Geochemical characterization of groundwater from shallow aquifer surrounding Fetzara Lake N. E. Algeria

Hydrogeochemical investigations were carried out around Fetzara Lake, Northeast Algeria, to assess the quality of groundwater for its suitability for drinking and irrigation purposes. The groundwater chemistry is mainly controlled by the water-rock interactions, but also influenced by other processes such as evapotranspiration and ion exchange. Groundwater samples collected, during two periods (1993 and 2007) from wells in the area were analyzed for pH, EC, TDS, Ca(2+), Mg(2+), Na(+), K(+), CO (3) (2-) , HCO (3) (-) , Cl(-), SO (4) (2-) , and NO (3) (-) . The chemical relationships in Piper's diagram and Gibbs's diagram suggest that groundwaters mainly belong to noncarbonate alkali type and Cl(-) group and are controlled by evaporation dominance, respectively, due to the sluggish drainage conditions, greater water-rock interaction, and anthropogenic activities. A comparison of the groundwater quality in relation to drinking water quality standards proves that most of the water samples are not suitable for drinking. US Salinity Laboratory's and Wilcox's diagrams and %Na(+) used for evaluating the water quality for irrigation suggest that the majority of the groundwater samples are not good for irrigation.