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Groundwater Pollution Sources Apportionment in the Ghaen Plain, Iran

Author

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  • Mohammad Reza Vesali Naseh

    (Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Arak University, Arak 38156-879, Iran)

  • Roohollah Noori

    (Department of Environmental Engineering, Graduate Faculty of Environment, University of Tehran, 14155-6135 Tehran, Iran)

  • Ronny Berndtsson

    (Department of Water Resources Engineering & Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Lund University, Box 118, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden)

  • Jan Adamowski

    (Department of Bioresource Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, McGill University, Montréal, QC H3A 0G4, Canada)

  • Elaheh Sadatipour

    (Department of Environmental Engineering, Graduate Faculty of Environment, University of Tehran, 14155-6135 Tehran, Iran)

Abstract

Although Iran’s Ghaen Plain provides saffron to much of the world, no regional groundwater quality (GQ) assessment has yet been undertaken. Given the region’s potential for saltwater intrusion and heavy metal contamination, it is important to assess the GQ and determine its main probable source of pollution (MPSP). Such knowledge would allow for informed mitigation or elimination of the potential adverse health effects of this groundwater through its use as drinking water, or indirectly as a result of the consumption of groundwater-irrigated crops. Total dissolved solids, sodium, and chloride in the water of the majority of 16 wells sampled within the region exceeded World Health Organization and Iranian permissible standards for drinking water. The groundwater proved to only be suitable for irrigating salt tolerant crops under good drainage conditions. Due to the precipitation of calcium carbonate in the water supply facilities, the water from all wells was deemed unsuitable for industrial purposes. Heavy metal pollution and contamination indices showed no groundwater contamination. Analysis of ionic ratios and the application of principal components analysis indicated the MPSP to be saltwater intrusion, with the geology subtending the plain, and to a lesser extent, anthropogenic activities. Reducing groundwater withdrawals, particularly those for agricultural production by using high performance irrigation methods could reduce saltwater intrusion and improve GQ in the Ghaen Plain.

Suggested Citation

  • Mohammad Reza Vesali Naseh & Roohollah Noori & Ronny Berndtsson & Jan Adamowski & Elaheh Sadatipour, 2018. "Groundwater Pollution Sources Apportionment in the Ghaen Plain, Iran," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-18, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:1:p:172-:d:128134
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    1. Marwan Ghanem & África de la Hera-Portillo & Alsharifa Hind Mohammad & Nour-Eddine Laftouhi & Badiaa Chulli & Fagr Kh. Abdel-Gawad, 2022. "The Geodiversity of Springs in the Potential Jericho Geopark/Palestine," Resources, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-18, November.
    2. Basheer A. Elubid & Tao Huang & Ekhlas H. Ahmed & Jianfei Zhao & Khalid. M. Elhag & Waleed Abbass & Mohammed M. Babiker, 2019. "Geospatial Distributions of Groundwater Quality in Gedaref State Using Geographic Information System (GIS) and Drinking Water Quality Index (DWQI)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-20, February.
    3. Adam Khalifa Mohamed & Dan Liu & Kai Song & Mohamed A. A. Mohamed & Elsiddig Aldaw & Basheer A. Elubid, 2019. "Hydrochemical Analysis and Fuzzy Logic Method for Evaluation of Groundwater Quality in the North Chengdu Plain, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-21, January.
    4. Marco Race & Alberto Ferraro & Massimiliano Fabbricino & Agostino La Marca & Antonio Panico & Danilo Spasiano & Alice Tognacchini & Francesco Pirozzi, 2018. "Ethylenediamine- N , N ′-Disuccinic Acid (EDDS)—Enhanced Flushing Optimization for Contaminated Agricultural Soil Remediation and Assessment of Prospective Cu and Zn Transport," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-13, March.
    5. Nouri, Milad & Homaee, Mehdi & Pereira, Luis S. & Bybordi, Mohammad, 2023. "Water management dilemma in the agricultural sector of Iran: A review focusing on water governance," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).

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