Water Air Soil Pollut (2021) 232:352

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-021-05310-0

Modelling and Assessment of Irrigation Water Quality

Index Using GIS in Semi‑arid Region for Sustainable
Agriculture
Radwa A. El Behairy · Ahmed A. El Baroudy · Mahmoud M. Ibrahim ·
Ahmed M. S. Kheir · Mohamed S. Shokr

Received: 17 May 2021 / Accepted: 13 August 2021

© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021

Abstract Agriculture is the largest consumer of Nemerow index (NeI), ecological risks of heavy metal
water, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions, so index (ERI), heavy metal evaluation index (HEI), pol-
identifying and managing surface water quality in lution load index (PLI), and modified degree of con-
these areas is critical to preserving water resources tamination (mCd) for five selected metals, namely As,
and ensuring sustainable agriculture. Irrigation water Co, Cu, Ni, and Zn, were calculated to assess heavy
quality (IWQ) assessment integrated with geographic metal contamination levels in the study area. The
information system (GIS) of West Nile Delta, Egypt, results showed that HPI had 3.7% medium contami-
was carried out using suitability indicators such as nation and 96.3% high contamination; NeI was 7.4%
hazards of salinity, permeability hazard, specific moderately contaminated and 92.6% heavily contami-
ion toxicity, and miscellaneous impacts on sensitive nated; ERI has almost 7% low risk, 30% moderate
crops. In ArcGIS 10.7, inverse distance-weighted risk, 41% considerable risk, and 22% very high risk;
algorithms and the Model Builder function were used HEI had 100% low contamination; PLI was 100%
to categorize irrigation water quality into different polluted; and mCd has 18.5% moderately-heavily
classes. According to the findings, 87% and 13% of polluted, 63% heavily polluted, and 18.5% severely
the water samples from the study area were catego- polluted samples. This research can help decision-
rized as medium and high suitability for irrigation, makers manage water resources more effectively for
respectively. The heavy metal pollution index (HPI), sustainable agriculture.

Supplementary Information The online version Keywords IWQI · GIS · Heavy metal indices ·
contains supplementary material available at https://​doi.​ West Nile Delta-Egypt
org/​10.​1007/​s11270-​021-​05310-0.

R. A. El Behairy · A. A. El Baroudy · M. M. Ibrahim ·

M. S. Shokr (*) 1 Introduction
Soil and Water Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Tanta
University, Tanta 31527, Egypt Irrigated areas will be expanded throughout the world,
e-mail: [email protected]
particularly in arid and semi-arid regions, to meet the
R. A. El Behairy expected increase in food production (Asseng et al.,
Tanta, Egypt 2018), as the world’s population is expected to reach
9.0 billion people by 2030 (Godfray et al., 2010).
A. M. S. Kheir
Agriculture is the largest consumer of water in arid
Soils, Water and Environment Research Institute,
Agricultural Research Center, Giza, Egypt and semi-arid regions such as Egypt, accounting for

