| Abstrakt: |
To assess the quality of groundwater, selected samples from Shah Faisal Town, Karachi have been evaluated employing spatial and multivariate analyses using ArcGIS-Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) method and SPSS-factor and cluster techniques. All samples exhibited alkaline pH; samples adjacent to local drain revealed very high TDS due to contamination of groundwater. Majority of the samples exhibited Na+ >Ca2+ >Mg2+ >K+, Cl->SO 2->HCO + CO 2-, however on the Piper diagram; bulk of the samples demonstrated NaCl-type hydrogeochemical facies. Samples plotted on Gibbs' diagram displayed the impact of intrusion and evaporation in the area. The spatial analysis of pH, SAR and PI revealed that entire study area is good for irrigation water, though less suitable for drinking purpose. The distribution of WQI, K+, SSP, Na% and KI values showed that samples collected from the region away from Chakoar Drain is more suitable for industrial and irrigation applications. Very strong to strong positive correlation matrices are found between EC, TDS, Na+, Cl-, and TH, SO 2-, Mg2+; Na+ and Cl-; Mg2+ and SO 2-; SSP with Na%; Cl-with Na% and SSP; SO 2-with K+; Mg2+ with MAR; Na+ with Na%, KI and SSP. However, RSC showed a very strong to strong negative correlation with EC, TDS, TH, SO 2-, and Mg2+. Strong positive correlation was noted between all irrigation parameters except RSC and MAR. Overall it is reflected from the present study that groundwater quality was not good alongside the drains of Shah Faisal Town while away from drains the quality become better. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
