Groundwater quality assessment along the West of New Damietta Coastal City of Egypt using an integrated geophysical and hydrochemical approaches

Abstract

Recently, the groundwater became very important source for the Egyptian water balance. Therefore, assessing its quality and quantity is necessary before initiating any developmental plans using this resource. In this research, a new operated power plant, which is located in the coastal area of West New Damietta City, north-east of Egypt was designed to work using the coastal groundwater aquifer. Therefore, an integrated approaches of both geophysical methods and hydrochemical analysis were applied to identify the subsurface lithology, the water-bearing layers and determine the potential use of such coastal groundwater. Therefore, a total of seventeen vertical electrical soundings (VES) and five time-domain electromagnetic soundings (TEM) were performed. Moreover, groundwater samples were collected from seven existing wells to be analyzed for water quality assessment. The geophysical results identified five geoelectric layers. The first geoelectric layer has a resistivity of 1–7.9 Ω m and a thickness range of 7–9 m. The second layer has a resistivity of 0.9–4.4 Ω m and a thickness range of 7–8 m. The third layer is 10–21 m thick with a resistivity value of 0.5–2 Ω m. The fourth layer, which is thicker (29 to 42 m), has a resistivity of 0.7–3 Ω m, while the last layer has a resistivity of 1.7–9 Ω m. According to the hydrochemical analysis, the aquifer is dominated by Na–Cl water type. The brackish nature of the water is revealed by the TDS range of 7035 mg/l to 7735 mg/l. The results collected demonstrate the groundwater's quantity and quality availability for the power plant’s sustainable use.

An Integrated Remote Sensing and GIS-Based Technique for Mapping Groundwater Recharge Zones: A Case Study of SW Riyadh, Central Saudi Arabia

“…The primary supply of freshwater for a variety of applications is groundwater [3,4]. Prior research found that 26% of the world's sustainable freshwater sources come from groundwater [5].…”

Groundwater Quality and Suitability Assessment for Irrigation Using Hydrogeochemical Characteristics and Pollution Indices: A Case Study of North Al-Quwayiyah Governorate, Central Saudi Arabia

“…Geochemical processes arising from interactions between aquifers and water play a pivotal role in governing groundwater quality, especially in regions with limited recharge from rainfall, where it serves as a vital resource for domestic and agricultural needs [2][3][4][5].…”