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more than two-thirds of the world’s available fresh evaluating electrical conductivity (EC), exchangeable
water resources (Ali et al., 2020; Ding et al., 2021). sodium ratio (KR), residual sodium carbonate (RSC),
Egypt uses drainage water as its primary irrigation magnesium adsorption ratio (MAR), and total hardness
resource due to limited fresh water resources, an arid (TH) (Thapa et al., 2017). Although many studies have
climate, and rapid population growth (Ding et al., been conducted to assess groundwater quality based
2020a; Seleiman et al., 2019), deteriorating soil quality on heavy metal contamination for various uses, very
and increasing pollution (Seleiman & Kheir, 2018b, few studies have been conducted with surface water
2018a). Consequently, the polluted soil with toxic quality in arid and semi-arid regions (Amiri et al., 2014;
heavy metals not only declined crop yield and quality Rezaei et al., 2019; Wątor & Zdechlik, 2021). One of
but also increased the risk to human health (Kheir the important indices is the heavy metal pollution
et al., 2021). Proper water quality used for irrigation index (HPI). This method is used to characterize water
management is critical to achieving long-term yield quality based on the maximum desirable and maximum
sustainability in agricultural products (Safiur Rahman permissible limit of each heavy metal (Maskooni et al.,
et al., 2017). Thus, the quality of irrigation water must 2020). Moreover, comparable indices include the heavy
be assessed in order to avoid or, at the very least, metal evaluation index (HEI), the Nemerow index (NeI),
minimize impacts on agriculture. Local and national and the ecological risks of heavy metals (Chaturvedi
governments work hard to protect this valuable et al., 2019; Mukherjee et al., 2020; Sawut et al., 2018).
resource for long-term development, as farming is an A geographical information system (GIS) is a powerful
important part of the global economy and is regarded tool for storing, controlling, analyzing, and producing
as the largest consumer of fresh water, as well as a spatial distribution of information for making decisions
significant cause of surface and groundwater quality in multiple areas at once, which aids in the resolution
degradation (Asadi et al., 2020; Faithful & Finlayson, of relevant issues. It also serves an important purpose
2005). Good management of various land and water in demonstrating the distribution of water quality
resources is critical to preserving food deliveries and parameters (Manap et al., 2014; Nampak et al., 2014).
achieving agricultural development sustainability, Instead of using these parameters in isolation, this
but Egypt’s neutral resources are under too much study used a GIS environment to incorporate all water
strain due to population growth and land degradation quality parameters to provide a more precise predictor
(Baroudy et al., 2020; El Baroudy, 2011). for surface water quality. Furthermore, GIS provides
Water quality is characterized as the natural, a baseline data regarding contamination by selected
physical, and chemical state of water, as well as any heavy metals to access the overall water quality in the
human-induced changes (Ighalo & Adeniyi, 2020; Jafar study area and identify the areas with the highest and
Ahamed et al., 2013; Salahat et al., 2014). Water quality lowest quality, resulting in more useful outcomes for
indices (WQIs) aid in the condensing of large datasets achieving sustainable development. Therefore, the
generated by monitoring programs into a single value following objectives were clearly defined in order to
that characterizes water quality (Singh et al., 2020). WQI provide critical information on the suitability of the
prediction could also be accomplished using artificial water sources.
intelligence techniques and evolutionary computing-
based formulations (Hameed et al., 2017). GIS has i.Identifying the location of surface water feeding.
also been used to predict WQI for groundwater (Oseke ii.Determine the WQI parameters in water canals.
et al., 2021; Rawat & Singh, 2018), which necessitates iii.Produce interpolated maps of water properties.
further investigation in surface water and in arid regions. iv. Modelling parameters of hazards using Model
Numerous researchers have used hydrochemical indices Builder in ArcGIS 10.7.
such as sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), permeability v. Comprehensive evaluation of water contamina-
index (PI), and irrigation water coefficient (Cieszynska tion in the study area.
et al., 2012; Li et al., 2013; Yıldız & Karakuş, 2020).
These indices include a combination of chemical To our knowledge, our research is one of the few
analyses, so better results are expected. Furthermore, studies that assess surface water quality in the study
water suitability for irrigation can be determined by area, and the results provide valuable information

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on the water’s suitability for irrigation use, which et al., 2005). The irrigation system is mostly surface
decision-makers can use as a guide for quantitative irrigation, with water pumped from irrigation canals
and qualitative management. and drains into furrows and basins. The source of irri-
gation water in the study area is the Rosetta branch
(239 km long), which emerges from the Nile 20 km
2 Methods north of Cairo and runs west, ending in the sea at the
City of Rosetta. Open drains, which are widely used
2.1 Location of the Study Area to drain excess irrigation water as well as irrigation,
are widely distributed.
The study area is located in the Northwest of Nile
Delta, Egypt. It lies between longitudes 30° 15′ 0″ 2.2 Collecting Samples and Laboratory Analyses
and 30° 40′ 0″ E, and latitudes 31° 7′ 15″ and 31°
30′ 45″ N, with total area of 767 k­ m2 (Fig. 1). The The performed working methodology of this study is
area is characterized by a Mediterranean Sea climate. shown in Fig. 2.
The average maximum temperature is relatively high During the 2019 field inventory, 27 surface water
in the dry season as it recorded 30.0 °C in August. samples were collected from irrigation canals and
The average minimum temperature was 13.0 °C in drains (Fig. S1). Samples were collected in freshly
January. Winter rainfall is typically light and showery washed plastic bottles and placed in an ice box for
from November to February with a total amount of laboratory analysis. Chemical analysis of water
about 190 mm annually. The lowest value of evapo- samples was performed by the accredited soil, water,
ration was observed in January and December due and plant laboratory at Tanta University’s Faculty of
to low temperatures, while the highest value was Agriculture in accordance with ISO/IEC 17,025:2017
observed in June and September due to relatively requirements. The chemical analysis included the
high temperatures. The annual average of evaporation determination of the major ions (i.e., ­Na+, ­K+, ­Ca++,
ranges from 3.3 to 4.8 mm/day. The lowest propor- ­Mg++, ­Cl−, ­CO3−−, ­HCO3−, and ­SO4−−, pH, and the
tion of relative humidity was observed in April (51%) EC) as well as trace elements (As, Co, Cu, Ni, and
and the highest was observed in December (58.4%). Zn). Laboratory analyses were carried out according
The soil temperature regime is “Thermic” and the soil to the American Public Health Association (APHA,
moisture regime could be defined as “Torric” and the 2012). Electrical conductivity (EC) was measured
studied area is formed by Holocene deposits (Dawoud by a EUTECH conductivity meter and the pH was

