Evaluation of Groundwater Quality and Its Suitability for Agriculture Use in Minufiya Governorate, Egypt

THIS study was conducted to evaluate factors regulating groundwater quality as applied mainly for agricultural use. For these purposes, fourteen groundwater samples have been collected from different locations of Minufiya Governorate, Egypt. Minufiya governorate is located in the Nile Delta, 80 km north of Cairo, and its groundwater resources are developed for water supply and irrigation purposes. The groundwater samples were analyzed for various water quality parameters such as pH, electric conductivity, soluble cations (Na+, K+, Ca+2 and Mg+2), soluble anions (Cl-, HCO3-, CO3-2 and SO4-2), macronutrients (NO3, NH4, total P and total K), and micronutrients (Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu). A chemical index like sodium percent (% Na), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), residual sodium carbonated (RSC) and Kelley’s ratio (KR) were calculated.

Based on the analytical results, the abundance major ions are as follows: HCO3- > Cl- > SO4-2 > CO3-2 and Na+ > Mg+2> Ca+2 > K+. Also, the examined samples for its content of macro and micro nutrients can be arranged as K > NO3-N > NH4-N > P and Fe > Cu or Mn >Zn, respectively. The studied water samples have pH values ranged between 6.88 and 7.89. The analytical results indicated that, 14.28%, 57.15%, 64.29%, 92.86% of ground water samples classified as a good order based on EC, RSC, % Na and KR parameters, respectively. On the other hand, 100% of groundwater sample is excellent for irrigation purposes based on SAR, while 50% of samples are marginally for irrigation dependable on its nitrate content. The dominant hydrochemical facies of groundwater is Ca-Mg-HCO3 and Na-Cl-SO4 type. Assessment of water samples from various methods indicated that groundwater in the study area is chemically suitable for agricultural uses without any harmful effect on soil or plant.