Groundwater quality assessment for drinking and irrigation applications in Northen of Algeria: Indexing and statistical approach

Abstract

The present investigation aims to evaluate the quality of groundwater in the agricultural region of Tipasa, North Algeria. 72 samples of groundwater were taken from 12 domestic boreholes to study the pH, EC, TDS, cations (like Ca2+ and Mg2+) and anions (like Cl-, SO42-, NO3-, and HCO3-) in the water. The groundwater quality was slightly alkaline (pH > 7). The drinking water quality index ‘WQI’ ranged from 98.07 to 179.43 and categorized the groundwater as poor for drinking (92%). Irrigation indices were used to investigate the viability of groundwater for irrigation. The sodium hazards are measured through the sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) and sodium percentage (%Na). According to the SAR values, most of the samples were deemed suitable for irrigation. The Wilcox diagram illustrates that 91.67% falls of groundwater fell into the C3S1 category, with high salinity and low sodium hazards. According to a statistical analysis, NO3- has the greatest impact on groundwater quality, showing how agricultural activity affects the quality of groundwater.