Fig. 1  Location of the

study area relative to Egypt
map

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Field work and water further subdivided into those associated with specific
sampling ions as well as those associated with the presence of
trace elements and heavy metals. Weights of 1–5 were
Hydro chemical analyses
assigned to various hazards based on their importance
for irrigation water (Table 1), and the rating scale
Irrigation water quality for each parameter was changed from 1 to 3, with
1 indicating low water suitability and 3 indicating
high irrigation suitability (Asadi et al., 2020). The
Hydro chemical parameters Heavy metal indices: HPI, NeI, proposed IWQI, which evaluates the mutual effect of
classifications into groups ERI, HEI, CF, PLI and mCd
quality parameters, was calculated using Eqs. 1 and 2.

w∑
Applying the standard weight N
for each group.
G= r (1)
N k=1 k
Changing the concentration into
rates.
where k is an incremental index, w is the weight of
IWQI Calculation
Generation of spatial distribution each hazard, N is the total number of parameters, and
maps based on suitability limits
r is the rating value of each parameter as given in
Table 1.
Spatial model of IWQI Data interpretation
∑5
IWQindex =
i=1
Gi (2)
Fig. 2  Flow chart showing the working methodology
where i is an incremental index and G is participating of
each water quality parameter, which mentioned before
measured using a HANNA pH meter. Direct titration including salinity, infiltration, specific ion toxicity, trace
with EDTA solution was used to determine calcium element toxicity, and miscellaneous effects.
and magnesium levels. A flame photometer was used Following the calculation of the index value, an
to measure the ­Na+ and ­K+ directly. Titration with appropriate investigation was conducted in light of
a regular sulfuric acid solution was used to measure three guide classes. The IWQI was classified as low if
carbonate and bicarbonate. Chloride was measured it was less than 22, medium if it was between 22 and
using potassium chromate as an indicator and a 37, and high if it was greater than 37. The qualities
titration against a regular solution of silver nitrate. were developed using a large number of rating
Sulfate was calculated by the difference between the factors such as 1, 2, and 3 for each parameter while
content of soluble cations and soluble anions (­Cl−, measuring coefficients remained constant, resulting
­HCO3−, and C ­ O3−−). Heavy metal concentrations in three different values for indices (i.e., 15, 30, 45)
were measured by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) to set the upper and lower limits. The medians of
optical emission spectroscopy. these values were calculated and used as part of each
specific classification (Asadi et al., 2020).
2.3 Irrigation Water Quality Index (IWQI)
Calculation
2.4 Producing Interpolation Maps
It is widely accepted that the types and severity of
problems caused by irrigation water quality differ The ArcGIS 10.7 software’s inverse distance-weighed
depending on a variety of factors, including soil type (IDW) algorithm was used to generate interpolated
and crops, the environment of the region, and the maps of chemical parameters. This method is based
farmers who use the water. In general, irrigation water on calculating of grid note by taking into account
quality is assessed based on five measures (salinity nearby points that are within a user-defined search
danger, penetration and permeability issues, toxicity radius. As shown in the following equation, the local
hazard, and other issues) (De La Mora-Orozco et al., influence of the measuring point decreases with
2017; Simsek & Gunduz, 2007). Toxicity risks are distance.

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Table 1  Classification for IWQ index parameters

Hazard Weight Parameter Range Rating Suitability

Salinity hazard 5 EC (μS/cm) EC ˂ 700 3 High

700 ≤ EC ≤ 3000 2 Medium
EC ˃ 3000 1 Low
Infiltration and permeability hazard 4 SAR 0–3 and EC ˃ 700 3 High
700–200 2 Medium
˂ 200 1 Low
3–6 ˃ 1200 3 High
1200–300 2 Medium
˂ 300 1 Low
6–12 ˃ 1900 3 High
1900–500 2 Medium
˂ 500 1 Low
12–20 ˃ 2900 3 High
2900–1300 2 Medium
˂ 1300 1 Low
20–40 ˃ 5000 3 High
5000–2900 2 Medium
˂ 2900 1 Low
Specific ion toxicity 3 SAR SAR ˂ 3 3 High
3 ≤ SAR ≤ 9 2 Medium
SAR ˃ 9 1 Low
Chloride (mg/l) Cl ˂ 140 3 High
140 ≤ Cl ≤ 350 2 Medium
Cl ˃ 350 1 Low
Trace element toxicity 2 Arsenic (mg/l) As < 0.1 3 High
0.1 ≤ As ≤ 2.0 2 Medium
As > 2.0 1 Low
Cobalt (mg/l) Co < 0.05 3 High
0.05 ≤ Co ≤ 5.0 2 Medium
Co > 5.0 1 Low
Copper (mg/l) Cu < 0.2 3 High
0.2 ≤ Cu ≤ 5.0 2 Medium
Cu > 5.0 1 Low
Nickel (mg/l) Ni < 0.2 3 High
0.2 ≤ Ni ≤ 2.0 2 Medium
Ni > 2.0 1 Low
Zinc (mg/l) Zn < 2 3 High
2 ≤ Zn ≤ 10 2 Medium
Zn > 10.0 1 Low

