IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v16y2019i9p1492-d226427.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Hydrogeochemical Characterization and Irrigation Quality Assessment of Shallow Groundwater in the Central-Western Guanzhong Basin, China

Author

Listed:
  • Panpan Xu

    (School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Chang’an University, No. 126 Yanta Road, Xi’an 710054, Shaanxi, China
    Key Laboratory of Subsurface Hydrology and Ecological Effects in Arid Region of the Ministry of Education, Chang’an University, No. 126 Yanta Road, Xi’an 710054, Shaanxi, China)

  • Wenwen Feng

    (School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Chang’an University, No. 126 Yanta Road, Xi’an 710054, Shaanxi, China
    Key Laboratory of Subsurface Hydrology and Ecological Effects in Arid Region of the Ministry of Education, Chang’an University, No. 126 Yanta Road, Xi’an 710054, Shaanxi, China)

  • Hui Qian

    (School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Chang’an University, No. 126 Yanta Road, Xi’an 710054, Shaanxi, China
    Key Laboratory of Subsurface Hydrology and Ecological Effects in Arid Region of the Ministry of Education, Chang’an University, No. 126 Yanta Road, Xi’an 710054, Shaanxi, China)

  • Qiying Zhang

    (School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Chang’an University, No. 126 Yanta Road, Xi’an 710054, Shaanxi, China
    Key Laboratory of Subsurface Hydrology and Ecological Effects in Arid Region of the Ministry of Education, Chang’an University, No. 126 Yanta Road, Xi’an 710054, Shaanxi, China)

Abstract

Groundwater is the major water resource for the agricultural development of the Guanzhong Basin, China. In this study, a total of 97 groundwater samples (51 from the North Bank of the Wei River (NBWR) and 46 from the South Bank of the Wei River (SBWR)) were collected from the central-western Guanzhong Basin. The aim of this study was to investigate the hydrogeochemical characteristics of the basin and to determine the suitability of shallow groundwater for irrigation. The groundwater of the entire study area is alkaline. The groundwater of the SBWR is fresh water, and the NBWR groundwater is either freshwater or brackish water. The average concentration of ions (except for Ca 2+ ) in SBWR samples is lower than in NBWR samples. HCO 3 − is dominant in the groundwater of the study area. Ca 2+ is dominant in the SBWR while Na + is dominant in the NBWR. The SBWR groundwater is mainly of the HCO 3 -Ca·Mg type, and has undergone the main hydrogeochemical processes of rock weathering-leaching. The hydrochemical facies of the majority of the NBWR groundwater samples are the HCO 3 -Na type with several minor hydrochemical facies of the HCO 3 -Ca·Mg, SO 4 ·Cl-Na, and SO 4 ·Cl-Ca·Mg types. Its chemistry is mainly controlled by rock weathering, cation exchange, and evaporation. Salinity hazard, sodium percentage, sodium adsorption ratio, residual sodium carbonate, magnesium hazard, permeability index, Kelley’s ratio, potential salinity, synthetic harmful coefficient, and irrigation coefficient were assessed to evaluate the irrigation quality of groundwater. The results of the comprehensive consideration of these indicators indicate that the percentage of NBWR water samples suitable for irrigation purposes ranges between 15.7% and 100% at an average level of 56.7%. Of the SBWR water samples suitable for irrigation, the percentage ranges from 78.3% to 100% with an average of 91.8%. Land irrigated with such water will not be exposed to any alkali hazard, but will suffer from a salinity hazard, which is more severe in the NBWR. Thus, most of the water in the NBWR can be used for soils with good drainage conditions which control salinity.

Suggested Citation

  • Panpan Xu & Wenwen Feng & Hui Qian & Qiying Zhang, 2019. "Hydrogeochemical Characterization and Irrigation Quality Assessment of Shallow Groundwater in the Central-Western Guanzhong Basin, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-18, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:9:p:1492-:d:226427
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/9/1492/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/9/1492/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jie Chen & Hao Wu & Hui Qian & Xinyan Li, 2018. "Challenges and prospects of sustainable groundwater management in an agricultural plain along the Silk Road Economic Belt, north-west China," International Journal of Water Resources Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(3), pages 354-368, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Eric C. Edwards & Todd Guilfoos, 2021. "The Economics of Groundwater Governance Institutions across the Globe," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 43(4), pages 1571-1594, December.
    2. Sarami Foroushani, Taraneh & Balali, Hamid & Movahedi, Reza & Partelow, Stefan, 2024. "Using local knowledge to assess the sustainability of groundwater resources: applying the social-ecological systems framework to the Hamedan-Bahar Plain, Iran," EconStor Preprints 289209, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.

    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:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:9:p:1492-:d:226427. 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.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with 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.