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Assessment of groundwater quality using Entropy‑Weighted Quality Index (EWQI) and multivariate statistical approaches in Heilongdong Spring Basin, Northern China

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Abstract

Heilongdong Spring Basin (HSB) is an ecologically and economically important area in northern China, with widespread and intensive anthropogenic activities (industrialization, mining, agriculture). To understand the hydrogeochemical characteristics and water quality status of groundwater in various aquifers, 33 groundwater samples were collected and analyzed by Piper diagram, Gibbs diagram, Entropy-Weighted Quality Index (EWQI) and Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) in the area. The results indicated that the groundwater was mainly derived from meteoric water, and rock weathering was the dominant source of ions in the area. The majority of the karst groundwater samples (KGWs) fell in the category of HCO3-Ca·Mg and HCO3·SO4-Ca·Mg, the hydrochemical faces of pore groundwater (PGWs) and fissure groundwater (FGWs) samples were mainly SO4·HCO3-Ca type with a few of the HCO3·SO4-Ca·type. According to the EWQI, all the KGWs were within the EWQI of below 100 and were suitable for drinking, while the central and eastern parts of regions have elevated EWQI values, especially 3 samples of KGWs were within the EWQI value in the range of 83–95, closing to the “poor” bracket. In addition, 66.7% of FGWs and all the PGWs were unsuitable for drinking. The HCA results showed that local groundwater quality was mainly controlled by geogenic processes and anthropogenic factors. Especially, the shallow groundwater was more affected by anthropogenic activities. Moreover, it was worth noticing that a few karst groundwater samples were close to shallow groundwater samples, which might be related to coal mining and agricultural activities. The present results provide a scientific basis for the protection and utilization of groundwater in different aquifers.

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Data availability

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available, additional data will be made available from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the China Geological Survey’s project (Grant No. DD20190252, DD20221812, DD20230539), the National Key Research and Development Project of China (Grant No. 2022YFC3003301) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Chinese Academy of Geosciences (No. SK202310).

Funding

This research was funded by the China Geological Survey’s project (Grant No. DD20190252, DD20221812, DD20230539), the National Key Research and Development Project of China (Grant No. 2022YFC3003301).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Shijiazhuang, 050061, China

    Ming Gao, Xiangquan Li, Zhenxing Wang, Xinwei Hou, Chunlei Gui, Zhanxue Bai, Jinqiu Li, Xuefeng Zuo & Chongqin Zhao

  2. School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, 230009, China

    Ming Gao, Jiazhong Qian & Chongqin Zhao

  3. Key Laboratory of Groundwater Sciences and Engineering, Ministry of Natural Resources, Shijiazhuang, 050061, China

    Ming Gao, Xiangquan Li, Zhenxing Wang, Xinwei Hou, Chunlei Gui, Zhanxue Bai, Jinqiu Li, Xuefeng Zuo & Chongqin Zhao

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  1. Ming Gao
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Contributions

Writing—original draft, MG; reviewing and editing, MG, JQ, XL and ZW; methodology, MG, XL, ZW and CZ; investigation, data collection, and conceptualization, MG, ZW, XH, CG, ZB, JL, and XZ. All authors have read and agreed to the submitted version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Xiangquan Li or Zhenxing Wang.

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Gao, M., Qian, J., Li, X. et al. Assessment of groundwater quality using Entropy‑Weighted Quality Index (EWQI) and multivariate statistical approaches in Heilongdong Spring Basin, Northern China. Environ Earth Sci 83, 196 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-024-11458-9

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