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Table 1  (continued)
Hazard Weight Parameter Range Rating Suitability

Miscellaneous effects to sensitive crops 1 Bicarbonate (mg/l) HCO3 < 90 3 High

90 ≤ ­HCO3 ≤ 500 2 Medium
HCO3 > 500 1 Low
pH 7.0 ≤ pH ≤ 8.0 3 High
6.5 ≤ pH < 7.0 and 2 Medium
8.0 < pH ≤ 8.5
pH < 6.5 or 1 Low
pH > 8.5

∑n � z i � the pollution parameter on which the index would

I=1
zp = ∑ � �
di be based. The rating is a random number between 0
(3)
n 1 and 1 that represents the relative significance of indi-
vidual quality factors. In the absence of any other
i=1 di

where zp denotes the value predicted at point P, zi water source, the uppermost permissive value for irri-
represents the z value at the measured point i, and di gation water (Si) refers to the maximum permissible
is the distance between point 0 and the point “i”. concentration of irrigation water. The concentration
limit (i.e., the maximum permissible value for irriga-
2.5 Modelling of IWQI Parameters tion water (Si)) is taken from this analysis. The HPI
was according to Bhuiyan et al. (2010). The following
The Model Builder tool in ArcGIS 10.7 was used to expression is used to assign a ranking or weightage
create a spatial model. This tool was used to automate (Wi) to each selected parameter.
selected spatial analysis documentation and data man- ∑n
Wi Qi
agement processes, which were then displayed in a dia- HPI = ∑i=1 n (4)
gram chain (Shokr et al., 2021) (Fig. 3). Each process’s W
i=1 i
output is used as the input to another process. The fol- where Qi is the ith parameter sub-index of the, Wi is
lowing steps were applied in this research to obtain the the weight of the ith parameter unit, and n is the num-
final IWQI map of the study area: (a) interpolation of ber of parameters. Qi was determined according to the
different water properties from point based to raster following equation:
layer; (b) the output from (a) reclassified into three
[ ]
classes (i.e., low, medium, high); (c) the reclassified ∑ n
Mi (−)Ii
values assigned to a rating scale from 1 (low quality) Qi = ∗ 100 (5)
Si − Ii
to 3 (high quality); (d) Assigning weight for each IWQI i=1

parameter according to Table 1; (f) feeding Eq. (3) where Mi is the measured heavy metal, Ii is the ideal
using the raster calculator tool; (g) the output from (f) values of the ith parameter, and Si is the standard
used as input in weight sum function to produce and values of the ith parameter. The sign ( −) indicates
display the IWQI final map. numerical difference of the two values, ignoring the
algebraic sign.
2.6 Assessment of Water Contamination

2.6.1 Heavy Metal Pollution Index (HPI) 2.6.2 Nemerow Index (NeI)

The HPI method was created by assigning a ranking This index is based on a multifactorial and integrated
or weightage (Wi) to each parameter and choosing assessment method, where it is calculated using the
following equation according to Vu et al. (2017):

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Fig. 3  Spatial model structure for assessing the irrigation water quality index

� �2 � ⎤ 2
1
heavy metals is given as As = 10; Co, Cu, and Ni = 5;
⎡ � �2 �
⎢ Mi �Ii mean + Mi �Ii max ⎥ and Zn = 1 (Hakanson, 1980).
NeI = ⎢ ⎥ (6)
⎢ n ⎥
⎣ ⎦ 2.6.4 Heavy Metal Evaluation Index (HEI)

where (Mi/Ii) mean is the average value of (Mi/Ii) for The heavy metal evaluation index provides a snapshot
all measured heavy metals in water samples and of water quality in terms of heavy metals. It is calcu-
(Mi/Ii)max is the maximum values. lated based on the MAC for each specific heavy metal
using the following equation:
2.6.3 Ecological Risks of Heavy Metal Index (ERI)
∑
n
HEI = HEIi
This index was used in this research to assess the i=1
potential ecological hazards which occurred by
heavy metals (Sharifi et al., 2016; Wen et al., where ­HEIi is the pollution index of the ith heavy
2019). The ecological risk index was determined as metal calculated as:
follows: Mi
n [ ( )] HEIi = (8)
∑ Mi Himac
ERI = Ti ∗ (7)
i=1
Ii where Himac is the ith heavy metal maximum permis-
sible concentration.
where Ti is the ith target heavy metal biological
toxicity factor metal. The toxic-response factor of

