The Effects of Industrial Wastewater on Groundwater Quality of the Boroujen Aquifer, Southwest Iran
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Original Paper
The Effects of Industrial Wastewater on Groundwater Quality of the Boroujen Aquifer, Southwest Iran Milad Khodabakhshi Sureshjani,1 Hakimeh Amanipoor,1,2 and Sedigheh Battaleb-Looie1 Received 20 July 2019; accepted 6 January 2020
The physicochemical characteristics and concentrations of heavy metals from 14 groundwater and two wastewater samples were measured to evaluate the effects of various natural and anthropogenic pollutions on the Boroujen aquifer in southwestern Iran. Comparing the location of sampling stations and wastewater treatment plant of the industrial zone with the geochemical maps showed that there are no anomalies of the studied elements in the aquifer area. Therefore, it is included that anthropogenic pollutions such as industrial wastewater are a major factor in increasing the concentrations of the studied elements. Except the hydrogeochemical parameters, the clustering of heavy metals and other studied elements showed that the concentrations of these parameters are mainly affected by two type of wastewater. Sampling stations are classified into two clusters, which were assigned based on their location in the aquifer. Environmental indices showed that many samples, especially those located downstream of the industrial zone along the direction of the hydraulic gradient of the aquifer, are contaminated. The highest pollution was related to Zn, P, Cu, and Ba. Meanwhile, the most polluted samples were related to stations 5 and 9 in the downstream of the industrial zone and stations 8 and 11 northeast of the aquifer and upstream of the industrial zone, respectively. Comparison of the concentrations of Zn, P, and Cu in wastewater and aquifer samples revealed the penetration of some of these elements into the aquifer, their movement in the direction of hydraulic gradient, and an increase in their concentrations in downstream stations. KEY WORDS: Aquifer, Industrial zone, Pollution, Heavy metals, Environmental indices.
INTRODUCTION Considering the limited surface water resources and climatic conditions in different parts of the earth, groundwater is one of the most important resources of water supply for various urban, agricultural, and industrial uses (Singh et al. 2013; Gurunadha Rao et al. 2013; Li et al. 2018;Zhang et al. 2018). One way to preserve water resources is 1
Department of Geology, Khorramshahr University of Marine Science and Technology, Khorramshahr, Iran. 2 To whom correspondence should be addressed; e-mail: [email protected]
to identify potential sources of pollutions and their impacts. Groundwater resources are exposed to a variety of physicochemical or microbiological pollution through natural processes and/or human activities. Population growth, rising hygiene levels, uninterrupted development of industries and the increase in their variety, and disposal of various solid and liquid wastes of industrial, urban, and agricultural activities are the most important human factors affecting the quantity and quality of these resources (Vasanthavigar et al. 2010; Watson
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