scholarly journals Assessment of Groundwater Salinization and Soil Degradation in Abdally Farms, Kuwait

2004 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. AI-Rashed ◽  
M. Al-Senafy

Kuwait is a part of the arid and semi arid region, where irrigation is necessary for any realistic agricultural activities. There are no surface fresh water resources in Kuwait. Fresh water is provided from desalination of seawater. However, this water is used mainly for potable purposes. A total of 100,000 cubic meters of brackish groundwater is annually produced from the Kuwait Group and Dammam Formation aquifers. This water is mainly used for mixing at 5-10% with distilled water and for irrigation of specific crops. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of brackish groundwater irrigation on groundwater and soil. A total of 161 water and soil samples from 25 selected farms were collected and analyzed for chemical and physical parameters It was concluded that soil salinity was directly proportional to that of groundwater and a high increase in soil salinity was recognized since the establishment of the farms in Abdally. That was mainly related to the mismanagement of groundwater resources, which causes soil degradation in addition to the losses and inefficiency in water usage. It is recommended to use tertiary treated wastewater for irrigation activities in order to have a wider range of crops to be grown and to prevent the deterioration in both soil and groundwater resources.  

2006 ◽  
Vol 54 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 175-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Smith ◽  
S. Hegazy

Reuse of treated wastewater in irrigation is gaining recognition as a vital element in the water resources management plan of developing countries, especially those situated in arid and semi-arid regions. An understanding of the transport of residual pollutants from treated wastewater, such as bacteria, in soil as a result of irrigation is critical to assessing health risks and the possible contamination of limited groundwater resources. In this work, retention of E. coli is evaluated for a soil that is irrigated by treated wastewater for growth of non-food crops near Egypt's Red Sea coast. In particular, the effects of soil organic fraction (SOF) and hydraulic loading rate (HLR) were investigated in laboratory soil columns. The matrix of experiments included three HLRs and three SOFs. The retention of bacteria by adsorption was observed at HLRs of 5 and 13 cm/h, with the magnitude of the adsorption increasing proportionally to the SOF. The impact of SOF was greater for the lower HLR. At the lowest HLR investigated (5 cm/h), filtration was also observed for the two higher SOFs (0.674 and 2.04 per cent). At a high HLR (66 cm/h) simulating flood irrigation, retention of bacteria was minimal regardless of the SOF. Since the bacterial solution is applied to a dry soil column to simulate field conditions, E. coli breakthrough after two pore volumes of throughput (vs. one) provided a meaningful comparison of bacterial retention as a function of HLR and SOF.


2015 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 240-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naji K. Al-Mefleh ◽  
Ibrahim Bashabsheh ◽  
Samer Talozi ◽  
Taha A. Al-Issa

Experimental tests are carried out to evaluate the impact of treated wastewater (TWW) on the discharge of five different types of emitters which are commonly used. Two water qualities, fresh water (FW) and treated wastewater, and five types of emitters, GR, Nein (NE), Edin (ED), Corona (CO), and Rain Bird (RB) are tested. The values of chemical properties for FW show mostly low clogging potential on emitter performance. The clogging potential for TWW varied from low to medium. The exception was for pH where there was severe clogging potential for both water types. The performance of emitters was tested by measuring the emitter discharge and estimating the average emitter discharge (Qavg), coefficient of variation (CV), emission uniformity coefficient (EU), and Christiansen uniformity coefficient (CU). The average discharges for different types of emitters were analyzed and compared at P ≤ 0.05. The CO and RB emitter types did not show any signs of clogging whereas the GR, NE, and ED emitter types showed signs of clogging. The results of CV, EU, and CU values showed that the performances of emitter types GR, NE, ED were classified as low or moderate clogging potential. In contrast, the CO and RB emitters were classified as moderate or high clogging potential.


2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nebil Belaid ◽  
Catherine Neel ◽  
Monem Kallel ◽  
Tarek Ayoub ◽  
Abdel Ayadi, ◽  
...  

