Hydrogeochemical and water quality studies of Ismailia fresh water canal, western Ismailia City, Egypt.
1. Hydrogeochemical and water quality studies
of Ismailia fresh water canal, western
Ismailia City, Egypt.
By:
Ahmed Nabil & Mohamed El-Sayed
Supervised by:
Dr. Abdou Abou ElMagd
3. Introduction
• “Water is essential for life. The amount
of fresh water on earth is limited, and
its quality is under constant pressure.
Preserving the quality of fresh water is
important for the drinking-water
supply, food production and
recreational water use. Water quality
can be compromised by the presence
of infectious agents, toxic chemicals,
and radiological hazards.”
- world health organization, WHO
4. Objectives
• Identifying the water type and the chemical facies of the Ismailia Fresh
Water Canal.
• Detecting the water quality of the Canal water.
• Finding any possible contributions from the groundwater around the
Ismailia water canal.
• Practicing the field sampling and the hydrochemical laboratory analysis.
5. Study Area
• West Ismailia City from Eltal El kbeer To Ismailia passing by Kasassin
and Abo Swier.
• lies between latitudes 30°15`-30°35`N and longitudes 32°00`-32°20`E.
• It is bounded on the south by Gabel Shabrawit-Gabel Umm Ragm
structural ridges, on the north by El Salhia area. And on the east by
Suez Canal and its attached lakes (Timsah and Bitter lakes).
• Distance: 48.19 km along the canal
7. Map showing the major branches of the Nile River nile through the ancient Nile Delta and
Wadi El-Tumilat as a sub-branch of the pelusiac branch (modified after Said, 1962).
8. Geomorphology
the study area can be classified into the following geomorphic units :-
• Gebel Shabrawit- Gebel Umm Ragm structural ridges.
• The southern gravelly slopes.
• The central sandy belt.
• The northern and eastern low lands.
9. Geologic setting
• the lithology of west Ismailia area and its
depositional environments can be classified
into the following two main units: -
1- The gravelly slopes and the central
sandy plain
2- The northern and eastern low lands.
Geologic map of the study area (modified after Said, 1962; El Shazly,
et al., 1975, and Geriesh, 1999).
W-E
10. Structure framework:
• The study area represents a part of the transitional zone between the
gulf of Suez and the unstable shelf of the northern part of Egypt.
• The major structural trends recorded in the study area (ENE-WSW,
NNW-SSE and NE-SW trends) have significant control on the
distributions of the different geomorphic units.
• Folds
• Faults
12. Climate
• The climate of the region is arid. It is too hot and dry in summer, cool
in winter. Rainfall is scarce in winter. The existence of the
Mediterranean in the north and the Red Sea in the south east may
reduce to some extent the severity of the climatological condition of
the surrounding desert.
• Rainfall is occurred from October to March in Abu Sweir (16.2mm)
• The maximum record monthly temperature is about 34.4°C in July,
while minimum is about 6.6°C in January
• Evaporation has its maximum during April to July
13. Monthly mean value climatic parameters at Ismailia and AbuSweir stations (Afify, 2000)
14. Methodology
Field measurements and water sampling
10 water samples were collected for chemical analysis during the field
work in the investigated area over about 50 km of Ismailia canal course.
These samples are distributed as follows:.
15.
16. Photo 1: Field sampling campaign in West Ismailia area, Feb. 2018
17. Chemical analysis
• Detailed chemical analysis of major elements was carried out in the
hydrogeologic laboratory of the Geology Department, Faculty of
Science, Suez Canal University.
• The chemical analyses were carried out according to the standard
methods of the American Public Health Association (1995).
• Detecting of PH,EC and Determination of the major ion contents such
as Ca, Mg(titration), Na,K(flame photometer) HCO3(titration), SO4(photometrically
with HACH calorimeter) and Cl(titration).
20. Results & Discussions
Physical Characteristics
• The pH-value ranges from 7.4 to 7.9 with an average of 7.7 reflecting
their general neutral state.
• electric conductance (Ec) range between 392 and 1648 μmhos/cm.
21. Specific conductance (Ec) and total dissolved solids (TDS) plot of the
water samples from West Ismailia area
22. Geochemical classification of water samples
• For the purpose of surface and groundwater classifications based on
the chemical analysis of the water samples, two graphical
representations are used, namely; Schoeller diagram, and Piper’s
trilinear diagram.
• A computer software "AquaChem" was used to plot the samples
23. Plotting the water samples from West Ismailia area on
Schoeller's diagram
i. Schoeller Diagram
• The diagram shows the relative
tendency of ions in meq/l
as follows:
Ca> Mg >Na>K and HCO3> Cl >SO4
24. Plotting the groundwater and surface water samples from
West Ismailia area on Piper trilinear diagram
ii. Piper’s classification
• the analyzed samples show two main
dominant water types:
1- Na (Ca)-Cl type
2- Na (Mg)-SO4 type
25. Water quality
• In general, groundwater for drinking and domestic uses should be
colorless, odorless, free from objectionable tastes, free from turbidity
and free from excessive amount of dissolved mineral matters.
