Abstract
Understanding factors influencing groundwater quality is critical to the development of best management practices at the large watershed scale. In this study, the shallow groundwater (10–20 m depth) in the Su-Xi-Chang region, eastern China, was investigated as part of a monitoring program from 2007 to 2008 to analyze the regional groundwater quality as well as the hydrogeochemical processes and their controlling factors. Conventional physicochemical water parameters (pH, turbidity, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen, total phosphorus), major cations (Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+ and NH4+) and anions (Cl−, NO3− and SO42−) were measured. Hydrochemical methods and multivariate statistical methods were applied to analyze the hydrogeochemical signatures, origins, the similarities among the variables and to identify the main pollution sources in the groundwater. The results showed that (1) the concentrations of TDS (224.89–1086.70 mg/L) and turbidity (0.1–18.60 NTU) were higher than the class II groundwater quality standards in China and the WHO drinking water standards, (2) there were extremely high concentrations of ammonia (0.01–32.90 mg/L), with a mean value of 0.72 mg/L and (3) the nitrate concentrations (average value of 22.07 mg/L) exceeded the class III groundwater quality standards. The study also provided evidence that weathering, dissolution of carbonate, halite and silicate and cation exchange were the possible primary hydrogeochemical control mechanisms in the groundwater. The sources of ammonia, total phosphorus, sulfates and nitrates included rock–water interactions and anthropogenic activities. The groundwater administration of pollution sinks and sources, long-term legal frameworks and economic incentives should be improved to optimize watershed scale management in the context of rapid development in China.
Highlights
The water crisis is one of the most serious problems in the 21st century which is continuing to get worse due to anthropogenic activities [1,2,3,4]
To assess the suitability of the shallow groundwater over the study area for domestic purposes, the groundwater samples were compared with quality standards for groundwater (GB/T 14848-93 [47]), standards for drinking water quality (GB 5749-2006 [48]) and drinking water quality guidelines [49]
The pH in the shallow groundwater was observed within the range from 5.59 to 7.82 with a mean value of 7.0, which indicated that the groundwater was faintly acidic to mildly alkaline and well within the permissible limit of 6.5–8.5 [48,49]
Summary
The water crisis is one of the most serious problems in the 21st century which is continuing to get worse due to anthropogenic activities [1,2,3,4]. These activities involve the discharge of increasing amounts of contaminants into water bodies and excessive development and utilization of surface water and groundwater resources [3,5,6,7,8,9]. Industrialization and intensified land reclamation, surface water has become destabilized, degraded and contaminated worldwide, Int. J. Public Health 2020, 17, 1267; doi:10.3390/ijerph17041267 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
