Abstract
Groundwater quality samples from 33 wells were collected in the lower Ketar watershed (Ethiopia) to study its suitability for domestic and irrigation purposes. Samples were evaluated for major ions and physicochemical properties. In 58% of the samples analyzed, Ca2+ is the dominant cation and Na+ dominates the remaining 42% of the samples. Among the anions found during analyzation, HCO3– is the solo dominant ion in all the wells sampled. The order of the concentration of the major ions was Ca2+ > Na+ > Mg2+ > K+ for the cations and HCO3– > SO42- > Cl > NO3– for the anions. AquaChem analysis shows that Ca–HCO3 and Na–HCO3 are the major water types in the area.
The analyses indicated that the dissolution of fluorite or fluorapatite is the possible source of the high fluoride concentration in the area. [our emphasis]
And, the interactions between water and rock and cation exchanges mainly determine the water quality. The suitability of the groundwater for use in irrigation was evaluated based on the salinity (EC), SAR, %Na, RSC, PI, KR, and the USSL Salinity diagram. The groundwater from most of the wells can be used for irrigation without any significant restriction except for a few of the wells downstream. Its suitability for domestic use was evaluated by comparing with the WHO standard limits. The parameters limiting the use of this groundwater for drinking purposes are F– (94%), HCO3– (45%), and Ca2+ (33%). All the remaining major cations and anions complied with the WHO standard limits for drinking.
*Original abstract online at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10653-019-00508-y
References
Abbate, E., Bruni, P., & Sagri, M. (2015). Geology of Ethiopia: A Review and Geomorphological Perspectives. In P. Billi (Ed.), Landscapes and Landforms of Ethiopia (pp. 33–64). Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. doi:10.1007/978–94–017–8026–1_2Google Scholar
Allison, L. E., Brown, J. W., Hayward, H. E., Richards, A., Bernstein, L., Fireman, M., et al. (1954). United States Salinity Laboratory Staff, 166.Google Scholar
An, Y., & Lu, W. (2018). Hydrogeochemical processes identification and groundwater pollution causes analysis in the northern Ordos Cretaceous Basin China. Environmental Geochemistry and Health,40(4), 1209–1219. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-017-0037-0.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Appelo, C. A. J., & Postma, D. (2005). Geochemistry, groundwater and pollution (2nd ed.). Boca Raton, London, New York: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group.Google Scholar
Ayenew, T. (2001). Numerical Groundwater Flow Modeling of the Central Main Ethiopian Rift Lakes Basin, 24(2), 167–184Google Scholar
Ayers, R. S., & Westcot, D. W. (1985). Water quality for agriculture. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.Google Scholar
Ayotte, J. D., Szabo, Z., Focazio, M. J., & Eberts, S. M. (2011). Effects of human-induced alteration of groundwater flow on concentrations of naturally-occurring trace elements at water-supply wells. Applied Geochemistry,26(5), 747–762. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2011.01.033.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bartram, J., Ballance, R., United Nations, & World Health Organization (Eds.). (1996). Water quality monitoring: a practical guide to the design and implementation of freshwater quality studies and monitoring programmes (1st ed.). London, New York: E & FN Spon.Google Scholar
Bauder, T. A., Waskom, R. M., Davis, J. G., & Sutherland, P. L. (2011). Irrigation water quality criteria. Colorado State University Extension Fort Collins, CO. https://extension.colostate.edu/docs/pubs/crops/00506.pdf. Accessed 3 June 2017.
