GEOSPATIAL ASSESSMENT OF IRRIGATION WATER QUALITY IN MULTAN TEHSIL: A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS

Muhammad Mubashir; Beenish Butt; Masooma Batool; Muhammad Arif; Muhammad Imran  Latif; Ahmad Waqas; Saeed-ur- Rehman; Muhammad Usman  Jamshaid

doi:10.34016/pjbt.2023.20.02.864

Authors

Muhammad Mubashir Soil and Water Testing Laboratory for Research
Beenish Butt Soil and Water Testing Laboratory for Research, Multan, Agriculture Department, Government of Punjab, Pakistan
Masooma Batool Government College University, Lahore
Muhammad Arif Soil and Water Testing Laboratory for Research, Multan, Agriculture Department, Government of Punjab, Pakistan
Muhammad Imran Latif Provincial Reference Fertilizer Testing Laboratory, Raiwand Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Ahmad Waqas Plant Physiology and Chemistry Section, Central Cotton Research Institute, Multan, Pakistan
Saeed-ur- Rehman Soil and Water Testing Laboratory for Research, Bahawalpur-63100, Agriculture Department, Government of Punjab, Pakistan
Muhammad Usman Jamshaid Department of Soil & Environmental Sciences, MNS University of Agriculture, Multan 60000, Pakistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34016/pjbt.2023.20.02.864

Abstract

Water pollution and scarcity threaten sustenance and quality of life. The water usage for irrigation necessitates its content evaluation to ensure safe application and to meet high productivity goals. Drawing upon prior reports addressing salinity concerns in diverse agricultural regions of Pakistan, our study focused on assessing the risks in the Multan Tehsil of Punjab. To accomplish this, well water samples (n=383) were examined for parameters such as electrical conductivity (EC), sodium absorption ratio (SAR), and Residual Sodium Carbonates (RSC). Laboratory analyses indicated elevated levels of selected parameters in water samples from southwestern sites, with 21.4% exceeding SAR limits, 28.7% surpassing RSC thresholds, and 66.1% crossing permissible EC limits. The underlying anthropogenic causes of groundwater pollution include an increased rate of run-off, leachate percolation, reduced infiltration, inadequate recharge of well water, and urban land expansion. Rather than relying on end-of-pipe management strategies, it is recommended to prioritize source water treatment

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

References

Abbas, M., Kazama, S., Takizawa, S. (2022). Water Demand Estimation in Service Areas with Limited Numbers of Customer Meters—Case Study in Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) Lahore, Pakistan. Water,14(14):2197. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/w14142197

Abbas, M., Atangana, N.P.G., Wang, Y. (2022). Influence of Climate Change and Land-Use Alteration on Water Resources in Multan, Pakistan. Applied Sciences, 12(10):5210. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/app12105210

Ahmed, M. A., Ali, M.K., Rashid, S., Noreen. & Butt, B. (2015). Irrigation quality of underground water in district Multan. Vol. 31 No. 2 (2015): Pakistan Journal of Agriculture, Agricultural Engineering and Veterinary Sciences, 31 (2): 211-220.

Akram, S. & Siddiqui, S. (2018). Remote sensing analysis of urban expansion and loss of agricultural land in tehsil Multan city Pakistan. Pakistan Geographical Review, 73(1), 52-62.

Asif, A., Farid, H., Mehboob, M., Hassan, K., Muhammad, D., Waseem, R., Allah, D. & Shaheed, B. (2021). Divergent effect of Rainfall, Temperature and Surface water bodies on Groundwater Quality in Haveli Canal Circle of Multan Irrigation Zone, Southern Punjab, Pakistan. Journal of Environmental and agricultural sciences, 22(4): 25-36.