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2.6.5 Contamination Factor (CF) et al., 2021). Salts are frequently derived from dis-
solved minerals in irrigation water or a high saline
The CF index is used to assess contamination levels water table. Crop yield decreases are caused by high
by dividing the target mean heavy metal concentra- osmotic pressure, and as a result, the crop is no longer
tion (Cmetal) by the background concentration of water able to extract enough water from the soil (Zouahri
or sediment (Cbackground). The following equation was et al., 2014). On the contrary, low salt concentra-
used to calculate this index. tions are beneficial for irrigation; however, irriga-
tion water should not be free of salts, as this reduces
Cmetal
CF = (9) soil permeability and fertility. EC values in the study
Cbackground area ranged from 492 to 10,210 μs/cm with an aver-
age of 2208.3 μs/cm. The data show that EC values
vary greatly within the study area as standard division
2.6.6 Pollution Load Index (PLI) (STD = 2090.9) (Table S1). The spatial distribution of
salinity in the study area reveals that the northeast of
PLI reveals the quantity of a pollutant in the the study area has the highest value, which could be
environment. The index was determined using the due to the discharge of drain water in irrigation canals
following equation: (Fig. 4a).
( )1
PLI = CF1 ∗ CF2 ∗ CF3 ∗ … … … CFn n (10)
3.1.2 Infiltration and Permeability Hazard
where n is the number of target heavy metals and CF
is the contamination factor. The contamination factor The combined EC-SAR parameter is used to assess
index was calculated, as shown in Eq. (9). the potential infiltration hazard that may develop in
a soil, as low salinity with high SAR values causes
2.6.7 Modified Degree of Contamination (mCd) a critical infiltration hazard, whereas high salinity
with low SAR values does not cause any infiltration
The modified degree of contamination (mCd) index problem. These hazards typically occur in the soil’s
is superior to single-element indices because it surface layer because they are strongly related to
considers the synergistic effects of contaminants at the stability of the soil structure. According to this
a study site (Brady et al., 2015). Modified degree of parameter, approximately half of the study area is
contamination (mCd) is calculated as follows: classified as high, while the remainder is classified as
medium (Fig. 4a, b).
1∑
n
mCd = CF (11)
n i=1 3.1.3 Specific Toxicity

Because of its specific negative effects on soil

physical properties and plant survival, sodium hazard
3 Results and Discussion is commonly abbreviated as SAR. When evaluating
irrigation water, this parameter should be identified
3.1 Physiochemical Characteristics of Irrigation (Kavurmaci & Apaydin, 2019). In general, irrigation
Water in the Study Area water with SAR values less than 3 is considered to
be of high quality. It is clear from Fig. 4b that the
3.1.1 Electrical Conductivity (EC) majority of the samples are excellent for irrigation,
while the remaining samples are good. The data
Crop productivity generally decreases when the EC in show that SAR values vary greatly within the study
irrigation water exceeds 3000 dS/m. The accumula- water samples as standard division (STD = 3.77)
tion of salts in the crop root causes salinity hazards by (Table S1). Chloride is commonly found in irrigation
reducing water availability to levels that have a severe water and is very important for crops, but only in low
impact on crop yield (Ding et al., 2020a, 2020b; Liu concentrations because high concentrations can cause

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Fig. 4  Spatial distribution

of irrigation water quality
parameters: (a) electri-
cal conductivity (EC: µS/
cm), (b) sodium adsorption
ratio (SAR), (c) chloride
(Cl: mg/l), (d) arsenic (As:
mg/l), (e) cobalt (Co: mg/l),
(f) copper (Cu: mg/l), (g)
nickel (Ni: mg/l), (h) zinc
(Zn: mg/l), (i) bicarbonate
­(HCO3: mg/l), and (j) soil
reaction (pH)

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Fig. 4  (continued)

toxicity in sensitive crops, resulting in leaf burns or 3.1.4 Toxicity of Heavy Metals

leaf tissue death (Bouaroudj et al., 2019). Chloride
levels range from 42.6 to 2577.3 mg/l, with an Some trace elements and heavy metals in irrigation
average of 434.94 mg/l (Table S1). In general, water water are responsible for soil contamination and
is considered good quality for irrigation when the are important for irrigation water quality due to
chloride concentration is less than 140 mg/l. Chloride properties such as resistance to biodegradation and
concentration in the study area was classified into thermo-degradation (Antoniadis et al., 2019). These
three categories: high (43–275 mg/l), medium elements are dangerous because they can accumulate
(276–899 mg/l), and low (900–2580 mg/l) (Fig. 4c). to extremely high toxic concentrations before
The chloride interpolation map revealed that the affecting plant, animal, and human health (Kheir
highest value was found on the western east side, as et al., 2021). The data shown in the interpolation
shown in Fig. 4c . map indicated that arsenic (As) levels were high in

