Assessing Shallow Groundwater Quality Around the Sheba Leather Tannery Area, Wikro, North Ethiopia: A Geophysical and Hydrochemical Study

This study aimed to investigate the shallow groundwater status around the Sheba Leather Tannery area, Wikro, North Ethiopia, through geophysical and hydrochemical methods. Seventeen Vertical Electrical Soundings (VESs) acquisitions, 4 upstream and 13 downstream, of the leather tannery area were cond...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kaleab Adhena Abera, Berhane Abrha Asfaw, Yonatan Garkebo Doyoro, Tesfamichael Gebreyohanes, Abdelwassie Hussien, Gebremedhin Berhane, Miruts Hagos, Abadi Romha, Kristine Walraevens
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Geosciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/14/12/324
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850059431541211136
author Kaleab Adhena Abera
Berhane Abrha Asfaw
Yonatan Garkebo Doyoro
Tesfamichael Gebreyohanes
Abdelwassie Hussien
Gebremedhin Berhane
Miruts Hagos
Abadi Romha
Kristine Walraevens
author_facet Kaleab Adhena Abera
Berhane Abrha Asfaw
Yonatan Garkebo Doyoro
Tesfamichael Gebreyohanes
Abdelwassie Hussien
Gebremedhin Berhane
Miruts Hagos
Abadi Romha
Kristine Walraevens
author_sort Kaleab Adhena Abera
collection DOAJ
description This study aimed to investigate the shallow groundwater status around the Sheba Leather Tannery area, Wikro, North Ethiopia, through geophysical and hydrochemical methods. Seventeen Vertical Electrical Soundings (VESs) acquisitions, 4 upstream and 13 downstream, of the leather tannery area were conducted. Using the data, four geoelectric profiles were generated. The aquifers’ geoelectrical layers, depth, and lateral extent were delineated. The VES curves depicted three to four resistivity layers. These alternating layers of low, moderate, and high resistivity values, traced at different VES points, were attributed to the formations’ composition and the groundwater quality status. Besides the geophysical survey, 32 water samples were collected from the area. Parameters such as electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDSs), pH, major ions, and heavy metals were analyzed. Moreover, PHREEQC was used to determine the groundwater mineral saturation indices where most minerals, except halite, were found supersaturated. The quality status for drinking purposes was also evaluated using the water quality index (WQI), and the water was classified as good (56.3%), poor (37.5%), and very poor (6.2%). The sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) and the percentage of sodium (Na<sup>+</sup>%) were calculated, and the results indicated that the water is suitable for direct use in irrigation.
format Article
id doaj-art-fa90582af3ad4ce5bae87699d348b1d0
institution DOAJ
issn 2076-3263
language English
publishDate 2024-11-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Geosciences
spelling doaj-art-fa90582af3ad4ce5bae87699d348b1d02025-08-20T02:50:53ZengMDPI AGGeosciences2076-32632024-11-01141232410.3390/geosciences14120324Assessing Shallow Groundwater Quality Around the Sheba Leather Tannery Area, Wikro, North Ethiopia: A Geophysical and Hydrochemical StudyKaleab Adhena Abera0Berhane Abrha Asfaw1Yonatan Garkebo Doyoro2Tesfamichael Gebreyohanes3Abdelwassie Hussien4Gebremedhin Berhane5Miruts Hagos6Abadi Romha7Kristine Walraevens8Laboratory for Applied Geology and Hydrogeology, Department of Geology, Ghent University, 9000 Gent, BelgiumDepartment of Geology, School of Earth Sciences, Mekelle University, Mekelle 231, EthiopiaDepartment of Civil Engineering and Disaster Prevention and Water Environment Research Center, National Yang-Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Rd., Hsinchu 300, TaiwanDepartment of Geology, School of Earth Sciences, Mekelle University, Mekelle 231, EthiopiaDepartment of Geology, School of Earth Sciences, Mekelle University, Mekelle 231, EthiopiaDepartment of Geology, School of Earth Sciences, Mekelle University, Mekelle 231, EthiopiaDepartment of Geology, School of Earth Sciences, Mekelle University, Mekelle 231, EthiopiaDepartment of Geology, School of Earth Sciences, Mekelle University, Mekelle 231, EthiopiaLaboratory for Applied Geology and Hydrogeology, Department of Geology, Ghent