| Abstract | Groundwater (GW) quality deterioration is one of the main water security issues in
Qatar. Although the GW in the State of Qatar is not used as drinking water for the
public, it is widely used for agricultural, domestic, and recreational projects. In this
study, 41 GW samples were used to investigate the GW quality in Qatar. The
integrated physiochemical analysis along with hydro-chemical faces analysis,
geochemical modeling, statistical and geostatistical analysis was conducted. The
results showed that the GW samples mainly have the following cations Na+ > Ca2+ >
Mg2+ >K+ abundantly, while Cl- > SO4
2- > HCO3- > NO3
- were the main anions. The
analysis of spatial variability using multiple spatial interpolated methods (ArcGIS
Software) revealed high levels of total dissolved solids (TDS), sodium absorption
ratio (SAR), and some cations and anions in the coastal and south Qatar. While the
spatial variability for nitrate and boron suggested the influence of human activities.
Boron (B) and molybdenum (Mo) levels in some samples exceeded the World Health
Organization (WHO), GCC Standardization Organization (GSO), Qatar drinking
water guidelines, and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (US-EPA)
lifetime health advisory. Lithium (Li) levels in 39 samples exceeded the GSO. |
