Assessment of groundwater suitability for different activities in Toshka district, south Egypt
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Abstract:
Globally, groundwater has globally emerged as a crucial freshwater source for domestic, irrigation, and industrial needs. The evaluation of groundwater quality in the Toshka region is imperative to ensure its suitability for the extensive agricultural and industrial activities underway in this promising, groundwater-dependent development area. This is particularly significant as Egypt increasingly relies on groundwater reserves to address freshwater deficits and to implement mega-development projects in barren lands. In this study, fifty-two samples were collected from the recently drilled wells tapping into the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer (NSA) in the Toshka region. Groundwater quality was assessed through hydrochemical analysis, Piper diagram, and various indicators such as Na%, SAR, RSC, KR, MH and PI. The hydrochemical analysis revealed improved groundwater quality characteristics, attributed to continuous recharge from Lake Nasser. The Piper diagram categorised most of the water samples as "secondary salinity" water type. Almost all wells proved suitable for irrigation with only two wells unsuitable based on MH values and six wells based on KR values. Considering Total Hardness (TH) values, all samples were classified as "Soft", indicating their suitability for domestic and industrial purposes. Water Quality Index (WQI) results concluded that all samples met WHO and FAO guidelines for drinking and irrigation, respectively. Spatial distribution maps, constructed using GIS, facilitate the interpretation of the results. Regular monitoring of quality parameters is essential to detect any deviation from permissible limits.
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Table 1. Weight (wi) and relative weight (Wi) of groundwater parameters used for arithmetic-WQI estimation (Drinking)
Parameter Standard WHO Weight (wi) Relative weights (Wi) Na+ 200 3 0.09375 K+ 12 2 0.0625 Mg2+ 50 2 0.0625 Ca2+ 75 3 0.09375 HCO3− 120 2 0.0625 SO42− 250 4 0.125 CO32− 120 2 0.0625 CI− 250 3 0.09375 EC 1000 3 0.09375 TDS 500 5 0.15625 pH 8.5 3 0.09375 
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Table 2. Weight (wi) and relative weight (Wi) of groundwater parameters used for arithmetic-WQI estimation (Irrigation)
Parameter Standard FAO Weight (wi) Relative weights (Wi) Na+ 919 3 0.1154 K+ 2 2 0.0769 Mg2+ 60 1 0.0385 Ca2+ 400 1 0.0385 HCO3− 610 1 0.0385 SO42− 960 5 0.1923 CO32− 610 1 0.03846 CI− 1063 4 0.1538 EC 2000 2 0.0769 TDS 2000 3 0.1154 pH 8.5 3 0.1154 
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Table 3. Hydrochemical coefficients calculated for the 52 water samples.
Well Na+/
Cl−Mg2+/Ca2+ Cl−/sum of Anions Well Na+/
Cl−Mg2+/
Ca2+Cl−/Sum of anions 23 0.62 0.15 0.41 57 0.74 0.31 0.34 24 0.68 0.21 0.34 58 0.69 0.26 0.3 25 0.72 0.44 0.39 59 0.73 0.21 0.32 26 0.79 0.21 0.29 61 0.74 0.27 0.33 27 0.77 0.13 0.38 62 0.68 0.27 0.34 28 0.71 0.57 0.36 63 0.56 0.28 0.38 29 0.73 0.19 0.36 64 0.66 0.27 0.35 30 0.69 0.23 0.32 65 0.63 0.24 0.4 31 0.64 0.34 0.46 66 0.74 0.28 0.31 32 0.7 0.2 0.35 67 0.73 0.15 0.29 33 0.72 0.28 0.32 68 0.68 0.26 0.33 34 0.76 0.15 0.3 69 0.62 0.56 0.31 35 0.81 0.17 0.34 70 0.65 0.36 0.33 36 0.73 0.25 0.31 71 0.58 0.43 0.32 37 0.8 0.16 0.28 72 0.59 0.43 0.34 38 0.79 0.2 0.29 73 0.79 0.42 0.3 39 0.73 0.25 0.3 74 0.69 0.34 0.32 40 0.74 0.33 0.33 75 0.73 0.52 0.29 41 0.89 0.11 0.27 76 0.79 0.52 0.31 42 0.84 0.24 0.27 77 0.77 0.56 0.33 44 0.89 0.14 0.27 78 0.76 1.00 0.28 45 0.86 0.18 0.29 79 0.73 0.26 0.32 46 0.76 0.18 0.33 81 0.79 0.22 0.32 54 0.62 0.82 0.31 82 0.77 0.25 0.32 55 0.7 0.3 0.32 83 0.82 0.25 0.31 56 0.64 0.29 0.37 84 0.78 0.32 0.3
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Table 4. Descriptive statics of groundwater parameters in Toshka area and WHO guidelines
Parameter Minimum Maximum Mean Standard deviation WHO allowable limit PH 6.6 7.9 7.21 0.32 8.5 EC 699 1263 863.32 111.21 1,500 TDS 458 774 569.69 79.65 1,000 Na+ 72 144 95.46 18.39 200 K+ 3.4 7.2 4.50 0.74 12 Ca2+ 32 86 64.76 10.93 75 Mg2+ 7.9 41.3 18.66 6.90 50 CI− 100 224 132.11 25.68 250 SO42− 90 210 154.61 25.39 250 HCO3− 84 196 116.15 20.78 120 CO32− 0 24 1.26 4.48 120
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Table 5. Classification of groundwater samples of Toshka area for irrigation purposes
Parameters Range Classification No. of samples Sample% EC (µS/cm)
Todd 1982)<250 Excellent / / 250–750 Good 7 13.5% 750–2,250 Permissible 45 86.5% 2,250–5,000 Doubtful / / >5,000 Unsuitable / / TDS < 1000 Non saline 52 100% 1000–3000 Slightly saline / / 3000–10,000 Moderately saline / / > 10000 Very saline / / %Na 0–20 Excellent / / 20–40 Good 1 2% 40–60 Permissible 51 98% 60–80 Doubtful / / <80 Unsuitable / / RSC >1.25 Good 52 100% 1.25–2.5 Doubtful / / <2.5 Unsuitable / / MH <50% Suitable 50 96% >50% Unsuitable 2 4% KR <1 Suitable 46 88.5% >1 Unsuitable 6 11.5%
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Table 6. Classification of irrigation water based on SAR values
Level (SAR) Quality Water class No. of samples Sample% S1 0–10 Low sodium Excellent 52 100% S2 10–18 Medium sodium Good / / S3 18–26 High sodium Fair / / S4 < 26 Very high sodium Poor / /
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Table 7. Classification of irrigation water based on PI
PI Water quality Classification No. of samples Sample (%) PI >75 Class I Good 50 96% >75 75–25 Class II Moderate 2 4% 75–25 <25 Class III Poor / / <25
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Table 8. Hardness classification of water
TH Classification No. of samples Sample (%) 0−75 Soft 52 100 75−150 Moderately hard / / 150−300 Hard / / Over 300 Very hard / /
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Table 9. Results of WQI for domestic.
WQI range Type of water No. of samples Sample (%) <50 Excellent water / / 50–100 Good water 52 100 100–200 Poor water / / 200–300 Very poor water / / >300 Unsuitable water / /
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Table 10. Results of WQI for Irrigation.
WQI range Type of water No. of samples Sample (%) <50 Excellent water 52 100 50–100 Good water __ __ 100–200 Poor water __ __ 200–300 Very poor water __ __ >300 Unsuitable water __ __
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