Application of GIS for the identification and demarcation of selective heavy metal concentrations in the urban groundwater

doi:10.1007/s11442-015-1164-0

Abstract

Abstract:

Groundwater is the most appropriate and widely used source of drinking water, which is increasingly threatened by pollution from industrial and agricultural activities. To check the severity of the problem, 156 groundwater samples were collected from various depths (60-110 ft) of 52 different localities in Faisalabad city, the third largest metropolis in Pakistan, and analyzed for the metals (Zn, Cu, Cd, Ni, Pb, Mn and Fe) concentration in 2009. Quantification was done by using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer technique and the results were compared with WHO standards for drinking water quality. Results showed that the levels of Cu, Mn and Fe were below the WHO standards while the concentrations of Zn, Cd, Ni and Pb were above the recommended levels of safe drinking water. Correlation analysis among the occurrence of these heavy metals revealed a highly significant and positive correlation of Mn with Zn and Fe. A significant and positive correlation of Cd was also found with Cu and groundwater depth showing that there is strong association between Cu-Cd pair and that the Cd concentration varies with depth of groundwater in the study area. Regional patterns of heavy metals occurrence were mapped using Geographical Information System (GIS) for the identification and demarcation of risk areas. The concentration maps may be used by policymakers of the city to mitigate groundwater pollution.

Key words: heavy metals, groundwater contamination, Faisalabad, pollution mitigation

ASHRAF Sobia, ABBAS Farhat, IBRAHIM Muhammad, RASHID Umer, KHALID Shoaib, Raza AHMAD Hammad, Rehman HAKEEM Khalid, MAJEED Tahir. Application of GIS for the identification and demarcation of selective heavy metal concentrations in the urban groundwater[J].Journal of Geographical Sciences, 2015, 25(2): 225-235.

Figures/Tables 14

Figure 1

Table 1

Comparison of means ± SD (standard deviation) of concentrations (ppm) for studied heavy metals at all sampling sites"

