Abstract
Hydrochemical assessment of groundwater was carried out to characterize, classify
groundwater and evaluate its suitability for drinking ,irrigation and industrial use in
Safwan-Zubair area of south Iraq. Groundwater samples were collected during wet
(October ,2016) and dry (April ,2017) seasons from 58 of operated wells (hand dug or
tube) for rural water supply using standard sampling procedures. The water samples
were analyzed for pH, major ions, total dissolved solids and electrical conductivity
(EC), using standard methods. . It was established that groundwater is neutral to
alkaline and. The six groundwater types represent (Na2SO4) ,(NaCl),( CaCl2), (MgCl2)
,(CaSO4) and (MgSO4) for both periods. The relative concentrations such as Ca/Mg,
Na/Cl, Cl/(HCO3+CO3) and base exchange index are used to assess the salinity of
groundwater in the study area. This study shows the origin of the water is Marine
except well No.8 where is Metrologic. Hydrographical methods (i.e. Schoeller
diagram) and AqQA software geochemical modeling program were used to
characterize the groundwater quality. Analytical results of groundwater quality in
Safwan-Zubair area indicated that the order of abundance of cation concentration
were Ca > Mg < Na+ K and Na+ K > Mg > Ca in dry and wet seasons respectively
while those of the anions were Cl > SO4 > HCO3 + CO3 in both seasons .
Groundwater from Safwan-Zubair area was largely supersaturated with respect to
both calcite and aragonite , However, the calculated PCO2 values suggested that the
groundwater system was open to soil CO2 and that there was possibility of degassing
of CO2 during flow, which could increase the pH and subsequently result in the
supersaturation of calcite in both districts. Groundwater water samples were stable
towards calcite and aragonite stability field. This suggested that equilibrium of the
groundwater with silicates is an important indicator of the hydrogeochemical
processes behind groundwater quality in the study area. According to the available
standards, the present study samples were unsuitable for drinking purposes but
adequate for irrigation purposes depending on Electrical conductivity, soluble sodium
percentage (SSP), total dissolved solids (TDS), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR),
Kelly’s ratio (KR), permeability index (PI) and Magnesium ratio (MAR) values. The
values of SAR ,PI , SSP , KR and MAR indicated excellent, good and permissible
quality of water for irrigation uses. However, samples with unsuitable SAR (89%
during wet season ), doubtful to unsuitable PI (76%during dry season ) , unsuitable
KR (25% during wet season )
groundwater and evaluate its suitability for drinking ,irrigation and industrial use in
Safwan-Zubair area of south Iraq. Groundwater samples were collected during wet
(October ,2016) and dry (April ,2017) seasons from 58 of operated wells (hand dug or
tube) for rural water supply using standard sampling procedures. The water samples
were analyzed for pH, major ions, total dissolved solids and electrical conductivity
(EC), using standard methods. . It was established that groundwater is neutral to
alkaline and. The six groundwater types represent (Na2SO4) ,(NaCl),( CaCl2), (MgCl2)
,(CaSO4) and (MgSO4) for both periods. The relative concentrations such as Ca/Mg,
Na/Cl, Cl/(HCO3+CO3) and base exchange index are used to assess the salinity of
groundwater in the study area. This study shows the origin of the water is Marine
except well No.8 where is Metrologic. Hydrographical methods (i.e. Schoeller
diagram) and AqQA software geochemical modeling program were used to
characterize the groundwater quality. Analytical results of groundwater quality in
Safwan-Zubair area indicated that the order of abundance of cation concentration
were Ca > Mg < Na+ K and Na+ K > Mg > Ca in dry and wet seasons respectively
while those of the anions were Cl > SO4 > HCO3 + CO3 in both seasons .
Groundwater from Safwan-Zubair area was largely supersaturated with respect to
both calcite and aragonite , However, the calculated PCO2 values suggested that the
groundwater system was open to soil CO2 and that there was possibility of degassing
of CO2 during flow, which could increase the pH and subsequently result in the
supersaturation of calcite in both districts. Groundwater water samples were stable
towards calcite and aragonite stability field. This suggested that equilibrium of the
groundwater with silicates is an important indicator of the hydrogeochemical
processes behind groundwater quality in the study area. According to the available
standards, the present study samples were unsuitable for drinking purposes but
adequate for irrigation purposes depending on Electrical conductivity, soluble sodium
percentage (SSP), total dissolved solids (TDS), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR),
Kelly’s ratio (KR), permeability index (PI) and Magnesium ratio (MAR) values. The
values of SAR ,PI , SSP , KR and MAR indicated excellent, good and permissible
quality of water for irrigation uses. However, samples with unsuitable SAR (89%
during wet season ), doubtful to unsuitable PI (76%during dry season ) , unsuitable
KR (25% during wet season )
Keywords
Agriculture use
drinking use
Groundwater quality
Hydrochemistry
industrial use
Iraq
Safwan-Zubair