samples were infected by a total coliforms group, fecal coliform, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus sp., Salmonella sp., and Shigilla sp., respectively. The water quality index revealed that 3.7% of the samples were good for drinking (class II), and 9.3% were very poor (class IV). The remaining samples were unfit for drinking (class V) due to high salinity and/or microbial contamination. Durov and Piper diagrams revealed that the majority of water samples were of the calcium sulfate–chloride type. Overall, 87% of water samples were inappropriate for drinking purposes, while 77.8% were unsuitable for irrigation.
Highlights
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), located in an arid environment, has limited renewable water resources [1]
Al-Madinah City is situated in the KSA in the western part of Arabian Peninsula, known as the Arabian Shield province, around 400 km from Mecca City [25]
The total colony count was determined by nutrient agar methods; the coliforms and E. coli were determined by the Colilert or defined substrate methods, as described by Edberg et al [32], Fricker et al [33], Eckner [34], and Maheux et al [35]
Summary
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), located in an arid environment, has limited renewable water resources [1]. In Al-Madinah, there is a water stress due to the rapidly increasing population, extensive pumping out of groundwater resources, and prevalence of arid to semi-arid conditions [4]. This stress has undoubtedly led to the deterioration of the groundwater [1,5]. Previous reports have concluded that the water quality in both aquifers is deteriorating due to salinization [3] The aims of this investigation are to 1) assess the water quality of the Al-Madinah City groundwater for irrigation and drinking purposes by using the WQI, and 2) investigate the hydrochemical classification of the groundwater in Al-Madinah City
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