Groundwater quality assessment for domestic and agricultural purposes using GIS, hydrochemical facies and water quality indices: case study of Rafsanjan plain, Kerman province, Iran

Abstract

This paper investigates the suitability of groundwater for domestic and agricultural use in the Rafsanjan plain, southwest part of the Daranjir–Saghand basin, Iran. Fifty-five groundwater samples were collected and analyzed by six methods including the water quality index (WQI), Schoeller diagram, irrigation water quality (IWQ) parameters, Piper diagram, US salinity diagram and Wilcox diagram. The spatial distribution maps of chemical parameters and groundwater quality indices were plotted using the IDW method in GIS. The results showed a low concentration of major ions in the southeastern part and a high concentration from the central part towards northwestern part of the plain. The concentration of major ions in groundwater was strongly affected by groundwater flow, geological setting and the existence of the evaporative layers in the studied area. Moreover, results revealed that most of samples exceeded the acceptable limits recommended by the WHO and ISIRI1053 standards for domestic and agricultural purposes. In most of the wells, groundwater was classified into saline and very hard categories. The analyses based on WQI values indicated that above 87% of water samples were unsuitable for drinking purposes. IWQ parameters expressed that 85%, 67%, 32%, 51%, 43% and 50% of samples had EC > 3000, Na% > 60%, MAR > 50%, KR > 1, SAR > 9 and Cl− > 350, respectively, which were unsuitable for irrigation use. The dominant hydrochemical facies of water was Na–Cl–SO4 type, and 63% and 22.8% of samples were categorized as C4S4 and C4S3 class, with very high-salinity–high-sodium hazards and very high-salinity–high-sodium hazards, respectively. It indicated that most irrigated lands in this study area were affected by different levels of salinity and sodicity hazards that caused decreases in plant growth and crop productivity. The results can assist decision-makers and planners in prioritizing groundwater resources management in the region.

Assessment of Groundwater Quality Using the Pollution Index of Groundwater (PIG), Nitrate Pollution Index (NPI), Water Quality Index (WQI), Multivariate Statistical Analysis (MSA), and GIS Approaches: A Case Study of the Mnasra Region, Gharb Plain, Morocco

“…Additionally, a graphical representation illustrating the suitability of water samples for irrigation purposes was constructed using the US Salinity and Wilcox classification systems. The EC is a key parameter for assessing the salinity hazard and determining the suitability of irrigation water, as it directly influences plant growth and crop production [19]. Based on Wilcox's classification system, irrigation water salinity is categorized into five classes according to EC values (Table 11).…”

“…Consequently, there has been increased global attention towards assessing groundwater quality to ensure its suitability for various applications. Various techniques, including binary plots, ionic ratios, Wilcox plots, Piper diagrams, Schoeller diagrams, USSL diagrams, and Gibbs diagrams have been employed to evaluate the hydrogeochemical behavior of groundwater [19][20][21][22][23]. Moreover, to ascertain groundwater suitability, hydrochemical characteristics and ionic concentrations are often assessed against the standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO) [24].…”

“…Furthermore, the PIG serves as an efficient method for assessing groundwater suitability in any given area and conveying comprehensive water quality information [26]. Past research endeavors have evaluated water quality for irrigation purposes by examining key parameters, including the Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR), Residual Sodium Carbonate (RSC), Residual Sodium Bicarbonate (RSB), Sodium Percentage (Na%), Permeability Index (PI), Corrosivity Index, Magnesium Hazard (MH), Puri's Salt Index (PSI), Potential Salinity (PS), and Kelly's Ratio (KR) [19,[27][28][29][30].…”

Groundwater Quality Analysis for Wardha, Maharashtra, India

“…The advent of geographical information systems (GISs), which involve utilizing large satellite-based raster or vector data for the analysis, has reduced the efforts and time required to interpret extensive field studies. The data obtained during the conventional field analysis technique can be analyzed using GIS tools for large catchment areas and data could also be obtained from inaccessible locations using satellite data (Sadat-Noori et al, 2014;Rawat and Singh, 2018;Dandge and Patil, 2022;Sunitha and Reddy, 2022;Hosseininia and Hassanzadeh, 2023). Information on land use/land cover (LULC) could provide access to development concerning new industrial activities or setting up a new habitat or town, converting land type from agricultural to industrial or from forest to agricultural.…”

“…Regularly monitoring satellite images could provide LULC data that is further analyzed using GIS techniques. The allocation of sampling data points on GIS tools has reduced the efforts of researching and comparing different stations spatially and temporally (Omar et al, 2020;Sunitha and Reddy, 2022;Hosseininia and Hassanzadeh, 2023). The interpolation method successfully identifies groundwater quality along large areas and the spatial distribution of groundwater characteristics (Machiwal et al, 2018;Dandge and Patil, 2022).…”