Groundwater deterioration in Akhmim District, Upper Egypt: A Remote Sensing and GIS investigation approach

Groundwater has a special significance in Akhmim area as it is used mainly in various purposes. However, groundwater is currently threatened by pollution from different sources. Therefore, detailed field investigations, in addition to Geographic Information Systems and remote sensing techniques are...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Egyptian journal of remote sensing and space sciences 2021-12, Vol.24 (3), p.919-932
Main Authors: Elbeih, Salwa F., Madani, Ahmed A., Hagage, Mohammed
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Akhmim
Anthropogenic activities
GIS
Groundwater deterioration
Remote Sensing
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Groundwater has a special significance in Akhmim area as it is used mainly in various purposes. However, groundwater is currently threatened by pollution from different sources. Therefore, detailed field investigations, in addition to Geographic Information Systems and remote sensing techniques are integrated to study the main sources of deterioration in groundwater quality and proposing practical solutions for mitigation and remediation. Based on the Modified Normalized Difference Water Index (MNDWI) and physicochemical analysis of groundwater samples, areas that contribute to groundwater deterioration have been identified. The results showed that the main causes of groundwater deterioration are the use of sewage rooms and injection wells to get rid of sewage especially in rural areas and scattered settlements, discharging liquid industrial wastes into the ground without proper treatment, the random exploitation of groundwater, and the use of wastewater in agriculture in a random manner. The results of the physicochemical analysis of groundwater samples confirmed the sources of deterioration identified by satellite images and field studies. To avoid groundwater degradation, strict restrictions need to be applied on the use of untreated or treated wastewater for irrigation, sewage networks have to be established in all residential areas, and factories must treat wastewater before discharging it.
ISSN:1110-9823
2090-2476
DOI:10.1016/j.ejrs.2021.10.002