Engineering Geology

Engineering Geology

Assessment of hydrochemical characteristics and quality of the Garmabdasht River, Golestan Province, NE Iran

Authors
Shaghayegh Samiee-Rad
Giti forghani
Hadi Jafari
Shahrood University of Technology
10.22034/JEG.2024.18.3.1019212
Abstract
The Garmabdasht River as the first tributary of the Qarasu River, flows through the city of Gorgan and eventually flows into Gorgan Bay. In order to study the hydrochemistry and to assess the water quality, 10 water samples were collected in June 2022. Physicochemical properties (pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids), major ion concentrations, and microbiological parameters (dissolved oxygen content, biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, and coliform bacteria) were measured by standard methods. The obtained results show that the pH of the water samples varies between 7.5 and 8.5 and the electrical conductivity of water samples varied between 376 and 665 µs/cm. In terms of hardness, water samples were classified as hard and very hard. The concentrations of the major ions, phosphate and nitrate were within the permissible range for drinking usage. By calculating the ionic ratios and drawing the Durov diagram, it was found that the water chemistry was mainly controlled by the dissolution process. The position of the samples on the Piper diagram shows that the type and facies of the river water samples were calcium bicarbonate, magnesium bicarbonate and calcium sulphate. According to the Wilcox diagram, the Garmabdasht river water was suitable for irrigation. The residual sodium carbonate and sodium percentage values confirm this conclusion; however, based on the magnesium hazard index, the studied samples were not suitable for irrigation. The values of dissolved oxygen in all samples were within the permissible limit. The amounts of biological oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand in some stations exceeded the permissible limit due to the influx of livestock and agricultural effluents. The obtained results show that the samples were microbially polluted, which may induce the health problem in the local population. The values of NSFWQI also shows that, except for the upstream samples of S1 and S2, the quality of the studied samples for drinking is in the bad to medium class.
Keywords
Garmabdasht River
Hydrochemistry
Microbial pollution
Water Quality Index
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