Groundwater Quality Investigation Using Multivariate Analysis — Case Study: Western Nile Delta Aquifer, Egypt

Abstract

Groundwater is an important source of drinking water in Egypt. Therefore, it is very important to assess the quality of drinking water. The present study presents the multivariate statistical analysis of groundwater quality of western Nile Delta aquifer in order to investigate the factors controlling the groundwater quality. Nineteen Physicochemical parameters viz., Electrical conductivity (EC), Total dissolved solids (TDS), Total Hardness (TH), pH, Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), Sodium (Na), Potassium (K), Chloride (Cl), Sulphate (SO4), Bicarbonate (HCO3), Carbonate (CO3), Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn), Zinc (Zn), Cupper (Cu), Nickel (Ni), Nitrate (NO3) and Ammonium (NH4) are analyzed. From the correlation matrix analysis of groundwater quality parameters, strong correlation is observed among K, Ca and CL versus EC. The same relations between Mg, Ca, CL versus TDS, as well as weak and negative correlation are found among HCO3, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, NH4, NO3 with EC, TDS. Factor analysis is applied on the 19 parameters to investigate the origin of the water pollution sources. Multivariate analysis showed the existence of up to four significant factors which account for 77.0% of the total variance of hydrochemistry data. The first two factors can be initially assigned to mineralization, mining and salinity due to saltwater intrusion whereas the others originate as a result of industrial wastes, domestic wastes and wastes from agriculture activities. This work will provide policy makers and land use managers with knowledge of precise groundwater quality problems affecting the aquifer. It is recommended that concerned authorities should take the necessary actions to control the pollution sources of groundwater such as human activities, agricultural activities, and other industrial units.