Assessment of Some Physical, Chemical, and Biological Characteristics of Groundwater Wells in Mizda City

Abstract

This study was conducted to assess some physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of groundwater wells in Mizda City and to evaluate their suitability for domestic purposes. Since groundwater is the primary source of water supply for the city, periodic assessment is essential to evaluate its quality based on scientifically established criteria. The study included five groundwater wells distributed across different areas of the city. Physical and chemical analyses were conducted on samples collected from these wells to determine the values and concentrations of turbidity, pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), total hardness, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, bicarbonates, sulfates, chlorides, nitrates, nitrites, iron, and manganese. Biological analyses were also performed to detect the presence or absence of coliform bacteria, particularly Escherichia coli. By comparing the obtained results with the Libyan standard specifications and World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, the turbidity values of all well samples were found to be within the permissible limits. However, the values of total dissolved solids, total hardness, and chloride ions exceeded the permissible limits in all wells. Overall, Al-Zawiya Well showed the highest level of chemical contamination, with concentrations exceeding the permissible limits by 2.18, 3.70, 0.83, 1.20, 2.20, and 0.50 times for total dissolved solids, total hardness, sodium, potassium, chloride, and sulfate ions, respectively. The results for Al-Zawiya Well also indicated contamination in all chemical parameters, except for pH, which remained within the permissible limits in all wells. The biological analysis results for all wells showed no presence of coliform bacteria. Therefore, all investigated wells were considered free from microbiological contamination.