TITLE:
Hydrogeochemical Characterization of Aquifer Systems and Surface Water/Groundwater Relations in the Lower Senegal River Valley
AUTHORS:
Abibatou Camara, Fatou Diop Ngom, Moctar Diaw, Cheikh Tidiane Wade, Ibrahima Mall
KEYWORDS:
Senegal River Valley, Groundwater, Pollution, Agriculture, Alluvial Aquifer
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection,
Vol.12 No.6,
June
28,
2024
ABSTRACT: This study assesses the chemical quality of water resources in the Lower Senegal River valley, based on 35 samples collected in November 2022. Major ion concentrations in surface water and groundwater were analyzed using classical geochemical interpretation diagrams (Piper, GIBBS, etc.) and multivariate geostatistical analyses, including hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA). The results revealed three types of facies: Ca-Mg-HCO3-type facies, characteristic of poorly mineralized waters such as surface waters and groundwater from dune formations and the alluvial plain close to the hydraulic axis; Na-Cl type facies associated with well waters located in the alluvial plain that tap Inchirian or Nouakchottian shallow reservoirs and Maastrichtian deep borehole waters; and mixed Ca-Cl and Na-HCO3 type facies observed in certain floodplain and dune reservoirs. The results showed a strong correlation between sodium, chlorides, bromides, and electrical conductivity, indicating a significant contribution of these ions to groundwater mineralization. The various sources of water mineralization include mixing processes between surface water or rainwater, or calcite or dolomite dissolution processes (for weakly mineralized waters), basic exchanges or inverse basic exchanges between the aquifer and the water table (for moderately mineralized waters), and evaporation processes, halite dissolution, and paleosalinity during periods of marine transgression and regression (for highly mineralized waters). The study also highlighted the high vulnerability of the alluvial aquifer to pollution from intensive irrigated agriculture, as significant quantities of sulfates and nitrates were measured in some samples. These results also highlight the importance of water quality management in the Lower Senegal Valley, particularly as concerns the protection of the alluvial aquifer against pollution from irrigated agriculture.