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Hydrochemical characteristics and groundwater quality assessment for irrigation and drinking purposes: a case of Enfidha aquifer system, Tunisia

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Abstract

The Enfidha aquifer in Northeastern of Sousse city Tunisia, is the main water supply for agricultural and drinking. The aquifer overexploitation due to the agriculture activity growth led to a decrease in the piezometric level and groundwater quality degradation. This study implemented graphical representation and statistical methods to assess the groundwater quality suitability for agricultural and drinking purposes. Analyzed groundwater samples present two hydrochemical facies, the NaCl and the CaMgClSO4. The main mineralization process is related to the dissolution of reservoir minerals such as anhydrite, gypsum, and halite. The comparison of the groundwater quality parameters with the World Health Organization and the Tunisian standards indicated that the majority of groundwater samples are unsuitable for drinking. The drinking water quality index (DWQI) indicates that 30% of the groundwater samples in the Enfidha region represent a good quality for drinking and 70% are unsuitable for drinking purposes. The calculated Sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), Sodium ratio (Na%), Kelley’s ratio (KR), Magnesium ratio (MR) and Permeability Index (PI) indicate that almost 60% of samples are suitable for irrigation. While according to Wilcox classification, only 15% of groundwater samples are suitable for irrigation. And according to the US Salinity Classification, 65% of the groundwater samples are unsuitable for irrigation in ordinary conditions. Nevertheless, it may be used occasionally under special situations. Hence, appropriate groundwater development and management based on water quality indexes are necessary to ensure a safe and healthy use of groundwater without damage to humans, soils and plants.

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Availability of data and materials

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the technical staff at the laboratory of Water, Energy and Environment of the National Engineering School of Sfax for their constant help. We also thank the contributions of the staff members of the Regional Direction of Agriculture and Water Resources of Sousse.

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  1. Laboratory 3E, Sfax National School of Engineers, Univ. of Sfax, PB 1173, 3038, Sfax, Tunisia

    Amal Kammoun, Mouna Abidi & Moncef Zairi

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  1. Amal Kammoun
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  2. Mouna Abidi
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  3. Moncef Zairi
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by AK, MA and MZ. The first draft of the manuscript was written by AK and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Moncef Zairi.

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Kammoun, A., Abidi, M. & Zairi, M. Hydrochemical characteristics and groundwater quality assessment for irrigation and drinking purposes: a case of Enfidha aquifer system, Tunisia. Environ Earth Sci 81, 41 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-021-10163-1

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