Sr. No.	Sampling locations	Zn ± SD	Cu ± SD	Cd ± SD	Ni ± SD	Pb ± SD	Mn ± SD	Fe ± SD
1	Pathanwala	0.239±0.32	0.033±0.01	0.017±0.01	0.041±0.02	0.03±0.02	0.011±0.01	0.016±0.01
2	Rashid Abad	0.322±0.36	0.03±0.01	0.011±0.01	0.051±0.02	0.029±0.02	0.017±0.02	0.031±0.02
3	Saif Abad	0.271±0.22	0.028±0.01	0.021±0.01	0.039±0.02	0.029±0.02	0.011±0.01	0.019±0.01
4	Shadab Colony	0.454±0.52	0.048±0.01	0.028±0.01	0.045±0.02	0.009±0.01	0.009±0.01	0.012±0.01
5	Ali Housing Colony	0.099±0.06	0.028±0.01	0.013±0.02	0.047±0.02	0.012±0.01	0.02±0.01	0.012±0.01
6	Gulfishan Colony	0.401±0.42	0.032±0.01	0.01±0.01	0.054±0.01	0.021±0.01	0.011±0.01	0.011±0.01
7	Sheikh Colony	0.078±0.05	0.025±0.01	0.017±0.02	0.057±0.01	0.036±0.01	0.018±0.01	0.019±0.01
8	Liaquat Abad	0.546±0.49	0.026±0.01	0.007±0.01	0.05±0.02	0.026±0.01	0.005±0.01	0.007±0.01
9	Liaquat Town	0.422±0.69	0.034±0.02	0.005±0.01	0.033±0.03	0.017±0.01	0.012±0.01	0.015±0.01
10	Afghan Abad	0.436±0.30	0.032±0.01	0.021±0.01	0.051±0.01	0.01±0.01	0.016±0.01	0.024±0.01
11	Guru Nanak Pura	0.139±0.15	0.035±0.01	0.016±0.02	0.057±0.01	0.024±0.01	0.006±0.01	0.019±0.01
12	Gulberg	0.136±0.16	0.024±0.01	0.003±0.01	0.038±0.01	0.007±0.01	0.006±0.01	0.014±0.01
13	Jinnah Colony	0.438±0.65	0.048±0.02	0.038±0.01	0.030±0.02	0.013±0.01	0.014±0.01	0.031±0.01
14	GC University	0.19±0.08	0.022±0.01	0.019±0.01	0.036±0.01	0.021±0.01	0.015±0.01	0.026±0.01
15	UAF	0.326±0.39	0.034±0.01	0.019±0.01	0.036±0.02	0.025±0.01	0.011±0.01	0.019±0.01
16	Raza Abad	0.333±0.46	0.052±0.01	0.018±0.02	0.053±0.01	0.016±0.01	0.008±0.01	0.018±0.01
17	G.M. Abad	0.265±0.16	0.035±0.02	0.017±0.01	0.061±0.01	0.021±0.01	0.014±0.01	0.019±0.01
18	MarziPura	0.098±0.11	0.05±0.02	0.019±0.01	0.04±0.02	0.022±0.01	0.014±0.01	0.016±0.01
19	NIBGE	0.215±0.29	0.033±0.01	0.015±0.01	0.05±0.01	0.008±0.01	0.016±0.01	0.045±0.01
20	NIAB	0.089±0.01	0.043±0.01	0.021±0.01	0.049±0.01	0.006±0.01	0.015±0.01	0.022±0.01
21	AARI	0.078±0.01	0.04±0.02	0.021±0.02	0.045±0.02	0.02±0.01	0.008±0.01	0.016±0.01
22	Ayub Colony	0.041±0.01	0.039±0.02	0.022±0.02	0.03±0.01	0.033±0.02	0.014±0.01	0.022±0.01
23	Pertap Nagar	0.02±0.01	0.057±0.02	0.032±0.01	0.056±0.01	0.022±0.01	0.011±0.01	0.019±0.01
24	Nazim Abad	0.125±0.15	0.031±0.01	0.025±0.02	0.04±0.01	0.013±0.01	0.007±0.01	0.028±0.01
25	Khalid Abad	0.172±0.02	0.04±0.03	0.028±0.02	0.072±0.01	0.03±0.02	0.008±0.01	0.018±0.01
26	HerchernPura	0.321±0.49	0.054±0.03	0.023±0.01	0.037±0.02	0.012±0.01	0.002±0.01	0.02±0.01
27	SanatPura	0.219±0.27	0.028±0.01	0.018±0.02	0.044±0.01	0.03±0.01	0.016±0.01	0.03±0.01
28	DiglosPura	0.092±0.02	0.034±0.02	0.02±0.01	0.056±0.01	0.036±0.02	0.009±0.01	0.024±0.02
29	Clock Tower	0.066±0.01	0.029±0.01	0.024±0.01	0.051±0.01	0.026±0.01	0.023±0.01	0.026±0.02
30	Jhang Road	0.045±0.02	0.023±0.02	0.034±0.01	0.049±0.01	0.02±0.02	0.005±0.01	0.019±0.01
31	Jinnah Garden	0.12±0.08	0.069±0.02	0.035±0.02	0.034±0.01	0.021±0.01	0.022±0.01	0.017±0.01
32	DHQ	0.494±0.63	0.068±0.02	0.017±0.01	0.043±0.01	0.025±0.02	0.009±0.01	0.022±0.01
33	Allied Hospi- tal/PINUM	0.673±0.48	0.036±0.01	0.012±0.01	0.062±0.01	0.032±0.02	0.022±0.01	0.033±0.01
34	Sargodha Road	0.252±0.21	0.037±0.01	0.021±0.01	0.045±0.01	0.038±0.02	0.008±0.01	0.034±0.01
35	Gulistan Colony	0.124±0.14	0.054±0.01	0.032±0.01	0.063±0.01	0.049±0.01	0.009±0.01	0.025±0.02
36	Abdullah Pur	0.066±0.02	0.03±0.01	0.023±0.01	0.047±0.01	0.025±0.01	0.007±0.01	0.025±0.01
37	Canal Road	0.054±0.01	0.049±0.01	0.016±0.01	0.029±0.02	0.013±0.01	0.007±0.01	0.034±0.02
38	Madina Town	0.511±0.30	0.038±0.02	0.017±0.01	0.035±0.01	0.022±0.01	0.007±0.01	0.034±0.02
39	Officers Colony	0.117±0.06	0.058±0.01	0.028±0.01	0.065±0.01	0.023±0.01	0.003±0.01	0.032±0.01
40	Satiana Road	0.196±0.17	0.039±0.01	0.026±0.01	0.037±0.02	0.047±0.02	0.015±0.01	0.043±0.03
41	Batala Colony	0.05±0.03	0.041±0.02	0.013±0.01	0.038±0.02	0.026±0.01	0.019±0.01	0.02±0.01
42	Peoples Colony	0.206±0.14	0.032±0.02	0.021±0.02	0.046±0.02	0.016±0.02	0.015±0.01	0.034±0.01
43	D Ground	0.054±0.02	0.055±0.01	0.03±0.01	0.042±0.02	0.009±0.01	0.017±0.01	0.033±0.01
44	WarisPura	0.103±0.06	0.02±0.01	0.032±0.01	0.056±0.02	0.033±0.02	0.01±0.01	0.033±0.01
45	Jaranwala Road	1.14±1.84	0.03±0.01	0.033±0.01	0.055±0.02	0.032±0.02	0.013±0.01	0.017±0.01
46	Dhuddiwala	0.328±0.22	0.031±0.01	0.009±0.01	0.043±0.02	0.056±0.01	0.023±0.01	0.032±0.01
47	Samundari Road	0.083±0.01	0.048±0.02	0.024±0.01	0.041±0.02	0.007±0.01	0.008±0.01	0.015±0.01
48	Amin Abad	0.027±0.01	0.036±0.01	0.014±0.01	0.054±0.01	0.015±0.01	0.009±0.01	0.018±0.01
49	Mehmood Abad	0.034±0.02	0.029±0.01	0.029±0.01	0.048±0.02	0.016±0.01	0.006±0.01	0.03±0.02
50	Nisar Colony	0.054±0.03	0.039±0.01	0.016±0.01	0.033±0.02	0.055±0.01	0.005±0.01	0.037±0.01
51	Jawala Nagar	0.042±0.02	0.039±0.01	0.017±0.01	0.039±0.02	0.027±0.03	0.007±0.01	0.025±0.01
52	Nawabanwala	0.248±0.30	0.038±0.02	0.019±0.01	0.04±0.02	0.032±0.02	0.01±0.01	0.031±0.01
	Grand total	0.224±0.37	0.038±0.02	0.02±0.01	0.046±0.02	0.024±0.01	0.012±0.01	0.024±0.01