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the north-western side of the study area, as well as in Table 2  Trace element concentrations in the study water sam-
some small areas in the north-eastern and west sides ples and recommended limits for use in irrigation water
(Fig. 4d). The highest concentration was found in Sample no Trace element concentrations
canal 5, and all samples, with the exception of canal (ppm)
7 (0.05 mg/l), significantly exceeded the FAO 1985 As Co Cu Ni Zn
values (Table 2). These concentrations might cause
stem chlorosis and root growth suppression (Singh 1 0.71 1.37 0.41 0.78 12.73
et al., 2016). About 33.33% of samples got rate 1 (low 2 0.66 2.59 0.41 0.42 3.54
suitability), 59.26% rate 2 (medium suitability), and 3 6.45 2.57 0.36 1.19 0.24
7.41% rate 3 (high suitability) as shown in Fig. 4d . 4 6.29 2.51 0.34 0.80 1.32
The concentrations of cobalt (Co) ranged from 0.25 5 7.83 2.68 0.36 0.49 0.84
to 3.04 mg/l, with an average of 1.79 mg/l (Table 2). 6 0.32 0.69 0.33 0.19 4.28
The highest measured concentrations of Co tended to 7 0.05 2.04 0.37 0.70 0.65
be in the study area’s north and northeast (Fig. 4e), 8 0.82 1.96 0.37 0.58 0.80
and their concentrations were higher than the limit 9 0.95 1.16 0.36 0.19 0.17
(0.05 mg/l). However, all samples are categorized 10 0.92 2.64 0.36 0.75 6.21
into medium suitability (Table 3). Cupper (Cu) 11 0.63 2.51 0.38 0.60 4.13
concentration ranged from 0.33 to 0.41 mg/l with 12 3.85 1.37 0.36 0.10 1.76
an average of 0.37 mg/l. The highest concentration 13 5.26 0.99 0.36 0.22 0.57
(0.41 mg/l) was in canals 1 and 2 which may be 14 4.88 2.38 0.35 0.18 0.65
contaminated from sewage water of this area. The 15 4.49 1.01 0.37 0.84 10.80
spatial interpolation shows a trend of increasing 16 0.91 2.55 0.37 1.23 1.46
concentrations from northwest to southeast (Fig. 4f). 17 0.66 2.36 0.37 0.60 3.24
The data indicate high similarity of Cu concentration 18 1.01 0.78 0.37 1.09 0.09
within the study area as STD = 0.02. All samples are 19 0.78 1.66 0.36 1.21 0.31
present medium class (2) in the study area (Table 2). 20 0.39 1.43 0.39 1.53 3.69
Nickel (Ni) concentration values are flocculated 21 0.09 2.02 0.37 0.87 0.84
around 0.1 and 1.53 mg/l and the values were above 22 0.92 1.96 0.37 0.58 0.80
permissible limits (0.2 mg/l) except for canals 6, 9, 23 0.69 1.47 0.36 0.23 0.32
12, and 14 (Table 2). Domestic wastewater effluents 24 1.53 1.68 0.34 0.62 0.91
are the primary source of nickel (Ni), which can 25 2.30 0.76 0.35 0.73 6.06
be absorbed by biota via sorption on clay particles 26 6.16 3.04 0.34 0.68 3.84
(Lee et al., 2017). From the interpolation map, the 27 0.64 0.25 0.38 0.90 9.76
highest range of Ni (0.96–1.5 mg/l) covers scattered Maximum 7.83 3.04 0.41 1.53 12.73
Minimum 0.05 0.25 0.33 0.10 0.09
areas (Fig. 4g). Ni concentration was high in canal
Average 2.23 1.79 0.37 0.68 2.96
20 and exceeded the permissible limit (0.2 mg/l), as
Std. dev 2.35 0.74 0.02 0.36 3.39
shown in Table 2. The water samples of the study
Limit for long-term use (mg/l) 0.1 0.05 0.2 0.2 2.0
area were classified as high and medium suitability
Limit for short-term use 2.0 5.0 5.0 2.0 10.0
for irrigation (Fig. 4g). Zinc (Zn) could be found
(mg/l)
in virtually all food and potable water as salts or
organic complexes. Zn concentrations in the study
area gradually increased from north to southeast, as
shown in Fig. 4h. Levels of Zn in surface water of 3.1.5 Miscellaneous Effects
the study area exceed the maximum concentration
limit (2 ppm) except for canal 18, which has the least The pH value and bicarbonate ion concentrations
concentration (Table 2). As a result, the majority of are two examples of unintended consequences for
samples are classified as medium or high suitability sensitive crops. The pH values influence the equi-
(Fig. 4h). High variation of Zn values was observed librium of carbonate, heavy metal mobility and
in the study water samples as STD > 3 (Table 2). availability, as well as the relative ratio of nitrogen

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Table 3  Classification of IWQ index Suitability of water for No. of sam- % Samples IWQ
irrigation water quality irrigation ples index
(IWQ) index in the value
study water samples and
evaluation limits of the ˂ 22 Low suitability –- –- –- –-
IWQ index
22–37 Medium suitability 21 77.78 1 30.6
2 26.5
3 and 27 31
4 and 19 33
5 and 18 31.5
8 36.9
10 and 11 37
12 33.4
13 29.6
14 27.4
15 and 16 25.6
17 23
20 25.5
24 36
25 34.1
26 36.6
˃ 37 High suitability 6 22.22 6 37.4
7 and 9 37.8
21 38.9
22 38
23 38.5

