TITLE:
Hydrogeochemical Characteristics and Assessment of Water Resources in Beni Suef Governorate, Egypt
AUTHORS:
Ahmed Melegy, Ahmed El-Kammar, Mohamed Mokhtar Yehia, Ghadir Miro
KEYWORDS:
Beni Suef; Surface Water; Groundwater; Hydrogeochemical Characteristics; Heavy Metals
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Geology,
Vol.4 No.2,
February
21,
2014
ABSTRACT: The main target of this
research is to investigate the hydrogeochemical characteristics of surface and
groundwater resources in Beni Suef Governorate, Egypt. A combination of major
and heavy metals has been used to characterize surface and groundwater in Beni
Suef Governorate, Egypt. Twenty water samples were collected from the water
resources: River Nile, El-Ibrahimia canal, Bahr Youssef, irrigation and
drainage channels and Quaternary aquifer. The collected water samples were
analyzed for major and heavy metals. Surface and groundwater in the study area
are considered potable for drink and irrigation based on the TDS and major ions
concentrations. Regarding the MPL quoted by the WHO [1] and FAO [2], water
resources in the study area are polluted by Al, Cd, Fe, Mn, Co and Cu. The highest concentrations of Al, Cd, Fe, Mn, Co and
Cu recorded in the study area were 2545, 400, 1415, 2158, 239 and 1080 μg/l,
respectively. Both surface and groundwater in Beni Suef suffer from pollution
due to the impact of unsupervised anthropogenic activities including:
fertilizers and pesticide, waste disposal and industrial waste, seepage from
septic tanks, construction of water pipes, wastewater from El-Moheet drainage
and evaporation processes during flood irrigation.