Atta, M.I., Zehra, S.S., Dai, D.Q., Ali, H., Naveed, K., Ali, I., Sarwar, M., Ali, B., Iqbal, R., Bawazeer, S., Abdel-Hameed, U.K. & Ali, I. (2023). Amassing of heavy metals in soils, vegetables and crop plants irrigated with wastewater: Health risk assessment of heavy metals in Dera Ghazi Khan, Punjab, Pakistan. Front Plant Sci., 16(13):1080635. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.1080635

Aziz, A., Haroon, U., Yasmeen, K., Zuberi, M.H., Hassan, K.S. & Hassan, M. (2021). Comparative Analysis of Trace Elements Found in Commonly Used Vegetables Irrigated by Fresh and Waste Water in Karachi, Pakistan. International journal of economic and environment geology, 12(1): 14-19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.46660/ijeeg.Vol12.Iss1.2021.552

Batool, M., Shahzad, L. (2021). An analytical study on municipal wastewater to energy generation, current trends, and future prospects in South Asian developing countries (an update on Pakistan scenario). Environ Sci Pollut Res., 28, 32075–32094. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-14029-8

Cheng, M., Wang, H., Fan, H., Wang, X., Sun, X., Yang, L., Zhang, S., Xiang, Y., & Zhang, F. (2021). Crop yield and water productivity under salty water irrigation: A global meta-analysis. Agricultural Water Management, 256: 107105. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2021.107105

Cifuentes, M.A., Aguilar, L.A., Zapata, C.M., Camarillo, A.D. & Fuentes, G.JA. (2023). Nutrient Solution Electrical Conductivity Affects Yield and Growth of Sub-Irrigated Tomatoes. Horti culture, 9(7):826. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae9070826

Daud, M.K., Nafees, M., Ali, S., Rizwan, M., Bajwa, R.A., Shakoor, M.B., Arshad, M.U., Chatha, S.A.S., Deeba. F., Murad, W., Malook, I., & Zhu, S.J. (2017). Drinking Water Quality Status and Contamination in Pakistan. Biomed Res Int., 7908183. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/7908183

Fallatah, O. & Khattab, M.R. (2023). Evaluation of Groundwater Quality and Suitability for Irrigation Purposes and Human Consumption in Saudi Arabia. Water, 15, 2352.

Earnest, I., Nazir, R. & Hamid, A. Quality assessment of drinking water of Multan city, Pakistan in context with Arsenic and Fluoride and use of Iron nanoparticle doped kitchen waste charcoal as a potential adsorbent for their combined removal. Appl Water Sci, 11: 191. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13201-021-01531-0

Fallatah, O. & Khattab, M.R. (2023). Evaluation of Groundwater Quality and Suitability for Irrigation Purposes and Human Consumption in Saudi Arabia. Water,15(13):2352. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/w15132352

Faraz, M., Nadeem, N., Mehmood, H. Z., & Ahsan, M. B.. (2023). Impact of Climate Change on Total Factor Productivity of Agriculture in District Multan. Pakistan Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences. 11(2), 2532–2546. DOI: https://doi.org/10.52131/pjhss.2023.1102.0545

Fida, M., Li, P., Wang S. M. Khorshed, A., Abel N. (2022). Water Contamination and Human Health Risks in Pakistan: A Review. Expo Health, 15, 619–639. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12403-022-00512-1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12403-022-00512-1

Hifza, R., Fauzia, A., Kiran, A., & Ashraf, M. (2021). Drinking Water Quality in Pakistan: Current Status and Challenges. Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR), Islamabad. 141. https://pcrwr.gov.pk/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Drinking-Water-Quality-in-Pakistan-2021.pdf

Hussain, S., Mubeen, M., Akram, W., Ahmad, A., Rahman, M., Ghaffar, A., Amin, A., Awais, M., Hafiz, U., Farid, A, Farooq, W., Amin, A., Jatoi, W. (2019). Study of land cover/land use changes using RS and GIS: a case study of Multan district, Pakistan. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-019-7959-1

Hussain, S., Mubeen, M., Ahmad, A., Masood, N., Hammad, H.M., Amjad, M., Imran, M., Usman, M., Farid, H.U., Fahad, S., Nasim, W., Javeed, H.M.R, Ali, Mazhar, Q., Saeed, A., Farooq, A., Khalid, M.S. & Waleed, M. Satellite-based evaluation of temporal change in cultivated land in Southern Punjab (Multan region) through dynamics of vegetation and land surface temperature. Open Geosciences, 13(1): 1561- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/geo-2020-0298

Mahmood, M., Mahmood, K., Zahid, Sultan, M., Hussain, Z., Ullah, A., Hanif, S., Taseer, M., Ali, I., Muhammad, Ahmad, R., Mehmood, T. & Aleem, M. (2021). GIS assessment for groundwater quality of district Multan, Pakistan. Fresenius Environmental Bulletin, 30: 10728-10737.

