Spatio-temporal assessment of groundwater quality: a case study of M'sila province (Algeria).

Groundwater quality degradation is a major problem in M'sila province of Algeria, especially during the last decade and still the same problem continues. In order to alleviate the deterioration in the underground water quality in space and time based on available quality measurements, reliable methodologies such as the geographic information system (GIS), multivariate statistical and hierarchical cluster analysis (PCA and HCA) are utilized. Twelve variables in 41 monitoring sites (boreholes) are used to assess groundwater suitability for drinking based on World Health Organization (WHO) standards. Electrical conductivity levels' results for the shallow aquifer show that 73% of the samples exceeded the WHO standards limit in 2019, and 56% is the exceedance percentage for 2021. The total dissolved solids (TDS) results show that 36.6% in 2019 and 41.46% in 2021 are exceeding the WHO standards. A total of 12% of magnesium and 2% of nitrate, for periods of 2019–2021 and 2019 respectively, have presented an exceedance following the WHO limits. Moreover, chloride has indicated 21% and 7% exceedance for 2019 and 2021, while 42% for 2019, and 34% for 2021 of calcium samples exceed the WHO standards. Furthermore, the salinity and sulfate in the boreholes samples corresponds to 73% and 56% of exceedance for the years 2019 and 2021 respectively (REV. 1) (REV. 2). Industrial and domestic untreated sewage and farming lands discharge are principal sources for groundwater pollution according to spatial distribution of parameters based on results of PCA. Therefore, surface water utilization and consumption are highly recommended to prevent future groundwater quality deterioration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Arabian Journal of Geosciences is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)