Table 1

Table 2

Table 3

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

References 24

1	Ahmad I, Athar M, Sarwar F, 2004. Surface water suitability for drinking purpose in Cholistan Desert.J. Biol. Sci., 4(1): 34-39.
2	Ahmad K, Ibrahim M, Khan Z Iet al., 2011. Effect of sewage water on mineral nutritive potential of six fodder species grown under semiarid conditions.Saudi J. Biol. Sci., 18: 317-321.
3	Ahmad K, Khan Z I, Ashraf Met al., 2008. Status of plant diversity at Kufri (Soone valley) Punjab, Pakistan and prevailing threats therein.Pak. J. Bot., 40: 993-997.
4	Ahmad K, Khan Z I, Ibrahim Met al., 2010. Evaluation of nutritional composition of plant species of Soone valley in Punjab, Pakistan.J. Plant Nutr., 33: 496-517.
5	Ahmad Z, Anwar Q, 2011. Source evaluation of physicochemically contaminated groundwater of Dera Ismail Khan area, Pakistan.Env. Monitor. Assess., 175(1-4): 9-21.
6	Akhter G, Zulfiqar A, Javed Iet al., 2010. Physicochemical characterization of groundwater in urban areas of Lahore, Pakistan, with special reference to arsenic.J. Chem. Society Pak., 32(3): 306-312.
7	Akoto O, Adiyiah J, 2007. Chemical analysis of drinking water from some communities in the Brong Ahafo region.Int. J. Environ. Sci. Tech., 4(2): 211-214.
8	Fardous A, Gondal S, Shah Z Aet al., 2010. Sodium, potassium and magnesium dynamics in soil-plant-animal continuum.Pak. J. Bot., 42: 2411-2421.
9	Farooq M A, Yasmin N, Mughal Set al., 2010. Human Induced Impact on Malir River Basin Karachi, Pakistan.World Appl. Sci. J., 9(12): 1450-1456.
10	Ibrahim M, Han K H, Ha S Ket al., 2012. Physico-chemical characteristics of disturbed soils affected by accumulate of different texture in South Korea.Sains. Malays., 41(3): 285-291.
11	Igwilo I O, Afonne O J, Maduabuchi U Jet al., 2006. Toxicological study of the Anam River in Otuocha, Anambra State, Nigeria.Arch. Environ. Occup. Health, 61(5): 205-208.
12	Ilyas A, Sarwar T, 2003 Study of trace elements in drinking water in the vicinity of Palosi Drain, Peshawar.Pak. J. Biol. Sci., 6(1): 86-91.
13	Irfan M, Ibrahim M, Rashid Uet al., 2013. Optimization of Cr (III) removal from wastewater using Thespesia populenea particles by response surface methodology.Asian J. Chem., 25(15): 224-255
14	Kausar R, Zulfiqar A, 2009. Determination of toxic inorganic elements pollution in ground waters of Kahuta industrial triangle Islamabad, Pakistan using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Env. Monitor. Assess., 157(1-4): 347-354.
15	Lodhi Z H, Akif M, Kalsoom U, 2003. Evaluation of drinking water from different sources in Skardu-Northern area with special reference to heavy metals.J. Chem. Soc. Pak., 25(2): 110-113.
16	Majidano S A, Khuwahar M Y, 2009. Distribution of heavy metals in the groundwater of Taluka Daur, District Nawabshaw, Sindh, Pakistan, and its impact on human health.J. Chem. Soc. Pak., 31(3): 408-414.
17	Mastoi G M, Syed G S S, Mohammad Y K, 2008. Assessment of water quality of Manchar lake in Sindh (Pakistan).Env. Monitor. Asses., 141(1-3): 287-296.
18	Prasad B G, Narayana T S, 2004. Subsurface water quality of different sampling stations with some selected parameters at Machilipatnam Town.Nat. Env. Poll. Tech., 3(1): 47-50.
19	Rashid S, Yagub M, Afzal Het al., 1996. Evaluation of some heavy metals (Ni, Pb, Cu, Cd, Zn and Cr) from drinking water of Faisalabad City.Prof. Med. J., 3(4): 317-23.
20	Rehman K, Ashraf S, Rashid Uet al., 2013. Comparison of proximate and heavy metal contents of vegetables grown with fresh and wastewater.Pak. J. Bot., 45: 391-400.
21	Said M, Muhammad T S, Sardar K, 2011. Health risk assessment of heavy metals and their source apportionment in drinking water of Kohistan region, Northern Pakistan.Microcheml. J., 18(2): 334-343.
22	Santos A, Alonso E, Callejon M, et al., 2000. Distribution of Zn, Cd, Pb and Cu metals in groundwater of the Guadiamar river basin. Water Air Soil Poll., 134HYPERLINK. “”(1-4): 273-283.
23	Tariq S R, Munir H S, Shaheen Net al., 2008. Statistical source identification of metals in groundwater exposed to industrial contamination.J. Env. Monito. Assess., 138(1-3): 159-165.
24	Ullah R, Riffat N M, Abdul Q, 2009. Assessment of groundwater contamination in an industrial city, Sialkot, Pakistan.Afr. J. Env. Sci. Tech., 3(12): 429-446.

