Groundwater chemistry evaluation for drinking and irrigation utilities in east Wasit province, Central Iraq

Abstract

The present study focused on assessing the groundwater quality of the shallow aquifer in the northeastern Wasit Governorate, Iraq. The physicochemical parameters, including major cation and anion compositions, pH, total dissolved solid and electrical conductivity, were used to assess the suitability of groundwater quality for drinking purpose by comparing with the WHO and Iraqi standards. Total dissolved solid (TDS), sodium adsorption ratio, residual sodium bicarbonate, permeability index and magnesium ratio were used for irrigation suitability assessment. For this purpose, 98 samples were collected from the scattered shallow wells in the study area. Results indicated that the spatial distribution of TDS, EC values and major ions in these groundwater samples considerably differ from one site to another mainly due to the lithological variations of the area. The results are correlated with standards classifications to deduce the hydrogeochemical phenomena. The dominant factors in controlling the groundwater hydrogeochemistry are evaporation and weathering in the study area. Geochemical modelling approach was used to calculate the saturation state of some selected minerals, i.e., explaining the dissolution and precipitation reactions occurring in the groundwater. The studied groundwater samples were found to be oversaturated with carbonate minerals and undersaturated with evaporates minerals. A comparison of groundwater quality in relation to drinking water standards showed that most of the groundwater samples were unsuitable for drinking purposes. On the other hand, most groundwater is unsuitable for irrigation purposes based on sodium and salinity hazards. However, soil type as well as proper selection of plants should be taken into consideration.

Quality and degree of pollution of groundwater, using PIG from a rural part of Telangana State, India

“…No sulfide-bearing minerals are present in the present study area so that the application of uncontrolled gypsum used for the improvement of soil conditions appears to be the main source of SO 2− 4 in the groundwater system. The concentration of NO − 3 was from 0.10 to 59 with an average of 7.50 mg/L in the groundwater of the present study, and its higher content (> 10 mg/L) indicates the influences of disposal of waste waters and application of nitrogen fertilizers on the aquifer system (Cushing et al 1973;, 2017. The F − content was from 0.26 to 2.30 (with an average of 0.99) mg/L in the present study area.…”

“…4). Since most of the study area comes under the agricultural land (48.85%), the sources of Cl − and NO − 3 are substantially supporting the influence of anthropogenic source on the aquifer system (Cushing et al 1973;, 2017.…”

“…Barzegar et al (2016aBarzegar et al ( , b, 2017a assessed the hydrogeological, hydrogeochemical and water quality properties from different parts of Iran, and the results of Piper diagram and bivariate diagrams showed the hydrochemical processes such as weathering and dissolution of rocks, evaporation and ion exchange as the primary factors, while the anthropogenic activities as secondary factors that are responsible for variation of groundwater quality. Ghalib (2017) carried out a study on evaluation of groundwater chemistry for drinking and irrigation utilities in east Wasit province, Central Iraq and found that the differences in the groundwater chemistry from place to place are due to variation in lithological characteristics as well as in rockweathering and evaporation processes. Nag and Das (2017) assessed the quality of groundwater from a part of Bankura district of West Bengal, India, and also evaluated the groundwater chemistry as controlled by lithology, using Gibbs and Piper diagrams.…”

Simulation and Assessment of Groundwater for Domestic and Irrigation Uses

“…There are many classifications to assess water quality, but the simplest of these classifications is depending on the value of total dissolved solids (TDS) on the basis of as shown in Table 10. According to this classification, the groundwater of the wells in the study area in Table 3 is slightly saline water except for well (W18) [13,14]. It is a moderately saline water show Figure 16.…”

Groundwater quality from a part of Prakasam District, Andhra Pradesh, India

“…Nagaraju et al (2016) evaluated the hydrogeochemistry of groundwater in Vinukonda region, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, India. Ghalib (2017) assessed the factors responsible for groundwater chemistry and evaluated it for drinking and irrigation utilities in East Wasit province, Central Iraq. Nag and Das (2017) explained the groundwater quality from a part of Bankura District, West Bengal, India.…”