Skip to main content

Assessment of groundwater quality based on principal component analysis and pollution source-based examination: a case study in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment volume 192, Article number: 395 (2020) Cite this article

Abstract

The current study aimed to assess the quality of apportion pollution sources and examine the impacts of anthropogenic activities on groundwater. The study was implemented in two sequential steps of (1) bulk examination of groundwater quality followed by principal component analysis/factor analysis (PCA/FA) to apportion pollution sources and (2) pollution source-based examination to assess the effects of anthropogenic activities. Well-water samples were taken in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in 2015 (233 samples) and 2019 (20 samples) and analyzed for 8 and 15 water quality parameters, respectively. The results showed that 99% of studied wells had pH value lower than the permissible limit, and 29, 20, 15, and 14% of studied wells had concentrations of Fe, NH4+, COD (chemical oxygen demand), and coliform, respectively, higher than the maximum permissible limit. PCA/FA revealed that three pollution sources, ranked in the order of importance: agricultural, urban, and industrial activities, could mainly contribute to enriching the pollutant concentrations of groundwater. While agricultural activities may contaminate groundwater with organic substances, the urban area may enrich bacterial-pathogen density such as E. coli and coliform, and the industrial area may contribute to contaminating groundwater with some inorganic parameters. Groundwater quality index and ANOVA showed that groundwater of the studied area was poor to very poor in quality and that in the agricultural area was the worst of the three land-use types. In brief, the groundwater quality in the studied area was degraded and agricultural activities were the most important factor causing the degradation followed by urban and industrial activities.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

43,34 €

Price includes VAT (Finland)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

References

  • Aguilar-Ascon, E. (2019). Removal of Escherichia coli from domestic wastewater using electrocoagulation. Journal of Ecological Engineering, 20(5), 42–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Akhtar, M. S., & Memon, M. (2009). Biomass and nutrient uptake by rice and wheat: a three-way interaction of potassium, ammonium and soil type. Pakistan Journal of Botany, 41(6), 2965–2974.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Auxtero, E., Madeira, M., & Parker, D. (2012). Extractable Al and soil solution ionic concentrations in strongly leached soils from Northwest Iberia: effects of liming. ISRN Soil Science, 2012, 15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burri, N. M., Weatherl, R., Moeck, C., & Schirmer, M. (2019). A review of threats to groundwater quality in the anthropocene. Science of the Total Environment, 684, 136–154.

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • Butterfield, J., Meruane, V., Collins, R., Meyers, G. & Beck, S. (2017). Prediction of leak flow rate in plastic water distribution pipes using vibro-acoustic measurements. Structural Health Monitoring: An International Journal: 147592171772388.

  • Chenini, I., & Khemiri, S. (2009). Evaluation of ground water quality using multiple linear regression and structural equation modeling. International Journal of Environmental Science Technology, 6(3), 509–519.

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Graaf, I., Gleeson, T., Beek, L., Sutanudjaja, E., & Bierkens, M. (2019). Environmental flow limits to global groundwater pumping. Nature, 574, 90–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elizabeth, A., Marín, A., Id, D., Cruz, D., Otazo-Sánchez, E., Sánchez, O., Id, F., Gavi, R. & Soto, D. (2018). Groundwater quality assessment: an improved approach to K-means clustering, Principal Component Analysis and Spatial Analysis: A Case Study. Water.

  • Eqani, S. A., Malik, R. N., & Mohammad, A. (2011). The level and distribution of selected organochlorine pesticides in sediments from River Chenab, Pakistan. Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 33(1), 33–47.

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gad, M., Dahab, K. & Ibrahim, H. (2016). Impact of iron concentration as a result of groundwater exploitation on the Nubian sandstone aquifer in El Kharga Oasis, western desert, Egypt. NRIAG Journal of Astronomy and Geophysics.

  • Goldscheider, N., Hunkeler, D., & Rossi, P. (2006). Review: microbial biocenoses in pristine aquifers and an assessment of investigative methods. Hydrogeology Journal, 14, 926–941.