Malik, D.M., M.A. Khanand and T.A. Chaudhry. (1984). Analysis manual for soils plants and water. Soil Fertility Survey and Soil Testing Institute, Lahore.

Malik, A., Tayyab, H., Ullah, M.A. & Muhammad, B. (2021). Dynamics of Salinity and Land Use in Punjab Province of Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Research, 34. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17582/journal.pjar/2021/34.1.16.22

Nadeem, M., Khaliq, N., Akhtar, N., Al-Rashid, M.A., Asim, M., Codur, M.K., Mustafaraj, E., Codur, M.Y. & Baig, F. (2022). Exploring the Urban Form and Compactness: A Case Study of Multan, Pakistan. Sustainability, 14(23):16066. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su142316066

Pervaiz, Z., Kazmi, S. S. H., Gill, K.H. & Mukhtar, M. (2003). Characterization of groundwater in Gujrat district. Asian. J. Soil Sci., 6(1): 681-682. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3923/ajps.2002.681.682

Perveen, S. & Haque, A. (2023). Drinking water quality monitoring, assessment and management in Pakistan: A review. Heliyon, 9 (3): 13872. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13872

Prathapar, S., Hashmi, B., Hashmi, M. & Arslan, M. (2021). Determining sustainability of groundwater use in punjab’s irrigation canal. Project Number: 49048-001, 1-66.

Qureshi, A.S. (2020). Groundwater Governance in Pakistan: From Colossal Development to Neglected Management. Water,12(11):3017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/w12113017

Riaz, U., Abbas, Z., Zaman, Q., Mubashir, M., Jabeen, M., Zulqadar, S., Javeed, Z., Rehman, S., Ashraf, M., & Qamar, M. (2018). Evaluation of Ground Water Quality for Irrigation Purposes and Effect on Crop Yields: A GIS Based Study of Bahawalpur. Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Research, 31(1), 1-105. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17582/journal.pjar/2018/31.1.29.36

Richards, L.A. (1954) Diagnosis and Improvement of Saline Alkali Soils, Agriculture, 160, Handbook 60. US Department of Agriculture, Washington DC. https://www.scirp.org/(S(351jmbntvnsjt1aadkposzje))/reference/ReferencesPapers.aspx?ReferenceID=1480966.

Sajid, M., Mobeen, M., Aziz, T., Kanwal, N., Rehman, A., Rauf, M. (2020). Impact of land use change on agriculture production of Multan district (A case study). Science International, 32(6),705-710.

Sarah, W., Park, D., & Menchyk, N. (2014). Assessing Irrigation Water Quality for pH, Salts, & Alkalinity Introduction: Irrigation Water Quality and Agriculture. Journal of Extension, 52: 68. https://10.34068/joe.52.06.10. DOI: https://doi.org/10.34068/joe.52.06.10

Seleiman, M.F., Al-Suhaibani, N., Ali, N., Akmal, M., Alotaibi, M., Refay, Y., Dindaroglu, T., Abdul-Wajid, H.H. & Battaglia, M.L. Drought Stress Impacts on Plants and Different Approaches to Alleviate Its Adverse Effects. Plants,10(2):259. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10020259

Shmeis, R.M. (2018). Water Chemistry and Microbiology. Comprehensive Analytical Chemistry, 81, 1–56. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.coac.2018.02.001

Steel, R.G.D., Torrie, J.H., & Dickey, D.A. (1997). Principles and procedures of statistics. A biometrical approach. 3rd Ed., McGraw Hill Book Co., New York, USA. Experiment Agriculture, 2: 119-133.

WHO. (2017). Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality: Fourth Edition Incorporating the First Addendum; World Health Organization: Geneva, Switzerland.

Tekile, A.K. (2023). Suitability Assessment of Surface Water Quality for Irrigation: A Case Study of Modjo River, Ethiopia. J Environ Public Health, 27: 1482229. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/1482229

Wu, Y.X., Chen, S.L. & Yuan, D.J. (2016). Characteristics of dewatering induced drawdown curve under blocking effect of retaining wall in aquifer. J. Hydrol.,539, 554–566. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.05.065

Zhang, H. (2017). Understanding Your Irrigation Water Test Report.

https://extension.okstate.edu/fact-sheets/understanding-your-irrigation-water-test-report.html#rating-water-quality