Bemer, E. K., & Bemer, R. A. (1987). Water, Air, and Geochemical Cycles (2nd ed.). Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Clescerl, L. S., Greenberg, A. E., & Eaton, A. D. (1999). Standard Methods for Examination of Water & Wastewater (20th ed., Vol. 19). American Public Health Association (APHA), American Water Works Association (AWWA), and Water Environment Federation (WEF).Google Scholar
Cloutier, V., Lefebvre, R., Savard, M. M., Bourque, É., & Therrien, R. (2006). Hydrogeochemistry and groundwater origin of the Basses-Laurentides sedimentary rock aquifer system, St. Lawrence Lowlands, Québec, Canada. Hydrogeology Journal, 14(4), 573–590. doi:10.1007/s10040–005–0002–3Google Scholar
European Commission. (2007). Common implementation strategy for the water framework directive (2000/Guidance on groundwater monitoring. Luxenbourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.Google Scholar
Di Paola, G. M. (1972). The Ethiopian Rift Valley (Between 7° Off and 8° 40’ lat. North), 44.Google Scholar
Doneen, L. D. (1964). Water Quality for Agriculture (p. 48). Department of Irrigation: University of California, Davies.Google Scholar
Eaton, F. M. (1950). Significance of Carbonates in Irrigation Waters. Soil Sciece,69(2), 123–134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eberts, S. M., & George, L. L. (2000). Regional ground-water flow and geochemistry in the Midwestern basins and arches aquifer system in parts of Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Illinois: Sandra M. Eberts and Lori L. George. Reston, VA: Denver, CO: U.S. Dept. of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, For sale by the U.S. Geological Survey, Branch of Information Services.Google Scholar
Fetter, C. W. (2001). Applied Hydrogeology (Fourth Edition.). Pearson Education.Google Scholar
Gorelick, S. M., & Zheng, C. (2015). Global change and the groundwater management challenge: Groundwater Management Challenge. Water Resources Research,51(5), 3031–3051. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014WR016825.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Green, T. R. (2016). Linking Climate Change and Groundwater. In A. J. Jakeman, O. Barreteau, R. J. Hunt, J.-D. Rinaudo, & A. Ross (Eds.), Integrated Groundwater Management (pp. 97–141). Cham: Springer International Publishing. doi:10.1007/978–3–319–23576–9_5Google Scholar
Güler, C., Thyne, G. D., McCray, J. E., & Turner, K. A. (2002). Evaluation of graphical and multivariate statistical methods for classification of water chemistry data. Hydrogeology Journal,10(4), 455–474. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-002-0196-6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harter, T. (2003). Groundwater Quality and Groundwater Pollution. University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources.. https://doi.org/10.3733/ucanr.8084.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hem, J. D. (1991). Study and Interpretation of the Chemical Characteristics of Natural Water (Third.). United States Government Printing Office.Google Scholar
Hutchison, W., Pyle, D. M., Mather, T. A., Yirgu, G., Biggs, J., Cohen, B. E., et al. (2016). The eruptive history and magmatic evolution of Aluto volcano: new insights into silicic peralkaline volcanism in the Ethiopian rift. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research,328, 9–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2016.09.010.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Waterloo Hydrogeologic. (2015). AquaChem Readme. https://www.novametrixgm.com/aquachem-readme. Accessed 8 September 2016
Johnston, D., South Australia, & Environment Protection Authority (2002). (2007). Regulatory monitoring and testing: groundwater sampling. Adelaide: Environment Protection Authority.Google Scholar
Kaiser, H. F. (1974). An index of factorial simplicity. Psychometrika,39(1), 31–36. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02291575.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karmegam, U., Chidambaram, S., Prasanna, M. V., Sasidhar, P., Manikandan, S., Johnsonbabu, G., et al. (2011). A study on the mixing proportion in groundwater samples by using Piper diagram and Phreeqc model. Chinese Journal of Geochemistry,30(4), 490–495. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11631-011-0533-3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kebede, S., Travi, Y., Asrat, A., Alemayehu, T., Ayenew, T., & Tessema, Z. (2008). Groundwater origin and flow along selected transects in Ethiopian rift volcanic aquifers. Hydrogeology Journal,16(1), 55–73. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-007-0210-0.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelley, W. P. (1963). Use of Saline Irrigation Water. Soil Science,95(6), 385–391.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kloos, H., & Haimanot, R. T. (1999). Distribution of fluoride and fluorosis in Ethiopia and prospects for control. Tropical Medicine & International Health,4(5), 355–364. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-3156.1999.00405.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Langmuir, D. (1997). Aqueous environmental geochemistry. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Li, P., Qian, H., Wu, J., & Ding, J. (2010). Geochemical modeling of groundwater in southern plain area of Pengyang County, Ningxia China. Water Science and Engineering,3(3), 282–291.Google Scholar
Li, X., Wu, H., Qian, H., & Gao, Y. (2018). Groundwater Chemistry Regulated by Hydrochemical Processes and Geological Structures: A Case Study in Tongchuan China. Water,10(3), 338. https://doi.org/10.3390/w10030338.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lutz, A., Thomas, J. M., & Keita, M. (2010). Effects of Population Growth and Climate Variability on Sustainable Groundwater in Mali West Africa. Sustainability,3(1), 21–34. https://doi.org/10.3390/su3010021.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Madhnure, P., Peddi, N. R., & Allani, D. R. (2016). An integrated hydrogeological study to support sustainable development and management of groundwater resources: a case study from the Precambrian Crystalline Province India. Hydrogeology Journal,24(2), 475–487. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-015-1342-2.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milovanovic, M. (2007). Water quality assessment and determination of pollution sources along the Axios/Vardar River Southeastern Europe. Desalination,213(1–3), 159–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2006.06.022.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mousazadeh, H., Mahmudy-Gharaie, M. H., Mosaedi, A., & Moussavi Harami, R. (2018). Hydrochemical assessment of surface and ground waters used for drinking and irrigation in Kardeh Dam Basin (NE Iran). Environmental Geochemistry and Health. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-018-0214-9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parkhurst, D. L., & Appelo, C. A. J. (2013). Description of input and examples for PHREEQC version 3—A computer program for speciation, batch-reaction, one-dimensional transport, and inverse geochemical calculations (Vol. book 6). https://pubs.usgs.gov/tm/06/a43/.
