Hydrochemical characteristics and water quality assessment of surface water and groundwater in agriculture demonstration base, Jiagou District, Northern Anhui Province, China

Jiagou district, located in Northern Anhui Province, China, has been taken as an agriculture demonstration base for several decades, but limited hydrochemical work has been conducted on the water resources. The objective of this research was to understand the controlling processes of hydrochemical evolution and the water quality for drinking and irrigation. Twenty-seven samples of surface water and groundwater have been collected and analysed for major ions. Although the values physicochemical parameters are subjected of spatial fluctuation in different water resources, calcium and bicarbonate is still the dominant ion in the cations and anions, respectively. The values of all the parameters are within the WHO maximum permissible limit for inhabitant drinking. The predominant water type is Ca-Mg-HCO3 and Ca-HCO3. The hydrochemical methods (Gibbs diagram, Mg/Na and HCO3/Na versus Ca/Na diagram and ion ratios) suggest that rock-water interactions furnish the dominant major ion sources of the samples. Carbonate dissolution, silicate weathering and ion exchange have the predominant contribution to the origin of chemical solutes, as well as a slight function of halite dissolution. The USSL and Wilcox diagram reveal that all the samples have low salinity and low sodium water. It is of good quality suitable for irrigation, and it can be used for irrigation of most crops on most soils with less negative impacts. © 2020 Technoscience Publications. All rights reserved.