ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Hydrochemical Characteristics and Quality
Assessment of Shallow Groundwater in Poultry
Farming Sites in Suzhou City, China
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1
School of Earth and Environment, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan, 232001, Anhui, China
2
National Engineering Research Center of Coal Mine Water Hazard Controlling (Suzhou University),
Suzhou, 234000, Anhui, China
Submission date: 2022-02-17
Final revision date: 2022-04-07
Acceptance date: 2022-04-09
Online publication date: 2022-06-20
Publication date: 2022-09-01
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2022;31(5):4071-4084
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ABSTRACT
In recent years, the impact of the excrement from large-scale poultry farms on the quality of
shallow groundwater has attracted widespread attention. In the present study, the hydrogeochemical
characteristics of shallow groundwater around poultry farming sites in the town of Zhuxianzhuang
in Suzhou, Northern Anhui, China, were investigated using various statistical techniques, a Piper
trilinear diagram, ion combination ratios, correlation analysis, and a fuzzy comprehensive evaluation
method. The results show that the shallow groundwater in the area is dominantly of the HCO3–Ca type.
The relative abundances of the major cations and anions in the groundwater are in the order
Na+>Ca2+>Mg2+ >K+ and HCO3− >Cl−>SO42−>NO3−> F−, respectively. According to the concentrations and
distribution of tri-nitrogen in the groundwater, pollution is mainly associated with domestic wastewater,
followed by poultry farm waste. The most severe pollution involves NO2–N, and this adversely impacts
the potability of the shallow groundwater. The leaching of rocks and silicate weathering are the principal
processes responsible for the ionic composition of the shallow groundwater in the study area. Class
I, II, and III waters account for 9.52%, 28.57%, and 61.90%, respectively, of the groundwater in the
area. The shallow groundwater is suitable for high salinity-tolerant plants or soils associated with good
leaching conditions. Future water management in the poultry farming area should prioritize the control
of shallow groundwater nitrite pollution.