components, and thus influence soil quality and water samples, ranged from 146.4 to 976 mg/l with
plant cultivation (Houben et al., 2013). The pH val- a mean of 375.49 mg/l (Table S1).
ues of the water samples studied ranged from 6.82
to 8.18, with an average of 7.36 (Table S1). The 3.2 Irrigation Water Quality Index (IWQI)
interpolation map (Fig. 4j) showed that the central
northeast parts of the study area have high pH val- Surface water quality parameters such as EC, SAR,
ues (7.65–8.18) and the western parts have low pH Cl, As, Co, Cu, Ni, Zn, ­HCO3, and pH interpola-
values (6.82–7.36), and more than 74% of samples tion maps were used for overlay integration analysis
are highly suitable for irrigation. Bicarbonate ions to prepare the surface water quality map of the West
are appropriate for high alkalinity, greater than 8.5, Nile Delta, Egypt, as shown in Fig. 5. This method
as high bicarbonate levels cause dominating sodium is based on converting multiple water parameters into
in solution, which is responsible for the hazards of a single indicator. The IWQ index had a minimum
high sodium concentrations on plants and soil, and value of 23 and a maximum value of 38.9, with an
it is possible to conclude that long-term applica- average value of 32.78 (Table 3). Out of the 27 com-
tion of highly alkaline irrigation water could lead to posite samples obtained from the main canal, 87% of
sodic soils and loss of fertility (Ding et al., 2020a). the study area water was classified as medium suita-
The variation of ­HCO3 is shown in Fig. 4i . The bility for irrigation, while 13% of the study area water
highest values can be found on the southeast side samples were classified as high suitability. The IWQI
of the study area. H
­ CO3 concentrations, in the study map of the study area (Fig. 5) was created using the
three categories listed in Table 3. When the computed

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Water Air Soil Pollut (2021) 232:352 Page 13 of 19 352

index value is greater than 37, the corresponding an average of 19.14 (Table 4). According to the NeI
area is considered to have minimal irrigation quality water quality scale, nearly 7% of the samples were
issues. When the IWQI value is between 22 and 37, found to be moderately contaminated in the south-
the corresponding values show moderate suitability eastern part of the study area, while 93% were found
for irrigation. Water can be easily used on resistant to be below the heavily contaminated class (Table 5).
crops within this range, but it should be used with It expresses the potential risks of surface water in
caution and avoided on sensitive crops. IWQI values the study area, according to ERI, as can be seen in
less than 22 are considered poor-quality irrigation Fig. 6 c. The ERI values of the study area varied
water and should not be used to irrigate agricultural from 116.44 to 1072.79 with an average of 429.71
fields. Such waters have the potential to degrade soil (Table 4), whereas 7.4% of samples were classified
quality and reduce yield. The study area has no such in the category of low risk, 29.65% of samples were
low-quality water, and the IWQI map is thought to be found to expose moderate risk class, 40.7% were cat-
a useful tool in future agricultural management plans. egorize as considerable risk, and finally the remain-
ing samples are classified as very high risk (Table 5).
3.3 Assessment of Heavy Metal Indices As and Co were the main contributors to the risk in
the study area due to their higher concentrations and
To assess heavy metal contamination in surface water biological toxicity. The lowest HEI value (21.80) was
samples for the study area, all HPI, NeI, ERI, HEI, recorded in canal 6 and the highest value (136.54)
PLI, and mCd for five selected metals, namely As was observed in canal 5. All values are below the rec-
Co, Cu, Ni, and Zn, were used. The values, classifica- ommended limit of 150, so all samples were classi-
tion, and spatial distribution of indices are depicted fied as lowly contaminated (Table 4 and Table 5). In
in Tables 4 and 5 and Fig. 6. The HPI values ranged other words, PLI values for all canals were found to
from 456.96 to 6339.42, indicating that all samples be far greater than the permissible value of 1, ranging
are highly contaminated except for canal 27 in the from 1.99 to 8.39. Based on this indicator, the canals
study area’s south. High HPI values could be caused of the West Nile Delta are severely polluted (Table 5
by the discharge of drainage water and domestic sew- and Fig. 6e). Based on the mCd index, 63% of sam-
age. The NeI values ranged from 3.49 to 37.11, with ples are considered to have heavily polluted surface
Fig. 5  The IWQ index map
31°30'0"N

30°15'0"E 30°30'0"E
of the study area

High Medium

101.4
13%

696.1
87%
31°15'0"N

31°15'0"N

IWQI
Medium
0 2.5 5 10 15 High
Km
30°15'0"E 30°30'0"E

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 352 Page 14 of 19 Water Air Soil Pollut (2021) 232:352

Fig. 6  Spatial distribution

of water contamination
indices: (a) heavy metal
pollution index (HPI), (b)
Nemerow index (NeI), (c)
ecological risk index (ERI),
(d) heavy metal evaluation
index (HEI), (e) pollution
load index (PLI), and (f)
modified degree of con-
tamination (mCd)

