Groundwater quality assessment for drinking and irrigation purpose using GIS, Piper diagram, and water quality index

The chemical behavior of groundwater is one of the most dynamic areas of environmental research. In the present study, groundwater sampling from different locations in the central and south-eastern parts of Romania was performed to assess groundwater chemistry and to compare water types using distribution maps. Groundwater chemistry has been evaluated and natural processes are identified as control factors for hydrochemistry. The Piper diagram was created to compare the results of water types. Chemical analysis of groundwater was used to calculate the values of the water quality index. Romanian drinking water Law EPA 458-2002 and WHO standards were taken into account when calculating the WQI. The SAR index was used to evaluate groundwater samples, taken from in the study area, and used for irrigation purposes. The classification of water types based on water quality (WQI) values for each groundwater sample shows that 80% of the analyzed samples can be used as drinking water resources, the rest of 20% being intended for irrigation.