TITLE:
Hydrochemistry and Quality Assessment of Water in Tannur Dam, Southern Jordan
AUTHORS:
Omar A. Al-Khashman, Hani M. Alnawafleh
KEYWORDS:
Hydrochemistry, Tannur Dam, Jordan, Saturation Indices, Water Quality
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Modern Hydrology,
Vol.10 No.1,
January
22,
2020
ABSTRACT: The study was undertaken to assess the physicochemical
and chemical quality of the Tannur dam water in southern Jordan. The water
samples were collected in two intervals the first during May 2015 and the
second during September 2015. All samples were analyzed for temperature,
conductivity, dissolved oxygen, pH, major cations (Ca2+, Mg2+,
K+, Na+), and major anions
(Cl-, NO3-, HCO3- and SO42-). The
hydrogeochemical analyses of thirty-six water samples were used to determine
the properties and type of water in the Tannur dam. The ion concentration in
the water samples was from dissolution of carbonate rocks and ion exchange
processes in clay. The general chemistry of water samples was typical alkaline
earth waters with prevailing bicarbonate chloride. The PHREEQC Hydrogeochemical
modeling was used to obtain the saturation indices of specific mineral phases,
which might be related to interaction with water and aquifer, and to identify
the chemical species of the dissolved ions. Calcite and dolomite solubility
were assessed in terms of saturation index where they show positive values
indication oversaturated SI > 0. The hydrogeochemistry behavior is rather
complicated and is affected by anthropogenic and natural sources. The positive correlation
values between various parameters indicate that most of ions result from same
lithological sources. The abundance of the major ions in water samples is in
the following order: HCO3-> Ca2+ > Cl- > NO3- > SO42-) > Na+ > Mg2+ > K+. Water samples of the Tannur dam are
generally very hard, high to very high saline and medium alkaline in nature.
High total hardness (TH) and total dissolved solids (TDS) in some samples
identify the permissible for domestic and irrigation purposes. According to the
residual sodium carbonate, SAR and conductivity values, the studied water is
suitable for agricultural purposes.