Vulnerability of the groundwater in the quaternary aquifer at El Shalal-Kema area, Aswan, Egypt |
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| Authors: | Ali Mohamed Ali Hamdan Ahmed Ragab Abdel Rady |
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| Institution: | 1. Geology Department, Faculty of Science in Aswan, South Valley University, Aswan, Egypt
2. Chemistry Department, Aswan Water and Sanitation Company, Aswan, Egypt
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| Abstract: | El Shalal-Kema area is located east of Aswan town and Nile River. The Quaternary sediments (unconsolidated material of sands, gravels, and clays intercalation) represent the main aquifer in the studied area. Its water is under unconfined condition, and the water table is shallow (vary from 7.5 to 16.3 m). The concerned aquifer is recharged mainly from Aswan Dam Lake, from the excess irrigation water and from septic tanks, where the area is not served by sewage system. The direction of the groundwater movement is generally from south to north. The transmissivity values of the Quaternary aquifer (from three pumping tests) are relatively high (vary from 1,996 to 3,029 m2/day). The exploitation of groundwater is carried out where there is continuous withdrawal for industrial and domestic uses with a total average quantity of groundwater of 71,304 m3 per day (25.67 million m3 per year). The hydrochemical characteristics of the Quaternary aquifer is studied based on the chemical analysis of 29 groundwater and four surface water samples collected from different sites. The chemical composition of the groundwater is dominated by calcium Ca2+ from the cations and bicarbonate (HCO 3 ? ) from the anions, and the order of cation abundance is Ca2+ > Na+ > Mg2+ > K+ and HCO 3 ? > SO 4 2? > Cl? among the anions. The groundwater types are normal chloride water, normal sulfate water, and normal carbonate water. The hypothetical salt combination revealed the presence of different salts arranged in terms of their predominant as Ca(HCO3)2, Mg(HCO3)2, NaCl, Na2SO4, MgSO4, KCL, NaHCO3, MgCl2, CaSO4, and K2SO4. The analytical measurements to the NO2 and NH3 reveal that their values decrease in summer and increase in winter due to the stoppage of pumping which leads to the increase of the wastewater quantities that reach the groundwater. The chemical and microbiological analyses show that the aquifer in this area is contaminated with fecal and disease-causing bacteria. The main cause of this contamination is the outflow from the septic tanks; therefore, the construction of sewage network is a vital solution. Chlorination is important to disinfect the groundwater at the tanks before its distribution to the houses. |
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