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • Han, Z., Liu, Y., Zhong, M., Shi, G., Li, Q., Zeng, D., Zhang, Y., Fei, Y., & Xie, Y. (2018). Influencing factors of domestic waste characteristics in rural areas of developing countries. Waste Management, 72, 45–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • He, S., Li, P., Wu, J., Vetrimurugan, E. & Narsimha, A. (2019). Groundwater quality under land use/land cover changes: a temporal study from 2005 to 2015 in Xi’an, Northwest China. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal: 1–27.

  • Hoang, T. H., Bang, S., Kim, K.-W., Nguyen, M. H., & Dang, D. M. (2010). Arsenic in groundwater and sediment in the Mekong River delta, Vietnam. Environmental Pollution, 158(8), 2648–2658.

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huang, M.-H., Li, Y., & Gu, G.-W. (2010). Chemical composition of organic matter in domestic wastewater. Desalination, 262, 36–42.

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ibrahim, N. (2016). The relations between concentration of iron and the pH ground water (case study Zulfi ground water). International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis, 4, 140.

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • Isoda, T., & Shinohara, R. (2013). Bioavailable chemical forms of copper, iron, and zinc in livestock compost. Environmental Control in Biology, 51, 63–70.

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jolliffe, I. T., & Cadima, J. (2016). Principal component analysis: a review and recent developments. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A mathematical physical and engineering sciences, 374(2065), 20150202.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kang, M., Kawasaki, M., Tamada, S., Kamei, T., & Magara, Y. (2000). Effect of pH on the removal of arsenic and antimony using reverse osmosis membranes. Desalination, 131(1), 293–298.

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • Katsoyiannis, I., & Katsoyiannis, A. (2007). Arsenic and other metal contamination of groundwaters in the industrial area of Thessaloniki, Northern Greece. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 123, 393–406.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leong, J. Y. C., Chong, M. N., & Poh, P. E. (2018). Assessment of greywater quality and performance of a pilot-scale decentralised hybrid rainwater-greywater system. Journal of Cleaner Production, 172, 81–91.

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lerner, D., & Harris, R. (2009). The relationship between land use and groundwater resources and quality. Land Use Policy, 26, S265–S273.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, S., Li, J., Li, G., Li, Y., Yuan, J., & Li, D. (2017). Effect of different organic fertilizers application on soil organic matter properties. Compost Science & Utilization, 25(sup1), S31–S36.

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, Q., Zhang, H., Guo, S., Fu, K., Liao, L., Xu, Y., & Cheng, S. (2019). Groundwater pollution source apportionment using principal component analysis in a multiple land-use area in southwestern China. Environmental Science and Pollution Research.

  • Lutterodt, G., van de Vossenberg, J., Hoiting, Y., Kamara, A. K., Oduro-Kwarteng, S., & Foppen, J. W. A. (2018). Microbial groundwater quality status of hand-dug wells and boreholes in the dodowa area of Ghana. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(4), 730.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Macler, B. A., & Merkle, J. C. (2000). Current knowledge on groundwater microbial pathogens and their control. Hydrogeology Journal, 8(1), 29–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mahmud, Z. H., Islam, M. S., Imran, K. M., Hakim, S. A. I., Worth, M., Ahmed, A., Hossan, S., Haider, M., Islam, M. R., Hossain, F., Johnston, D., & Ahmed, N. (2019). Occurrence of escherichia coli and faecal coliforms in drinking water at source and household point-of-use in Rohingya camps, Bangladesh. Gut Pathogens, 11, 52–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Malik, R., Yadav, H., Yadava, N., Yadav, R., & Sangwan, P. S. (2017). Background levels of zinc, iron, manganese and copper in soil series of Haryana and their relationship with soil properties. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 87, 1094–1098.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McArthur, J. M., Banerjee, D. M., Hudson-Edwards, K. A., Mishra, R., Purohit, R., Ravenscroft, P., Cronin, A., Howarth, R. J., Chatterjee, A., Talukder, T., Lowry, D., Houghton, S., & Chadha, D. K. (2004). Natural organic matter in sedimentary basins and its relation to arsenic in anoxic ground water: the example of West Bengal and its worldwide implications. Applied Geochemistry, 19(8), 1255–1293.

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • Minderhoud, P., Erkens, G., Pham, H., Bui, V., Erban, L., Kooi, H., & Stouthamer, E. (2017). Impacts of 25 years of groundwater extraction on subsidence in the Mekong delta, Vietnam. Environmental Research Letters, 12, 064006.

