Groundwater Quality Assessment with an Emphasis on Potential Siltation and Corrosion for the Hable-Roud River Basin

Groundwater quality, especially siltation and corrosion, are of great importance considering economic and health concerns. Due to the growing population and increasing water demands in the Hable-Roud river basin and therefore increasing importance of groundwater, this research aims to assess the potential of corrosion and siltation in groundwater resources. In this research, the Langelier Saturation Index, Ryznar Stability Index, Puckorius Scaling Index and Aggressive Index indicators were used for corrosion and siltation assessment and geostatistical analyses tools in ArcGIS were applied for zonation of the indicators across the watershed. Given the average values obtained (0.67 for LSI; 6.51 for RSI; 6.09 for PSI; 12.89 for AI), a large portion of the study area (about 74%) is faced with a siltation condition. Considering the minimum values of RMSE, the two indices of LSI and RSI were interpolated using the Kriging method, while the IDW and RBF were considered for the interpolation of the PSI and AI indices, respectively. Results suggest that, based on the SI indicator, 75.3% of the total area encounters a siltation condition while the figures change for AI as 72.96%, for PSI as 56.42% and for RSI as 32.17%. In general, assessment of the corrosion and siltation indicators indicates a siltation status for the groundwater resources of the basin, which necessitates developing a suitable management plan to prevent its economic and health consequences. One of the appropriate ways to deal with the siltation issue is to identify critical areas and then adjust water pH to under saturation level.