13
Water Air Soil Pollut (2021) 232:352 Page 15 of 19 352

Table 4  Water Sample no HPI NeI ERI HEI PLI mCd

contamination index values
in the study area 1 1676.86 12.93 243.53 46.73 6.29 9.35
2 3994.93 23.89 347.71 64.37 4.83 12.87
3 5413.04 30.89 940.97 123.80 5.32 24.76
4 5262.38 30.09 909.26 119.47 6.79 23.89
5 6339.42 37.11 1072.79 136.54 5.98 27.31
6 783.74 6.49 116.44 21.80 2.73 4.36
7 3271.26 18.76 236.62 47.06 2.14 9.41
8 2810.57 18.14 301.54 52.47 3.68 10.49
9 1481.31 10.82 224.05 35.43 1.99 7.09
10 3994.55 24.40 385.85 70.49 6.32 14.10
11 3856.31 23.14 340.42 63.45 5.19 12.69
12 2934.17 18.27 533.73 68.99 3.84 13.80
13 3829.03 24.48 639.80 75.58 3.60 15.12
14 4358.86 23.54 739.29 99.37 4.12 19.87
15 3248.96 21.21 585.42 76.51 8.25 15.30
16 3861.12 23.63 386.28 68.79 5.21 13.76
17 3572.98 21.79 327.78 60.27 4.89 12.05
18 1052.26 7.55 215.74 33.04 2.36 6.61
19 2340.75 15.51 283.24 49.01 3.38 9.80
20 2053.40 13.39 232.06 43.99 4.99 8.80
21 3215.87 18.59 242.92 47.99 2.63 9.60
22 2792.23 18.16 311.54 53.47 3.77 10.69
23 1986.29 13.64 231.11 39.47 2.32 7.89
24 2342.04 15.83 345.83 54.24 4.15 10.85
25 1616.88 11.10 335.51 46.51 5.81 9.30
26 5654.08 29.89 947.27 129.37 8.39 25.87
27 456.96 3.49 125.51 22.64 4.21 4.53
Maximum 6339.42 37.11 1072.79 136.54 8.39 27.31
Minimum 456.96 3.49 116.44 21.80 1.99 4.36
Average 3118.53 19.14 429.71 64.85 4.56 12.97
Std. dev 1481.65 7.80 265.87 30.91 1.71 6.18

water for irrigation, while the remaining samples the assessment of IWQI. In this study, a spatial model
range between moderately and severely polluted, with based on the Model Builder tool in ArcGIS 10.7 was
canal 6 having the lowest value (4.36) and canal 5 used to create an accurate model for assessing water
having the highest value of 27.31 (Tables 4 and 5 and quality index based on weighting physical and chemi-
Fig. 6f). cal water parameters. According to the findings, 87%
(696.1 ­km2) and 13% (101.4 ­km2) of the study area
water samples were categorized as medium and high
4 Conclusion suitability for irrigation, respectively. Furthermore,
heavy metal indices from the study water samples,
GIS is a critical tool for storing, retrieving, and such as HPI, NeI, HEI, PLI, ERI, and mCd, were cal-
manipulating massive amounts of data required to culated in order to provide an integrated study about
calculate and map various water quality parameters. the water quality status in the study area. The results
The creation of spatial distribution maps for physical showed that HPI had 3.7% medium contamination
and chemical properties is the most important step in and 96.3% high contamination, while NeI was 7.4%

13
 352 Page 16 of 19 Water Air Soil Pollut (2021) 232:352

Table 5  Contamination evaluation indices of surface water samples in the study area
Indices Ranges Characteristics No. of sample

Heavy metal pollution index (HPI) ˂ 300 Low contamination –-

300–600 Medium contamination 27
˃ 600 High contamination All samples except no. 27
Nemerow index (NeI) ˂1 Insignificant –-
1–2.5 Slightly contaminated –-
2.5–7 Moderately contaminated (6 and 27)
≥7 Heavily contaminated Remain samples
Ecological risk index (ERI) ˂ 150 Low risk (6 and 27)
150–300 Moderate risk (1, 7, 9, 18, 19, 20, 21, and 23)
300–600 Considerable risk (2, 8, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 22, 24, and 25)
≥ 600 Very high risk (3, 4, 5, 13, 14, and 26)
Heavy metal evaluation index (HEI) ˂ 150 Low contamination All samples
150–300 Medium contamination –-
≥ 300 High contamination –-
Pollution load index (PLI) ˂1 Not polluted –-
≥1 Polluted All samples
Modified degree of contamination (mCd) < 1.5 Unpolluted –-
1.5–2 Slightly polluted –-
2–4 Moderately polluted –-
4–8 Moderately-heavily polluted (6, 9, 18, 23, and 27)
8–16 Heavily polluted (1, 2, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17,
19, 20, 21, 22, 24, and 25)
16–32 Severely polluted (3, 4, 5, 14, and 26)
≥ 32 Extremely polluted –-

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