	Zn	Cu	Cd	Ni	Pb	Mn	Fe
Cu	0.038 ^NS P=0.634	1.00
Cd	-0.066^NS P=0.414	0.160* P=0.045	1.00
Ni	0.025^NS P=0.757	-0.014^NS P=0.865	-0.024^NS P=0.770	1.00
Pb	0.056^NS P=0.487	-0.091^NS P=0.257	-0.031^NS P=0.702	0.044^NS P=0.582	1.00
Mn	0.207** P=0.010	-0.110^NS P=0.173	0.010^NS P=0.903	-0.071^NS P=0.382	0.072^NS P=0.373	1.00
Fe	-0.033^NS P=0.678	-0.052^NS P=0.516	0.112^NS P=0.162	-0.088^NS P=0.272	0.139^NS P=0.083	0.208** P=0.009
Depth (ft)	-0.072^NS p=0.371	0.084^NS p=0.297	0.163* p=0.043	0.038^NS p=0.641	-0.010^NS p=0.906	-0.037^NS p=0.643	0.093^NS p=0.251

Heavy metals	Concentrations of heavy metals (ppm)
Heavy metals	Min	Max	Mean	SD	WHO Value
Zn	0.008	3.265	0.224	±0.374	3.000
Cu	0.011	0.088	0.038	±0.015	2.000
Cd	0.002	0.050	0.020	±0.012	0.003
Ni	0.007	0.085	0.046	±0.017	0.020
Pb	0.002	0.065	0.024	±0.014	0.010
Mn	0.001	0.033	0.012	±0.007	0.500
Fe	0.004	0.061	0.024	±0.010	0.300

[1]	Yiping CHEN, Junhua WU, Hong WANG, Jifu MA, Cuicui SU, Kaibo WANG, Yi WANG. Evaluating the soil quality of newly created farmland in the hilly and gully region on the Loess Plateau, China [J]. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 2019, 29(5): 791-802.
[2]	Yang LIU, Zongwei MA, Jianshu LV, Jun BI. Identifying sources and hazardous risks of heavy metals in topsoils of rapidly urbanizing East China [J]. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 2016, 26(6): 735-749.
[3]	SUN Chao, BI Chunjuan, CHEN Zhenlou, WANG Dongqi, ZHANG Cui, SUN Yuedi, YU Zhongjie, ZHOU Dong. Assessment on environmental quality of heavy metals in agricultural soils of Chongming Island, Shanghai City [J]. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 2010, 20(1): 135-147.
[4]	DUAN Jianping, WANG Lily, REN Jiawen, LI Lun, HAN Junqing. Seasonal variations in heavy metals concentrations in Mt. Qomolangma Region snow [J]. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 2009, 19(2): 249-256.
[5]	ZHENG Guozhang, YUE Leping, LI Zhipei, CHEN Chao. Assessment on heavy metals pollution of agricultural soil in Guanzhong District [J]. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 2006, 16(1): 105-113.
[6]	GAO Xiaojiang, CHEN Zhenlou, ZHANG Nianli, XU Shiyuan, CHEN Limin. Heavy metals and phosphorus in tidal flat sediments of the Yangtze estuary [J]. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 2002, 12(4): 472-478.