Quality assessment and hydrogeochemical characteristics of groundwater in Kerzaz and Beni Abbes along Saoura valley, southwest of Algeria

Abstract

The present study focused on the hydrochemistry of groundwater in Kerzaz and Beni Abbes in Saoura oases (southwest of Algeria) to assess the quality of groundwater for determining its suitability for drinking and irrigation purposes. The study area experiences a hyper-arid climate characterized by low rainfall 50-100 mm/year and excessive drought. Groundwater samples were collected from 24 locations to ensure a good spatial distribution to cover all the study areas. Standards laboratory methods were used to determine physicochemical groundwater properties. The result for this study showed that the water was to be found unsuitable for drinking purposes except for few samples in Kerzaz and Beni Abbes. Except for PI values, all other physicochemical parameters (EC, SAR, MAR), and according to the US salinity diagram, groundwater in Kerzaz was to be found satisfactory for irrigation especially if the soil permeability is improved and the leaching is guaranteed by applying extra frequently irrigation. In Beni Abbes, 58.33% of water samples show that water can be used if rapid permeability is guaranteed, which is the case in Beni Abbes soils, and 25% present medium salinity and low to medium alkalinity (C2S1, C2S2, C3S3) and only the natural spring presents a low salinity and low alkalinity C1S1 permitting the use of water for irrigation with most crops on most soil. Piper diagram indicates groundwater in Kerzaz belongs to CaCl type, while in Beni Abbes four types were recognized, NaCl, CaMgHCO 3 , CaCl and mixed CaCl type with 16.66%, 8.33%, 41.66% and 33.33%, respectively.

Water Chemical Characteristics and Safety Assessment of Irrigation Water in the Northern Part of Hulunbeier City, Grassland Area in Eastern China

“…− . The Piper triple plot is a graphical representation of the concentration of major anions and cations in water, and is widely used to evaluate the relationship between dissolved ion components and major water types [41][42][43]. The three-line graph consists of three parts.…”

Journal of Water and Land Development

“…If the SAR value is greater than 6-9, the irrigation water will cause swelling of the clay soil type and swelling permeability problems [BELKHIRI, MOUNI 2012;SALEH et al 1999]. The suitability of irrigation water use can be determined by using the US salinity diagram [BELKHIRI et al 2010;BENMOUSSA et al 2020]. The estimated values of EC and SAR in Adrar groundwater samples belong to the C3S1 and C3S2 field, indicating that the salinity is very high and the alkalinity is very low, and cannot be used under normal conditions; drainage must be applied adequately and the soil must have rapid permeability (Fig.…”

Hydrogeochemical Characteristics and Genetic Analysis of Karst Groundwater in the Fengfeng Mining Area

“…Analysis of the hydrogeochemical characteristics of groundwater is an effective method to understand the source and evolution of groundwater recharge, which is of great significance to ensure the sustainable utilization of water resources [3,4]. The commonly used methods for the analysis of hydrochemical characteristics include Piper trilinear diagram analysis of groundwater hydrochemical types [5][6][7], hydrogen and oxygen isotope analysis of groundwater recharge elevation and source [8][9][10], Gibbs diagram [11], three-terminal diagram and ion ratio diagram to analyze the source of groundwater chemical components [12][13][14][15][16].…”