In arid regions such as near Sfax (Tunisia), treated wastewater effluents (TWE) are often applied as agricultural irrigation. Irrigation TWE usually contain large amounts of carbon, nitrogen and sodium. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of TWE irrigation on soil salinity and sodicity. In the city of Sfax, two sites were selected with two soil types (fluvisol and calcisol) having been irrigated for 4 and 15 years respectively. Soils were sampled at three different depths (0-30, 30-60 and 60-90 cm) in the TWE irrigated area and in a non-irrigated control area. Irrigated and non-irrigated study soils were analyzed for pH, nitrate and ammonia, electrical conductivity (ECs), exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP), sodium absorption ratio (SAR) and soil organic matter. The fluvisol, irrigated for only four years, is more affected by salinity than the calcisol irrigated for 15 years. In the upper fluvisol layer irrigated by the treated wastewater, ECs reach 8 mS•cm-1 and ESP a value of 15% while in all layers of the calcisol, ECs and ESP are lower and rarely exceed 4 mS•cm-1 and 6% respectively. This result is due to a combination of factors in the fluvisol treatment area including texture, cation exchange capacity, irrigation procedure and crop management.


2018 ◽  
Vol 54 (4B) ◽  
pp. 260
Author(s):  
Nguyen Viet Ky

Ho Chi Minh City has 7 aquifers with different distributions, ascending from the east, western-north to eastern-southeast with total potential reserves of about 1.65 million mP3P of fresh water/day, potential reserves of underground water brackish-salty approximately 2.25 million mP3P/day. This resource is invaluable for the development of the city today and the future. However, groundwater resources are at risk of depletion of reserves, quality under the impact of climate change and sea level rise. In this paper, the authors focus on evaluating the impact of rising sea levels to shift the boundaries of the aquifer salinity, which narrow the area of fresh water and diminishing reserves of fresh water . To assess, first based on climate change scenarios and sea level rise has been Vietnam announced in 2012, at the same time as the underground water is exploited more constant (the maximum amount of water extraction in 2015 basis), the authors conducted for running surface flow model to get the water level data at some point to put into models of groundwater flow. Thanks to model groundwater flow, the authors showed that the sea level rise significantly shift the boundaries of the aquifer salinity toward the inner city. The area contains fresh water and reduced water reserves only light compared with present reserves.


2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-125

The present study concerns the impact of a change in the rainfall regime on surface and groundwater resources in an experimental watershed. The research is conducted in a gauged mountainous watershed (15.18 km2) that is located on the eastern side of Penteli Mountain, in the prefecture of Attica, Greece and the study period concerns the years from 2003 to 2008. The decrease in the annual rainfall depth during the last two hydrological years 2006-2007, 2007-2008 is 10% and 35%, respectively, in relation to the average of the previous years. In addition, the monthly distribution of rainfall is characterized by a distinct decrease in winter rainfall volume. The field measurements show that this change in rainfall conditions has a direct impact on the surface runoff of the watershed, as well as on the groundwater reserves. The mean annual runoff in the last two hydrological years has decreased by 56% and 75% in relation to the average of the previous years. Moreover, the groundwater level follows a declining trend and has dropped significantly in the last two years.


Minerals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 779
Author(s):  
Mohamed Gomah ◽  
Guichen Li ◽  
Salah Bader ◽  
Mohamed Elkarmoty ◽  
Mohamed Ismael

The awareness of the impact of high temperatures on rock properties is essential to the design of deep geotechnical applications. The purpose of this research is to assess the influence of heating and cooling treatments on the physical and mechanical properties of Egyptian granodiorite as a degrading factor. The samples were heated to various temperatures (200, 400, 600, and 800 °C) and then cooled at different rates, either slowly cooled in the oven and air or quickly cooled in water. The porosity, water absorption, P-wave velocity, tensile strength, failure mode, and associated microstructural alterations due to thermal effect have been studied. The study revealed that the granodiorite has a slight drop in tensile strength, up to 400 °C, for slow cooling routes and that most of the physical attributes are comparable to natural rock. Despite this, granodiorite thermal deterioration is substantially higher for quick cooling than for slow cooling. Between 400:600 °C is ‘the transitional stage’, where the physical and mechanical characteristics degraded exponentially for all cooling pathways. Independent of the cooling method, the granodiorite showed a ductile failure mode associated with reduced peak tensile strengths. Additionally, the microstructure altered from predominantly intergranular cracking to more trans-granular cracking at 600 °C. The integrity of the granodiorite structure was compromised at 800 °C, the physical parameters deteriorated, and the rock tensile strength was negligible. In this research, the temperatures of 400, 600, and 800 °C were remarked to be typical of three divergent phases of granodiorite mechanical and physical properties evolution. Furthermore, 400 °C could be considered as the threshold limit for Egyptian granodiorite physical and mechanical properties for typical thermal underground applications.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 1153
Author(s):  
Shih-Jung Wang ◽  
Cheng-Haw Lee ◽  
Chen-Feng Yeh ◽  
Yong Fern Choo ◽  
Hung-Wei Tseng