26. Water quality
According to the international standards recommended by (WHO,
1984) the water samples in West Ismailia area could be classified as
follows:
• 1- Excellent to good water without undesirable properties (TDS less
than 500 mg/l). This class includes the samples No. M1*, M2, M4*,
M7*, M9, and M10*.
• 2- Permissible water (TDS ranging 500 to 1500 mg/l). This class
includes the samples of groundwater (M3, M5, M6, and M8).
• 3- Unsuitable water (TDS more than 1500 mg/l). No water points
fall in this class.
27. Plotting the water samples from surface and groundwater in West Ismailia
area using U.S. Salinity Laboratory Staff diagram
Suitability of water samples for Irrigation Purposes
Salinity Laboratory Staff diagram
The surface water samples are plotted in
the C2-S1 class (moderate to saline
water), while the groundwater samples
are plotted in the medium to high salinity
hazard and low SAR.
28. The Irrigation Factor (a)
• the groundwater quality for irrigation water according to the
irrigation factor (kamenesky,1947), all the groundwater samples are
falling in the good class where the irrigation factor (a) is more than 19
except three samples (M5, M6 and M8) have satisfactory water
quality.
29. The Residual Sodium Carbonates (RSC)
• This process can cause an increase in the proportionate amount of
sodium and hence, the soil becomes rich in sodium content
• RSC = (CO3
-2+HCO3
-)-(Ca+2+Mg+2) in mEq/l
• According to table 2, it can be concluded that the (RSC) values of all
the surface and groundwater samples are less than 1.25. So, the
water in the West Ismailia area is mainly suitable and safe for
irrigation purposes.
30. RSC Condition of irrigation water Samples No.
< 1.25
Water of good quality, used for the
irrigation of all type of soils.
Includes all the groundwater
samples of west Ismailia area.
1.25-2.5
Water of medium suitability, it is used in
cases of good drainage especially when rich
with calcium.
-
> 2.5
Unsuitable water, especially in poor
drainage or when poor in soluble calcium.
-
Table (2) :The groundwater quality for irrigation water according to the residual sodium carbonate (Eaton, 1950).
31. Continue
Concentrations and distribution of minor constituents
• The minor constituents are present in groundwater at concentrations
below 0.1 ppm, but sometimes they exist much higher this value
(Davis and DeWiest, 1966).
32. i- Nitrate (NO3)
• Our four samples (M1, M4, M7, and M10) from the surface water are
in safe zone for drinking and irrigation according to table (3) and Table
(4).
33. ii-Lead (Pb+2)
• The surface water samples have less than 0.012 mg/l Lead
concentrations except the sample M10 which is considered polluted
knowing that this sample is located in the downstream of the Ismailia
Fresh water canal according to table (3) and Table (4).
34. Sample
No.
NO3 (ppm) Pb (ppm)
M1 5.60 <0.012
M4 4.20 <0.012
M7 4.20 <0.012
M10 5.00 0.35
Table (3) : Nitrate and Lead concentrations in the examined surface water samples along Ismailia Fresh
water canal, using spectrophotometer technique.
35. Minor
constituents
W.H.O., 1963
(ppm)
Nat. Acad. Sci.,
Nat. Acad. Eng., 1972
(ppm)
EPA, 1975
(ppm)
SiO2 - - -
NO3
--Nitrogen - 10 10
Al+3 - - -
Ba+2 1.0 1.0 1.0
PO4
-3 - - -
Fe+2 0.3 0.3 0.05-0.3
Cu+2 1.0 1.0 1.0
Pb+2 0.05 0.05 0.05
Cd+2 0.01 0.01 0.01
LEGEND:
W.H.O. = The World Health Organization.
Nat. Acad. Sci., Nat. Acad. Eng. = National Academy of Science and the
National Academy of Engineering
EPA = U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Table (4) : International Drinking Water Standards.
36. Continue
Microbiological activity
• The bacterial contamination of the surface and groundwater is one of
the major polluting agents. Microbiological activities have several
mechanisms by which they influence groundwater quality.
37. • Results show that sample M1* from the upstream point at El-Tel El-
Kebir has detected a total bacteria/coliform count of 270 with
variable types.
• sample M10* from the downstream point at Ismailia City has detected
increased number of 497 total bacterial/coliform count with limited
types.
38. Summary & Conclusions
• the analyzed samples show two main dominant water types:
1- Na (Ca)-Cl type.
2- Na (Mg)-SO4 type.
• The surface water quality is good for irrigation according to:
• TDS less than 500 mg/l (Excellent to good water).
• SAR is low and salinity is medium.
• RSC values of all the surface samples are less than 1.25.
• Nitrate concentrations.
39. • Sample M10* shows high lead concentration value (contaminated).
• Microbial contamination in M1 and M10 was indicated
• Some samples of groundwater and surface have similar
characteristics i.e. M9 and M10* ,which indicating mixing between
surface and groundwater.
