Geomatics-Based Modeling and Hydrochemical Analysis for Groundwater Quality Mapping in the Egyptian Western Desert: A Case Study of El-Dakhla Oasis

Abstract

Groundwater is the single source of water in El-Dakhla Oasis, western desert, Egypt. The main objective of this study is an assessment of groundwater in the area for agriculture and drinking compared to Egyptian and World Health Organization criteria. Most the contamination of water in the study area comes from human and agricultural activities. Thirty soil profiles were studied in the area and we assessed soil quality. Seventy-four samples were taken from the area’s groundwater wells to assess the chemical characteristics of the groundwater. Moreover, the contamination of groundwater by farming and anthropogenic activities was assessed using a land use/land cover (LULC) map. Nine standard water criteria were determined to assess groundwater quality for agriculture. Furthermore, the resulting risk to human health and agricultural crops has been addressed. Therefore, the drinking quality of groundwater samples is graded as low as the hydrochemical study showed high TH, EC, TDS, Ca2+, Mg2+, Mn2+, and Fe2+ contents of 40.5%, 2.7%, 1.4%, 3.8%, 1.6%, 86.5%, and 100%, respectively. Human health is risked by drinking this water, which negatively affects hair, skin, and eyes, with greatest exposure to enteric pathogens. Using these criteria, the majority of groundwater samples cause harmful effects on soil types and are toxic to sensitive crops (vegetable crops). In conclusion, the output of this research is a map showing groundwater suitable for consumption and agriculture in El-Dakhla Oasis based on all indices using the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) model. Additionally, there was evidence of a linear relationship between soil quality and irrigation water quality (R2 = 0.90). This emphasis on tracking changes in soil/water quality was brought on by agricultural practices and environmental variables.

Assessing surface water uses by water quality index: application of Qalyubia Governorate, Southeast Nile Delta, Egypt

“…In this method, the allocation of Wi is a very important issue as weights generally refer to the relative importance of each water parameter with respect to the other parameters (Megahed et al 2022 andKamboj andKamboj 2019). There are five WQI classifications ranging the value of WQI from zero (excellent water quality) to more than 100% (unsuitable for drinking and irrigation purposes).…”

“…The presence of undesired dissolved salts or components is the primary factor used to determine water suitability for various uses (Sener et al 2017;Megahed et al 2022;Kamboj and Kamboj 2019). There are many methods utilized to evaluate the water quality for use in irrigation and for drinking such as the water quality index (WQI) (Oregon 2001;CCME1999) and the irrigation water quality index (IWQI) (Yıldız and Karakuş 2020;Soumaia et al 2022).…”