Investigating the groundwater quality of Evan Plain aquifer in Khuzestan province with emphasis on nitrate concentration

The Evan plain is located in the Khuzestan province in the southwest of Andimshek city. Groundwater is one of the available water resources for irrigation, drinking, and industry in this region. Due to the importance of examining the ground water quality of the Evan plain, hydrochemical parameters and nitrate pollution have been evaluated. Nitrate is one of the most widespread pollutants of ground water in the world. However, few studies have been conducted on this pollutant in the Evan plain. Therefore, to assess the quality of ground water in this area with emphasis on nitrate pollution, sampling was carried out in September of the water year (1400-1401) from 22 wells in this plain. During the sampling, field parameters (temperature, pH, EC), concentrations of major elements (Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, Cl-, SO42-, HCO32-, CO32-), and nitrate were measured. The results of the factor analysis demonstrated three influencing factors, namely EC, Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Cl-, SO42-  (as the first factor), pH and Hco32- (as the second factor), and NO3- (as the third factor), with a total of 89.72% having the most changes in the Evan plain aquifer. The dominant water type in the Evan plain is sulfate-calcite. Hierarchical clustering analysis shows the three clusters for the regionalization of nitrate data. In general, the changes in nitrate ion concentration in the groundwater of the Evan plain are affected by the size of the soil particles, the depth of the groundwater, and the utilization of chemical fertilizers in the area.