Peng, C., He, J.-T., Wang, M., Zhang, Z., & Wang, L. (2018). Identifying and assessing human activity impacts on groundwater quality through hydrogeochemical anomalies and NO3 ?, NH4 +, and COD contamination: a case study of the Liujiang River Basin, Hebei Province, P.R. China. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 25(4), 3539–3556. doi:10.1007/s11356–017–0497-xGoogle Scholar
Piper, A. M. (1944). A graphic procedure in the geochemical interpretation of water-analyses. Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union,25(6), 914–928. https://doi.org/10.1029/TR025i006p00914.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Qin, R., Wu, Y., Xu, Z., Xie, D., & Zhang, C. (2013). Assessing the impact of natural and anthropogenic activities on groundwater quality in coastal alluvial aquifers of the lower Liaohe River Plain, NE China. Applied Geochemistry,31, 142–158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2013.01.001.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Raj, D., & Shaji, E. (2017). Fluoride contamination in groundwater resources of Alleppey, southern India. Geoscience Frontiers,8(1), 117–124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsf.2016.01.002.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rango, T., Bianchini, G., Beccaluva, L., Ayenew, T., & Colombani, N. (2009). Hydrogeochemical study in the Main Ethiopian Rift: new insights to the source and enrichment mechanism of fluoride. Environmental Geology,58(1), 109–118. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-008-1498-3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rango, T., Bianchini, G., Beccaluva, L., & Tassinari, R. (2010). Geochemistry and water quality assessment of central Main Ethiopian Rift natural waters with emphasis on source and occurrence of fluoride and arsenic. Journal of African Earth Sciences,57(5), 479–491. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2009.12.005.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reardon, E. J., & Wang, Y. (2000). A limestone reactor for fluoride removal from wastewaters. Environmental Science & Technology, 34(15), 3247–3253.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Richards L.A (Ed.). (1954). Diagnosis and Improvement of Saline and Alkaline Soils. U. S. Government Printing Office Washington 25, D. C.Google Scholar
Sdiri, A., & Higashi, T. (2013). Simultaneous removal of heavy metals from aqueous solution by natural limestones. Applied Water Science,3(1), 29–39. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13201-012-0054-1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sheng, Z. (2013). Impacts of groundwater pumping and climate variability on groundwater availability in the Rio Grande Basin. Ecosphere, 4(1), art5. doi:10.1890/ES12–00270.1Google Scholar
Todd, D. K., & Mays, L. W. (2005). Groundwater Hydrology. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.Google Scholar
Tolera, M. B., Park, S., Chang, S. W., & Chung, I.-M. (2017). Spatial assessment of groundwater quality in the Jangseong region, South Korea. Environmental Earth Sciences, 76(15). doi:10.1007/s12665–017–6875–3Google Scholar
WHO. (2007). Combating waterborne disease at the household level: the international network to promote household water treatment and safe storage. Geneva: World Health Organization.Google Scholar
Winter, T. C., Mallory, S. E., Allen, T. R., & Rosenberry, D. O. (2000). The Use of Principal Component Analysis for Interpreting Ground Water Hydrographs. Ground Water,38(2), 234–246. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6584.2000.tb00335.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
WHO. (2004). Guidelines for drinking-water quality. World Health Organization.Google Scholar
WHO. (2011). Guidelines for drinking-water quality. World Health Organization.Google Scholar
WWDR. (2015). Water for a Sustainable World. France: The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.Google Scholar
*Original abstract online at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10653-019-00508-y