Groundwater Chemical Characteristics and Controlling Factors in a Region of Northern China with Intensive Human Activity

Abstract

The identification of groundwater chemical characteristics and the controlling factors is of major concern in water environment studies. In this study, we identified the groundwater chemical characteristics, evolution laws and main control factors in a region severely affected by human activities using hydrochemical and multivariate statistical techniques. The results showed that the concentrations of NO3− and TH were the primary pollution factors in the region with intensive human activity because of high concentration and over the standard rates. The major types of groundwater chemistry were HCO3·SO4–Ca and HCO3·SO4–Ca·Mg. The sulfate-type water was as high as 75.0%, 69.2% and 41.2% in the three hydrogeological units. In addition, there were Cl-type and Na-type waters, indicating that the groundwater in this area has been significantly affected by human activities. A principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that the three factors affecting groundwater hydrochemistry in the study area are domestic sewage and fertilizer, water–rock interactions and industrial wastewater. Therefore, we suggest that the government and water environment management departments should prevent the discharge of domestic and industrial wastewater without standardized treatment first in order to effectively prevent the further deterioration of groundwater quality in this area.

Assessment of the Evolution of Groundwater Chemistry and Its Controlling Factors in the Huangshui River Basin of Northwestern China, Using Hydrochemistry and Multivariate Statistical Techniques

“…The correlations between the chemical components could reflect the source of each parameter [ 7 , 28 ]. As it can be seen from Figure 8 , there were significant positive correlations between TH, TDS, Na + , Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , Cl − , HCO 3 − , and SO 4 2− .…”

“…Anthropogenic activity is also a major factor controlling the hydrochemical characteristics of groundwater. Previous studies have found that domestic sewage, industrial wastewater, and chemical fertilizers are important factors controlling the hydrochemical characteristics of groundwater in areas where human activity is intense, such as alluvial-pluvial fan zones and urban areas [ 4 , 7 ].…”

Method of Setting Environmental Administrative Fine Amounts

“…Therefore, the wastewater contains dozens of harmful substances such as formaldehyde, acetone, chloride, preservatives, limestone, etc. These substances make the groundwater contain a large number of anions, such as , , , and cations, such as , which make the groundwater acidic or alkaline [ 22 ] and harmful to human health, crop production, animal husbandry, and so on [ 23 ]. Hence, the wastewater should be purified before it is discharged into the outside world.…”

Microbial community structural response to variations in physicochemical features of different aquifers

“…Compared with surface water, groundwater is less disturbed by external factors and can ensure a continuous and stable supply of good-quality fresh water over long time periods ( Aeschbach-Hertig and Gleeson, 2012 ; Griebler and Avramov, 2015 ). However, human reliance on groundwater is increasing, and human activities are gradually affecting the quality of groundwater and ecological balance ( Danielopol et al, 2003 ; Gerth and Förstner, 2004 ; Li et al, 2018 ; Ren and Zhang, 2020 ; Zhou B. et al, 2021 ; Lan et al, 2022 ).…”