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • Missimer, T. M., Teaf, C. M., Beeson, W. T., Maliva, R. G., Woolschlager, J., & Covert, D. J. (2018). Natural background and anthropogenic arsenic enrichment in Florida soils, surface water, and groundwater: a review with a discussion on public health risk. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(10), 2278.

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • MONRE (2015). National technical regulation on ground water quality, online assessed April 2020, available at https://moitruong.com.vn/Upload/48/Nam_2017/Thang_3/Ngay_17/QCVN-09-MT-2015-BTNMT-quy-chuan-ve-chat-luong-nuoc-duoi-dat.pdf.

  • Nguyen, A., Hoang, T., Pham, N., Tat, V., Phan, N., & Nguyen, Q. (2019). Application of groundwater quality index (GWQI) and principle component analysis (PCA) to assess the groundwater quality of Pleistocene aquifer in Tan Thanh district, Ba Ria–Vung Tau province. Science & Technology Development Journal - Science of The Earth & Environment, 2(2), 107–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noukeu, N. A., Gouado, I., Priso, R. J., Ndongo, D., Taffouo, V. D., Dibong, S. D., & Ekodeck, G. E. (2016). Characterization of effluent from food processing industries and stillage treatment trial with Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) and Panicum maximum (Jacq.). Water Resources and Industry, 16, 1–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oteng-Peprah, M., Acheampong, M. A., & deVries, N. K. (2018). Greywater characteristics, treatment systems, reuse strategies and user perception-a review. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 229(8), 255–255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phung, D., Huang, C., Rutherford, S., Dwirahmadi, F., Chu, C., Wang, X., Nguyen, M., Nguyen, N. H., Do, C. M., Nguyen, T. H., & Dinh, T. A. (2015). Temporal and spatial assessment of river surface water quality using multivariate statistical techniques: a study in Can Tho City, a Mekong Delta area, Vietnam. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 187(5), 229.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Postma, D., Larsen, F., Thai, N., Pham, T., Jakobsen, R., Nhan, P., Trần, L., Viet, P., & Murray, A. (2012). Groundwater arsenic concentrations in Vietnam controlled by sediment age. Nature Geoscience, 5, 656–661.

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • QCVN 01:2009/BYT (2009) National technical regulation on drinking water quality, availble http://www.wpro.who.int/vietnam/topics/water_sanitation/wmq_water_standards_technical_regulation_on_clean_drinking_water_quality.pdf.

  • Reyes, V., Gutierrez, M., Haro, B., López, D. & Alarcón-Herrera, M. (2019). Groundwater quality impacted by land use/land cover change in a semiarid region of Mexico.

  • Richards, L. A., Kumar, A., Shankar, P., Gaurav, A., Ghosh, A., & Polya, D. A. (2020). Distribution and geochemical controls of arsenic and uranium in groundwater-derived drinking water in Bihar, India. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(7).

  • Salman, S. A., Shahid, S., Mohsenipour, M., & Asgari, H. (2018). Impact of landuse on groundwater quality of Bangladesh. Sustainable Water Resources Management, 4(4), 1031–1036.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shen, Y., Chapelle, F., Strom, E., & Benner, R. (2014). Origins and bioavailability of dissolved organic matter in groundwater. Biogeochemistry, 122, 61–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh, S. & Singh, C. (2010). Impact of land-use and land-cover change on groundwater quality in the Lower Shiwalik hills: A remote sensing and GIS based approach. Central European Journal of Geosciences 2.

  • Sunta, U., Zitnik, M., Finocchiaro, N. C., Bulc, T. G., & Torkar, K. G. (2019). Faecal indicator bacteria and antibiotic-resistant beta-lactamase producing Escherichia coli in blackwater: a pilot study. Arhiv za Higijenu Rada i Toksikologiju, 70(2), 140–148.

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takal, J., & Quaye-Ballard, J. (2018). Bacteriological contamination of groundwater in relation to septic tanks location in Ashanti Region. Cogent Environmental Science: Ghana.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Tran, T. (2019) TP. Hồ Chí Minh: Bình quân một năm dân số tăng bằng một quận, online assessed July 2019, available: https://congthuong.vn/tp-ho-chi-minh-binh-quan-mot-nam-dan-so-tang-bang-mot-quan-115743.html. In Cong Thuong.

