IJEP 43(3): 243-250 : Vol. 43 Issue. 3 (March 2023)
Arba Minch University, Department of Geology, College of Natural Science, Arba Minch, Ethiopia
Abstract
Groundwater is the primary water resource in the study region and is used for a variety of purposes including consumption, cultivation and manufacturing. The research was carried out in Southern Ethiopia, in Satame river watershed in the Kembata Tembaro zone. The purpose of this research was to investigate the hydrogeochemical characterization and usability of groundwater for various uses. Thirty groundwater samples were taken for this investigation from shallow and deep dug wells. Thirteen parameters were tested for the basic physico-chemical composition of groundwater. Water sample chemistry in the research region gives numerous water types classified as Ca-HCO3, Ca-Na-HCO3 and Na-HCO3. The piper diagram shows that most of the groundwater quality falls in the middle of the graph, showing that rock-water contact is the dominating process in the examined area. The WHO water norms provided the baseline for defining the reliability of groundwater for drinking. Electrical conductivity (EC), sodium percentage (Na%) and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) were used to determine its appropriateness for cultivation purposes.
Keywords
Groundwater, Suitability analysis, Hydrochemistry, Geochemical facies, Satame river
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