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Hydrochemical analysis and quality assessment of groundwater in southeast North China Plain using hydrochemical, entropy-weight water quality index, and GIS techniques

Environmental Earth Sciences volume 80, Article number: 523 (2021) Cite this article

Abstract

In the North China Plain (NCP), groundwater is an important source of water supply and plays a pivotal role in social and economic development. This study investigated the hydrochemical characteristics and genetic mechanism of groundwater in the southeastern part of the NCP using hydrogeochemical and GIS methods, and evaluated groundwater quality using the entropy weighted water quality index (EWQI). To this end, groundwater quality data were collected from 47 locations in 2016 (dry season) and 2017 (wet season). The results showed that the main anion and cation in groundwater in the study area are Na+ and HCO3−. The pH value of all the water samples exceeded 7, and most of the samples were classified as hard-brackish water. In terms of the spatial distribution, areas with relatively high values of the main components (TH, TDS, NO3−, Na+, Cl− and SO42−) of groundwater were mainly distributed in the northeast of the study area and east of Liaocheng. According to the Piper diagram, the groundwater can be mainly classified as HCO3-Ca, Cl-Na, and mixed types. The hydrochemical characteristics of groundwater is mainly controlled by rock weathering (silicates, carbonates and sulfates), and affected significantly by evaporation and cation exchange processes, and to a certain extent by anthropogenic inputs. According to the EWQI, groundwater quality in the study area can be mainly divided into good water and poor water. In addition, the range of areas with very poor water was significantly larger in 2017 than in 2016.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41772257; 41472216), the Research Project of Shandong Province Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources (No. KY2018003; KY201933), and the Shandong Provincial Geological Environment Exploration Project (2016) No.3. Meanwhile, we thank the anonymous reviewers and Editor for their useful comments, which have helped improve the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. 801 Institute of Hydrogeology and Engineering Geology, Shandong Provincial Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, Jinan, 250014, China

    Changsuo Li, Huanliang Chen, Jinxiao Wang, Chuanlei Li, Yue Teng, Chunwei Liu & Congcong Xu

  2. Key Laboratory of Groundwater Resources and Environment, Shandong Provincial Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, Jinan, 250014, China

    Changsuo Li, Huanliang Chen, Jinxiao Wang, Chuanlei Li, Yue Teng, Chunwei Liu & Congcong Xu

  3. Shandong Engineering Research Center for Groundwater Environmental Protection and Remediation, Jinan, 250014, China

    Changsuo Li, Huanliang Chen, Jinxiao Wang, Chuanlei Li, Yue Teng, Chunwei Liu & Congcong Xu

  4. College of Earth Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266590, China

    Zongjun Gao

  5. College of Energy and Mining Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266590, China

    Jiutan Liu

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  1. Changsuo Li
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  2. Zongjun Gao
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Correspondence to Jiutan Liu.

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This article is part of a Topical Collection in Environmental Earth Sciences on Groundwater quality and contamination and the application of GIS, guest edited by Narsimha Adimalla and Hui Qian.

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Li, C., Gao, Z., Chen, H. et al. Hydrochemical analysis and quality assessment of groundwater in southeast North China Plain using hydrochemical, entropy-weight water quality index, and GIS techniques. Environ Earth Sci 80, 523 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-021-09823-z

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Keywords

  • Water chemistry
  • Groundwater quality assessment
  • Entropy-weight water quality index (EWQI)
  • GIS
  • Southeast of the North China Plain