Climate change can directly or indirectly influence groundwater resources. The mechanisms of this influence are complex and not easily quantified. Understanding the effect of climate change on groundwater systems can help governments adopt suitable strategies for water resources. The baseflow concept can be used to relate climate conditions to groundwater systems for assessing the climate change impact on groundwater resources. This study applies the stable baseflow concept to the estimation of the groundwater recharge in ten groundwater regions in Taiwan, under historical and climate scenario conditions. The recharge rates at the main river gauge stations in the groundwater regions were assessed using historical data. Regression equations between rainfall and groundwater recharge quantities were developed for the ten groundwater regions. The assessment results can be used for recharge evaluation in Taiwan. The climate change estimation results show that climate change would increase groundwater recharge by 32.6% or decrease it by 28.9% on average under the climate scenarios, with respect to the baseline quantity in Taiwan. The impact of climate change on groundwater systems may be positive. This study proposes a method for assessing the impact of climate change on groundwater systems. The assessment results provide important information for strategy development in groundwater resources management.


Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 211
Author(s):  
Tharani Gopalakrishnan ◽  
Lalit Kumar

Soil salinity is a serious threat to coastal agriculture and has resulted in a significant reduction in agricultural output in many regions. Jaffna Peninsula, a semi-arid region located in the northern-most part of Sri Lanka, is also a victim of the adverse effects of coastal salinity. This study investigated long-term soil salinity changes and their link with agricultural land use changes, especially paddy land. Two Landsat images from 1988 and 2019 were used to map soil salinity distribution and changes. Another set of images was analyzed at four temporal periods to map abandoned paddy lands. A comparison of changes in soil salinity with abandoned paddy lands showed that abandoned paddy lands had significantly higher salinity than active paddy lands, confirming that increasing salts owing to the high levels of sea water intrusion in the soils, as well as higher water salinity in wells used for irrigation, could be the major drivers of degradation of paddy lands. The results also showed that there was a dramatic increase in soil salinity (1.4-fold) in the coastal lowlands of Jaffna Peninsula. 64.6% of the salinity-affected land was identified as being in the extreme saline category. In addition to reducing net arable lands, soil salinization has serious implications for food security and the livelihoods of farmers, potentially impacting the regional and national economy.


Catalysts ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 675
Author(s):  
Hugo Savill Russell ◽  
Louise Bøge Frederickson ◽  
Ole Hertel ◽  
Thomas Ellermann ◽  
Steen Solvang Jensen

NOx is a pervasive pollutant in urban environments. This review assesses the current state of the art of photocatalytic oxidation materials, designed for the abatement of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the urban environment, and typically, but not exclusively based on titanium dioxide (TiO2). Field trials with existing commercial materials, such as paints, asphalt and concrete, in a range of environments including street canyons, car parks, tunnels, highways and open streets, are considered in-depth. Lab studies containing the most recent developments in the photocatalytic materials are also summarised, as well as studies investigating the impact of physical parameters on their efficiency. It is concluded that this technology may be useful as a part of the measures used to lower urban air pollution levels, yielding ∼2% NOx removal in the immediate area around the surface, for optimised TiO2, in some cases, but is not capable of the reported high NOx removal efficiencies >20% in outdoor urban environments, and can in some cases lower air quality by releasing hazardous by-products. However, research into new material is ongoing. The reason for the mixed results in the studies reviewed, and massive range of removal efficiencies reported (from negligible and up to >80%) is mainly the large range of testing practices used. Before deployment in individual environments site-specific testing should be performed, and new standards for lab and field testing should be developed. The longevity of the materials and their potential for producing hazardous by-products should also be considered.


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