Geomatics-Based Modeling and Hydrochemical Analysis for Groundwater Quality Mapping in the Egyptian Western Desert: A Case Study of El-Dakhla Oasis

Groundwater is the single source of water in El-Dakhla Oasis, western desert, Egypt. The main objective of this study is an assessment of groundwater in the area for agriculture and drinking compared to Egyptian and World Health Organization criteria. Most the contamination of water in the study area comes from human and agricultural activities. Thirty soil profiles were studied in the area and we assessed soil quality. Seventy-four samples were taken from the area’s groundwater wells to assess the chemical characteristics of the groundwater. Moreover, the contamination of groundwater by farming and anthropogenic activities was assessed using a land use/land cover (LULC) map. Nine standard water criteria were determined to assess groundwater quality for agriculture. Furthermore, the resulting risk to human health and agricultural crops has been addressed. Therefore, the drinking quality of groundwater samples is graded as low as the hydrochemical study showed high TH, EC, TDS, Ca2+, Mg2+, Mn2+, and Fe2+ contents of 40.5%, 2.7%, 1.4%, 3.8%, 1.6%, 86.5%, and 100%, respectively. Human health is risked by drinking this water, which negatively affects hair, skin, and eyes, with greatest exposure to enteric pathogens. Using these criteria, the majority of groundwater samples cause harmful effects on soil types and are toxic to sensitive crops (vegetable crops). In conclusion, the output of this research is a map showing groundwater suitable for consumption and agriculture in El-Dakhla Oasis based on all indices using the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) model. Additionally, there was evidence of a linear relationship between soil quality and irrigation water quality (R2 = 0.90). This emphasis on tracking changes in soil/water quality was brought on by agricultural practices and environmental variables

Groundwater Quality Assessment Using Multi-Criteria GIS Modeling in Drylands: A Case Study at El-Farafra Oasis, Egyptian Western Desert

first_pagesettingsOrder Article Reprints Open AccessArticle Groundwater Quality Assessment Using Multi-Criteria GIS Modeling in Drylands: A Case Study at El-Farafra Oasis, Egyptian Western Desert by Hanaa A. Megahed 1,Hossam M. GabAllah 1,Rasha H. Ramadan 2ORCID,Mohamed A. E. AbdelRahman 2,*ORCID,Paola D’Antonio 3,*ORCID,Antonio Scopa 3ORCID andMahmoud H. Darwish 4ORCID 1 Division of Geological Applications and Mineral Resources, National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences (NARSS), Cairo 1564, Egypt 2 Division of Environmental Studies and Land Use, National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences (NARSS), Cairo 1564, Egypt 3 Scuola di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali, Alimentari ed Ambientali (SAFE), Università degli Studi della Basilicata, Viale dell’Ateneo Lucano, 10, 85100 Potenza, Italy 4 Geology Department, Faculty of Science, New Valley University, El Kharga 72511, Egypt * Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed. Water 2023, 15(7), 1376; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15071376 Received: 15 February 2023 / Revised: 26 March 2023 / Accepted: 27 March 2023 / Published: 3 April 2023 (This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Security, Water Economics and the Evolution of Water Consumption) Download Browse Figures Versions Notes Abstract The most critical issue that was the main research interest is its groundwater quality which is vital for public health concerns. Groundwater is a significant worldwide water supply for diverse communities, especially in dryland regions. Groundwater quality assessment in desert systems is largely hindered by the lack of hydrological data and the remote location of desert Oases. This study provides a preliminary understanding of the influences of climate, land usage, and population growth on the groundwater quality in El-Farafra Oasis in the Western Desert in Egypt from 2000 to now. Therefore, the study’s main objective was to determine the extent of change in temporal water quality and the factors causing it. The present study integrates chemical analyses and geospatial modeling better to assess groundwater quality in the study area. A chemical analysis of thirty-one groundwater samples from wells representing each study area was carried out during three time periods (2000, 2010, and 2022). Several chemical properties of groundwater samples gathered from wells in the research area were analyzed. Furthermore, the groundwater quality trend from 2000 to the present was identified using three approaches: Wilcox and Schoeller Diagram in Aq.QA software, interpolation in the ArcGIS software, and Ground Water Quality Index (GWQI). Moreover, the influence of changing land usage on groundwater quality was studied, and it was found that the increase in agriculture and urbanization areas is linked to groundwater quality degradation. The findings revealed that the barren area in 2000, 2010, and 2022 was 371.7, 362.0, and 343.2 km2, respectively, which indicates a substantial decrease of 6.2% within this research timeframe. In contrast, agriculture and human-made structures have expanded by 1.8%. Also, population growth has led to an increase in water consumption as the population has grown at a rate of 7.52% annually from 2000 to 2020. As the climatic condition increases from 2000 to 2022, these changes could extend to the water quality in shallow aquifers with increasing evaporation. Based on the water quality spatial model, it is found that, despite a declining tendency in the rate of precipitation and an expansion in agricultural areas and population growth, the water quality was still appropriate for human and farming consumption in large areas of the study area. The presented approach is applicable to the assessment of groundwater in desert regions in the Middle East area

Geomatics-Based Modeling and Hydrochemical Analysis for Groundwater Quality Mapping in the Egyptian Western Desert: A Case Study of El-Dakhla Oasis

Groundwater is the single source of water in El-Dakhla Oasis, western desert, Egypt. The main objective of this study is an assessment of groundwater in the area for agriculture and drinking compared to Egyptian and World Health Organization criteria. Most the contamination of water in the study area comes from human and agricultural activities. Thirty soil profiles were studied in the area and we assessed soil quality. Seventy-four samples were taken from the area’s groundwater wells to assess the chemical characteristics of the groundwater. Moreover, the contamination of groundwater by farming and anthropogenic activities was assessed using a land use/land cover (LULC) map. Nine standard water criteria were determined to assess groundwater quality for agriculture. Furthermore, the resulting risk to human health and agricultural crops has been addressed. Therefore, the drinking quality of groundwater samples is graded as low as the hydrochemical study showed high TH, EC, TDS, Ca2+, Mg2+, Mn2+, and Fe2+ contents of 40.5%, 2.7%, 1.4%, 3.8%, 1.6%, 86.5%, and 100%, respectively. Human health is risked by drinking this water, which negatively affects hair, skin, and eyes, with greatest exposure to enteric pathogens. Using these criteria, the majority of groundwater samples cause harmful effects on soil types and are toxic to sensitive crops (vegetable crops). In conclusion, the output of this research is a map showing groundwater suitable for consumption and agriculture in El-Dakhla Oasis based on all indices using the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) model. Additionally, there was evidence of a linear relationship between soil quality and irrigation water quality (R2 = 0.90). This emphasis on tracking changes in soil/water quality was brought on by agricultural practices and environmental variables