Spatial estimation of groundwater quality, hydrogeochemical investigation, and health impacts of shallow groundwater in Kabul city, Afghanistan
Hamidi M.D. Kissane S. Bogush A.A. Karim A.Q. Sagintayev J. Towers S. Greenwell H.C.
February 2023Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH
Sustainable Water Resources Management
2023#9Issue 1
The management of groundwater in densely populated areas with no centralized water treatment is critical for the prevention of diseases and maintaining sanitation. Here, we determine the bacteriological and chemical characteristics of groundwater in Kabul city, a resource that 4.1 million individuals rely on. Groundwater samples were analyzed from 41 newly established piezometric wells across Kabul, and data were compared with the last detailed study, undertaken in 2007, to understand contamination trends in an area that has undergone significant development and social changes. Piper diagrams, Gibbs diagrams, correlation analysis, and bivariate plots examine the hydrogeochemical and natural occurring processes of groundwater. The average concentration of cations followed the order Na+ > Mg2+ > Ca2+ > K+, and anions HCO3− > NO3− > Cl− > SO42− > F with Gibbs diagrams indicating mainly rock-weathering influence groundwater chemistry. An increase in nitrate (NO3−) and E. coli indicates anthropogenic activities impacting the shallow groundwater quality, with significantly elevated nitrate (over 50 mg/L) and E. coli (up to 250 CFU/100 mL). The increasing presence of E. coli and NO3− in the shallow groundwater of Kabul city in turn suggests problematic links to the prevalence of waterborne diseases. Additionally, the water quality index (WQI) was used to assess groundwater quality, and rank its suitability for drinking purposes. The WQI analysis showed that less than 35% of shallow groundwater samples had good water quality. The findings of this study are crucial for the development and sustainable management of groundwater in the city. In short term, we propose interventions such as point-of-use (POU) water purification which may offer temporary respite for waterborne disease prevention. Kabul city requires immediate attention to developing sustainable groundwater management policies, expansion of the water supply network, groundwater quality monitoring, and wastewater management.
Kabul city , Sustainable groundwater management , Water quality , Water quality index , WQI
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Department of Earth Sciences, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
Landell Mills, Trowbridge, United Kingdom
Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience (CAWR), Coventry University, Coventry, United Kingdom
Civil Engineering Department, Kabul University, Kabul, Afghanistan
School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, Nazarbayev University, Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan
Department of Earth Sciences
Landell Mills
Centre for Agroecology
Civil Engineering Department
School of Engineering and Digital Sciences
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