Assessment of groundwater quantity and quality and saltwater intrusion in the Damghan basin,Iran |
| |
| Institution: | 1. Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Department of Geology, Lab. of Engineering Geology & Hydrogeology, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece;2. Democritus University of Thrace, Department of Civil Engineering, Xanthi 67100, Greece;1. Agricultural Research Council - Vegetables, Industrial and Medicinal Plants, Private Bag X293, Pretoria, South Africa;2. Department of Biotechnology and Food Science, Durban University of Technology, P.O. Box 1334, Durban 4000, South Africa;3. Indigenous Knowledge Systems Centre, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, North-West University, Private Bag X2046, Mmabatho 2735, South Africa;4. Department of Botany and Plant Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 524, Auckland Park 2006, South Africa |
| |
| Abstract: | This study describes the groundwater quantity and quality conditions in the Damghan aquifer in Iran. The quantitative analysis of data obtained from observation wells indicates overexploitation of groundwater during recent years, which has resulted in deterioration of water quality. The mean water level has declined about 7.4 m between years of 1966 and 2010. The hydrochemical facies of water collected from sampling wells were investigated though Piper and Chadha diagrams, and the general dominant type of water in the study area was determined as Na-Cl. The quality assessment examined the suitability of groundwater for drinking and irrigation purposes. Compared to the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for drinking water, all regions were found to have unpotable groundwater. Furthermore, unsuitability of groundwater for agricultural applications due to high salinity was observed through analysis of major quality indicators. The saltwater intrusion was investigated by ionic ratio analyses and was determined to be the main factor contributing to high salinity and deterioration of the groundwater quality in the Damghan basin. |
| |
| Keywords: | Drinking water Irrigation water Groundwater salinity Piper diagram Hydrochemistry Alkalinity hazard |
| 本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录！ |
|
