Assessment of groundwater quality using geographical information system (GIS), at north-east Cairo, Egypt

Abstract

The present investigation has been conducted to delineate the hydrogeochemical and environmental factors that control the water quality of the groundwater resources in the north-east of Cairo. A complementary approach based on hydrogeochemistry and a geographical information system (GIS) based protectability index has been employed for conducting this work. The results from the chemical analysis revealed that the groundwater of the Quaternary aquifer is less saline than that of the Miocene aquifer and the main factors that control the groundwater salinity in the studied area are primarily related to the genesis of the original recharging water modified after by leaching, dissolution, cation exchange, and fertilizer leachate. The computed groundwater quality index (WQI) falls into two categories: fair for almost all the Miocene groundwater samples, while the Quaternary groundwater samples are all have a good quality. The retarded flow and non-replenishment of the Miocene aquifer compared to the renewable active recharge of the Quaternary aquifer can explain this variation of WQI. The index and overlay approach exemplified by the DUPIT index has been used to investigate the protectability of the study aquifers against diffuse pollutants. Three categories (highly protectable less vulnerable, moderately protectable moderately vulnerable and less protectable highly vulnerable) have been determined and areally mapped.

Evaluating Water Table Rising Under Eastern Cairo (Metro Line)

“…This interaction depends, in magnitude and direction, on the hydraulic characteristics of the top layer and the hydraulic head difference between the two water bodies. The horizontal hydraulic conductivity of the main aquifer ranges from 20 to 70 m/ day and the storage coefficient ranges from 0.0005 to 0.01 (El-Shahat et al, 2016).…”

“…Groundwater quality monitoring for the quaternary aquifer in Cairo region indicates high salinity and sulphate content in the groundwater. In the areas east of the Nile, the salinity (TDS) is more than 1200 ppm and reaches 8000 ppm moving to the east (El-Shahat et al, 2016). The sulphate content is higher than 400 ppm, which is classified as aggressive water type.…”

Water wells quality assessment using water quality index for the purposes of drinking of M’zab Wadi region

“…Various studies have focused mainly on the water quality index (WQI) as a method to evaluate groundwater for drinking and irrigation purposes [10,11,12]. However, the characteristics of the groundwater quality in the Daia region have not been studied using a WQI and multivariate statistics [13].For this,the objective of this study is to evaluate the quality of groundwater in Daia region, which is a function of its physical and chemical parameters [14] and to calculate the water quality index (WQI). The samples are collected in two years 2016 and 2017 in winter period, and the physico-chemical parameters are analyzed (Hydrogen Potential, Electrical Conductivity, Dry residues, Turbidity, Total Hardness, Calcium, Magnesium, Sulfates, Chlorides, Nitrite, Iron, Ammonium, and Phosphates) in order to assess their suitability for drinking water supply or consumption [15].…”