Prof. Harold Wilson Tumwitike Mapoma

Prof. Harold Wilson Tumwitike Mapoma

Co-author

Physics & Biochemical Sciences

28 publications

Besides teaching and consultancy, Prof. H.W.T. Mapoma has a great passion for research and skills gathering in Environmental Science and Sanitation. He has more than 10 years of teaching experience in environmental pollution and management, water resources management, hydrogeochemical studies, appli...

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Spatial analysis of groundwater suitability for drinking and irrigation in Lahore, Pakistan

Journal Article
Published 2 years ago, 431 views
Author
Zainab Abbas
Co-authors
Chunli Su, Syed Zahid Aziz, Yanhua Ma, Naaz Abbas, Prof. Harold Wilson Tumwitike Mapoma
Abstract
This study used a total of 474 groundwater samples analyzed from 2014 data to evaluate the distribution of groundwater quality in the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) jurisdiction of Lahore city, Pakistan. The study further assessed the variations in suitability of groundwater for drinking (emphasis on arsenic and fluoride) and irrigation using spatial correlation technique in GIS. The hydrochemical analysis revealed a predominance of Mg-Ca-HCO3-SO4 and Ca-Mg-HCO3-SO4 type. Distribution analysis indicated relatively higher salinity (TDSmax = 1667 mg/L), total hardness (THmax = 558 mg/L), and alkalinity (HCO3−max = 584 mg/L) in the south-eastern region of the city, while the central part displayed the highest levels of SO4 and NO3. Also, the eastern region (north-south) of Lahore had significantly elevated As concentrations (up to 86 μg/L). The order of exceedance in terms of arsenic was Gunj Bakhsh town (17.4%), Nishter town (16.4%), Iqbal town (9.8%), Aziz Batti and Shalimar town (8.1%), and Ravi town (3%). The groundwater was classified as average saline to highly saline, except few samples in Aziz Batti/Shalimar town that were in non-saline group. Otherwise, the various indices classified the groundwater for irrigation as generally acceptable. With the various irrigation quality indices displaying discernible variations for the entire study area, it was observed from the distribution maps that the groundwater suitability for irrigation is relatively excellent in the areas away from industries and landfill locations. Also, the chloride analysis shows 98.7% of the groundwater samples belong to the very fresh and fresh water class. Thus, continued monitoring and studying the changes in groundwater quality in Lahore is imperative.
Year of Publication
2018
Journal Name
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
Volume
190
Issue
391
Page Numbers
1-16
Supporting Files
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