Shallow Groundwater Quality Assessment and Its Suitability Analysis for Drinking and Irrigation Purposes

Javed Iqbal,Gohar Rehman,Muwaffaq Alqurashi,Aqil Tariq,Enas E Hussein,Muhammad Yousuf Jat Baloch,Shuxin Li,Mamoona Munir,Wenjing Zhang,Shakeel Ahmed Talpur,Juanfen Chai

doi:10.3390/w13233361

Abstract

For shallow groundwater, hydrogeochemical processes and quality assessment must be addressed because shallow groundwater is freely available in many parts of the globe. Due to recent anthropogenic activities and environmental changes in Sakrand, Sindh, Pakistan, the groundwater is extremely vulnerable. To provide safe drinking and agricultural water, hydrogeochemical analysis is required. Ninety-five groundwater samples were analyzed using agricultural and drinking indices to determine the hydrogeochemical parameters using multivariate analysis such as Pearson correlations, principal component cluster analysis, as well as Piper diagrams and Gibbs plot for drinking and agricultural indices. An abundance of ions was observed through the statistical summary; however, cations and anions were recorded in the orders Na+ > Ca2+ > Mg2+ > K+ and HCO3− > Cl− > SO42− > NO3− > F−. The hydrogeochemical process used to quantify the major reactions occurring in the groundwater system showed rock dominance; the Piper diagrams evaluated the water type. A mixed pattern of calcium, magnesium, and chloride ions (Ca2+−Mg2+−Cl− type) was observed. Additionally, the ion exchange method showed an excess of bicarbonate ions due to carbonic acid weathering. The water quality index (WQI) resulted 32.6% of groundwater being unsuitable for human consumption; however, the United States Salinity Laboratory (USSL) diagram showed 60% of samples were unsuitable for irrigation due to high salinity and the Wilcox diagram depicted 5% of samples lying in the unsuitable region. Most of the water samples were suitable for drinking; only a few samples were unsafe for drinking purposes for children due to the high hazard index.

Highlights

Water is the most basic and critical requirement for human survival
Physicochemical characteristics were tested at Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources, (PCRWR) as follows: pH determined by pH 720 WTW Series meter, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), and temperature were measured by EC-TDS-Temp (RS232C/Meter CON 110 m)
The summary of the physicochemical parameters and the hydrochemical properties of groundwater have been statistically evaluated, and the findings compared with World Health Organization standards

Summary

Introduction

Water is the most basic and critical requirement for human survival. With the increasing expansion of industrialization and urbanization, ensuring the sustainable use of water resources to solve the supply–demand gap remains a global problem [1]. Groundwater has been widely used for drinking, irrigation, and numerous industrial applications across the world as an essential source of water supply [2,3]. Groundwater is widely utilized for drinking and irrigation in Pakistan, in the south [4]. Because of the advancement of human activities, industrial and agriculture activities possible sources of groundwater pollution rose in the previous decade [7,8,9,10,11,12]. Agriculture, through erosion and chemical runoff, is a major contributor to the deterioration of surface and groundwater resources [13]. The necessity to produce enough food has a global impact on agricultural techniques such as intensification, which requires more irrigation, and the widespread application of fertilizers and pesticides

Methods

Results

Conclusion