IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i8p6882-d1127432.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Spatial Distribution and Controlling Factors of Groundwater Quality Parameters in Yancheng Area on the Lower Reaches of the Huaihe River, Central East China

Author

Listed:
  • Jian Wang

    (North Jiangsu Research Institute of Agricultural and Rural Modernization, School of Urban and Planning, Yancheng Teachers University, Yancheng 224002, China)

  • Junli Xu

    (North Jiangsu Research Institute of Agricultural and Rural Modernization, School of Urban and Planning, Yancheng Teachers University, Yancheng 224002, China)

Abstract

Groundwater samples that were distributed across the Yancheng area in the lower reaches of the Huaihe River were collected from the phreatic aquifer and first confined water layer during the summer of 2016. Using the water quality index, the suitability of the groundwater for drinking and irrigation purposes was systematically evaluated. The controlling factors of solute formation and the causes of water quality deterioration were discussed using the Chadha diagram and the relationship among ions. The results showed that there was a serious lack of excellent- and good-grade groundwater for drinking purposes in the shallow layer. The groundwater was also found to be unsuitable for irrigation, with only approximately 70% being of good quality. The spatial heterogeneity of the water quality was significant, and poor-quality groundwater was found to be distributed discontinuously. The high concentration of alkali metals in the shallow groundwater was found to be due to the weathering of silicate rocks in clay and subclays and the replacement of Ca 2+ with Na + in the surrounding rocks. Additionally, the leaching of residues from the salt industry and marine sediment in historical periods were identified as key factors leading to the scattering of poor-quality groundwater in inland areas. The study found that the shallow groundwater in the study area was not significantly affected by seawater intrusion and human activities. However, signs of human activity, such as agricultural fertilizer and urban sewage, were found to be affecting the “excellent-” and “good-grade” shallow groundwater intended for irrigation purposes.

Suggested Citation

  • Jian Wang & Junli Xu, 2023. "Spatial Distribution and Controlling Factors of Groundwater Quality Parameters in Yancheng Area on the Lower Reaches of the Huaihe River, Central East China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-23, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:8:p:6882-:d:1127432
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/8/6882/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/8/6882/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:8:p:6882-:d:1127432. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.