Assessment of groundwater quality and associated health risk in the arid environment, Western Saudi Arabia
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Assessment of groundwater quality and associated health risk in the arid environment, Western Saudi Arabia Natarajan Rajmohan 1
&
Milad H. Z. Masoud 1 & Burhan A. M. Niyazi 1
Received: 11 June 2020 / Accepted: 22 October 2020 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Groundwater quality and associated health risk in the arid environment, Rabigh basin, Western Saudi Arabia, was assessed using an integrated approach namely groundwater suitability zone (GWSZ) maps, drinking water quality index (DWQI), irrigation water quality (IWQ) parameters, irrigation water quality index (IWQI), chronic daily index (CDI), and hazard quotient (HQ). Groundwater samples were collected (n = 50) and analysed. Groundwater is alkaline (80%), fresh to brackish, and hard to very hard, and 78% of samples exceeded the international drinking water safe limit. The DWQI indicates that groundwater samples are excellent (24%), good (24%), poor (20%), very poor (10%), and unsuitable (22%) classes for drinking use. Total HQ (HQoral F− + HQoral NO3−) indicated that 68%, 80%, and 72% of samples express non-carcinogenic health threat to adult, children, and infant, respectively, in the study region. IWQ parameters, namely, EC, sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), Kelly’s ratio (KR), sodium percentage (Na%), permeability index (PI), and magnesium hazard (MH), suggest that 72%, 66%, 64%, 98%, and 92% of samples have SAR < 6, KR < 1, MH < 50, PI > 25%, and Na% < 60%, respectively, which are suitable for irrigation. USSL classification implies that groundwater is suitable only for salt-tolerant crops and high permeability soil. IWQI values suggest that groundwater in 12%, 82%, and 6% of wells are low, medium, and highly suitable, respectively, for irrigation. Furthermore, only 42% of samples are recommended for livestock uses due to high F− (> 2). GWSZ maps, DWQI, and IWQI imply that groundwater in the upstream region is suitable whereas groundwater in the downstream is not recommended for any uses. Hence, this study recommended proper groundwater augmentation methods to reduce the salinity and improve the water quality in the shallow aquifer in the arid environment. The GWSZ, DWQI, and IWQI maps will aid to identify the suitable zones for groundwater development and sustainable management. Keywords Groundwater quality . Health risk assessment . Fluoride . Water quality index . Rabigh basin . Saudi Arabia
Introduction Responsible Editor: Xianliang Yi Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-02011383-x. * Natarajan Rajmohan [email protected]; [email protected] Milad H. Z. Masoud [email protected] Burhan A. M. Niyazi [email protected] 1
Water Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80200, Jeddah 21598, Saudi Arabia
Groundwater quality assessment in the arid and semi-arid environments is an important task and fundamental factor for socio-economic development due to lack of surface water, low rainfall and rechar
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