University, 9000 Gent, BelgiumThis study aimed to investigate the shallow groundwater status around the Sheba Leather Tannery area, Wikro, North Ethiopia, through geophysical and hydrochemical methods. Seventeen Vertical Electrical Soundings (VESs) acquisitions, 4 upstream and 13 downstream, of the leather tannery area were conducted. Using the data, four geoelectric profiles were generated. The aquifers’ geoelectrical layers, depth, and lateral extent were delineated. The VES curves depicted three to four resistivity layers. These alternating layers of low, moderate, and high resistivity values, traced at different VES points, were attributed to the formations’ composition and the groundwater quality status. Besides the geophysical survey, 32 water samples were collected from the area. Parameters such as electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDSs), pH, major ions, and heavy metals were analyzed. Moreover, PHREEQC was used to determine the groundwater mineral saturation indices where most minerals, except halite, were found supersaturated. The quality status for drinking purposes was also evaluated using the water quality index (WQI), and the water was classified as good (56.3%), poor (37.5%), and very poor (6.2%). The sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) and the percentage of sodium (Na<sup>+</sup>%) were calculated, and the results indicated that the water is suitable for direct use in irrigation.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/14/12/324groundwaterpollutiontannery areasaturation indicesWQIVES
spellingShingle Kaleab Adhena Abera
Berhane Abrha Asfaw
Yonatan Garkebo Doyoro
Tesfamichael Gebreyohanes
Abdelwassie Hussien
Gebremedhin Berhane
Miruts Hagos
Abadi Romha
Kristine Walraevens
Assessing Shallow Groundwater Quality Around the Sheba Leather Tannery Area, Wikro, North Ethiopia: A Geophysical and Hydrochemical Study
Geosciences
groundwater
pollution
tannery area
saturation indices
WQI
VES
title Assessing Shallow Groundwater Quality Around the Sheba Leather Tannery Area, Wikro, North Ethiopia: A Geophysical and Hydrochemical Study
title_full Assessing Shallow Groundwater Quality Around the Sheba Leather Tannery Area, Wikro, North Ethiopia: A Geophysical and Hydrochemical Study
title_fullStr Assessing Shallow Groundwater Quality Around the Sheba Leather Tannery Area, Wikro, North Ethiopia: A Geophysical and Hydrochemical Study
title_full_unstemmed Assessing Shallow Groundwater Quality Around the Sheba Leather Tannery Area, Wikro, North Ethiopia: A Geophysical and Hydrochemical Study
title_short Assessing Shallow Groundwater Quality Around the Sheba Leather Tannery Area, Wikro, North Ethiopia: A Geophysical and Hydrochemical Study
title_sort assessing shallow groundwater quality around the sheba leather tannery area wikro north ethiopia a geophysical and hydrochemical study
topic groundwater
pollution
tannery area
saturation indices
WQI
VES
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/14/12/324
work_keys_str_mv AT kaleabadhenaabera assessingshallowgroundwaterqualityaroundtheshebaleathertanneryareawikronorthethiopiaageophysicalandhydrochemicalstudy
AT berhaneabrhaasfaw assessingshallowgroundwaterqualityaroundtheshebaleathertanneryareawikronorthethiopiaageophysicalandhydrochemicalstudy
AT yonatangarkebodoyoro assessingshallowgroundwaterqualityaroundtheshebaleathertanneryareawikronorthethiopiaageophysicalandhydrochemicalstudy
AT tesfamichaelgebreyohanes assessingshallowgroundwaterqualityaroundtheshebaleathertanneryareawikronorthethiopiaageophysicalandhydrochemicalstudy
AT abdelwassiehussien assessingshallowgroundwaterqualityaroundtheshebaleathertanneryareawikronorthethiopiaageophysicalandhydrochemicalstudy
AT gebremedhinberhane assessingshallowgroundwaterqualityaroundtheshebaleathertanneryareawikronorthethiopiaageophysicalandhydrochemicalstudy
AT mirutshagos assessingshallowgroundwaterqualityaroundtheshebaleathertanneryareawikronorthethiopiaageophysicalandhydrochemicalstudy
AT abadiromha assessingshallowgroundwaterqualityaroundtheshebaleathertanneryareawikronorthethiopiaageophysicalandhydrochemicalstudy
AT kristinewalraevens assessingshallowgroundwaterqualityaroundtheshebaleathertanneryareawikronorthethiopiaageophysicalandhydrochemicalstudy