  • van Emmerik, T., Kieu-Le, T.-C., Loozen, M., van Oeveren, K., Strady, E., Bui, X.-T., Egger, M., Gasperi, J., Lebreton, L., Nguyen, P.-D., Schwarz, A., Slat, B. & Tassin, B. (2018). A methodology to characterize riverine macroplastic emission into the ocean. Frontiers in Marine Science 5(372).

  • van Geen, A., Ahmed, K. M., Akita, Y., Alam, M., Culligan, P., Emch, M., Escamilla, V., Feighery, J., Ferguson, A., Knappett, P., Layton, A., Mailloux, B., McKay, L., Mey, J., Serre, M., Streatfield, P., Wu, J. & Yunus, M. (2011). Fecal contamination of shallow tubewells in Bangladesh inversely related to arsenic. Environmental Science & Technology 45.

  • Vinh, C., Thai, T., Canh, D., Duc Nhan, D., Huan, N., Nghia, N., Hieu, N. & Van, T. (2017). Genesis and quality of groundwater in the southeastern region of southern Vietnam. Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering 6.

  • Wakode, H. B., Baier, K., Jha, R., & Azzam, R. (2018). Impact of urbanization on groundwater recharge and urban water balance for the city of Hyderabad, India. International Soil and Water Conservation Research, 6(1), 51–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walakira, P. & Okot-Okumu, J. (2011). Impact of industrial effluents on water quality of streams in Nakawa-Ntinda, Uganda. Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management 15.

  • Winkel, L. H. E., Trang, P. T. K., Lan, V. M., Stengel, C., Amini, M., Ha, N. T., Viet, P. H., & Berg, M. (2011). Arsenic pollution of groundwater in Vietnam exacerbated by deep aquifer exploitation for more than a century. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(4), 1246–1251.

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yao, S. & Jianjun, S. (2019). Data mining for source apportionment of trace elements in water and solid matrix [Online First], IntechOpen, DOI: https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.88818. Available from: https://www.intechopen.com/online-first/data-mining-for-source-apportionment-of-trace-elements-in-water-and-solid-matrix.

  • Zektser, S. I. & Everett, G. L. (2004). Groundwater resources of the world and their use. IHP-VI Series on Groundwater no. 6, UNESCO, Paris.

  • Zhang, Q., Wang, L., Wang, H., Zhu, X. & Wang, L. (2020). Spatio-temporal variation of groundwater quality and source apportionment using multivariate statistical techniques for the Hutuo River alluvial-pluvial Fan, China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(3), 1055.

  • Zhou, X., Shen, Y., Zhang, H., Song, C., Li, J., & Liu, Y. (2015). Hydrochemistry of the natural low pH groundwater in the coastal aquifers near Beihai, China. Journal of Ocean University of China, 14(3), 475–483.

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge support from IESEM of IUH. Many thanks are given to the staffs and students at IESEM for their help with the field trip.

Funding

The current study was financially funded in part by the Institute of Environmental Science, Engineering and Management (IESEM)-the Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City (IUH).

Author information

Affiliations

  1. Institute of Environmental Science, Engineering, and Management, Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City, 12 Nguyen Van Bao, Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

    Binh Thanh Nguyen & Tham Minh Thi Nguyen

  2. Sustainable Management of Natural Resources and Environment Research Group, Faculty of Environment and Labour Safety, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

    Quang-Vu Bach

Authors
  1. Binh Thanh Nguyen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Tham Minh Thi Nguyen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Quang-Vu Bach
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Quang-Vu Bach.

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Corresponding author at Faculty of Environment and Labour Safety, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Nguyen, B.T., Nguyen, T.M.T. & Bach, QV. Assessment of groundwater quality based on principal component analysis and pollution source-based examination: a case study in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Environ Monit Assess 192, 395 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-020-08331-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-020-08331-0

Keywords

  • Quality assessment
  • Anthropogenic activity
  • Agricultural area
  • Urban area
  • Component analysis/factor analysis