Spatio-Temporal Assessment of Drinking Water Source in Gujranwala (Pakistan)

Abstract

Improved living standards and unplanned urban growth are putting pressure on the environment and disturbing the sustainability of resources. This research has been conducted to study the effects of these irregularities in the natural ecosystem on groundwater resources. The residential area of Gujranwala, Pakistan, has been chosen as the case study. The study involves the spatio-temporal analysis of pH, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), and Turbidity (TUR) in groundwater of the study area from 2014 to 2017. Geographical layers of all the available observations were prepared after optimizing the best interpolation method based on most minor the root mean square error. Although the measured concentration of the studied parameters was all well within the range of the safe limits for drinking water, due to anthropogenic activities, minute changes are occurring that need to be highlighted and addressed well in time. Spatio-temporal maps prepared over a standard scale have led the analysis to various details, i.e., for all three parameters in the beginning year of 2014 difference between pre- and post-moon soon patterns were very prominent that have faded away in coming years, showing decreasing recharge rates and any chemical changes caused by it. Both pH and TDS measurements show a continuous increase in their concentration with time, with maxima found in the year 2017. A different behavior has been found for turbidity, where the maximum value occurred in 2014, faded away in the next two years, and started increasing again in the final year of 2017. This assessment will help policy makers for better planning, leading to a sustainable and healthy society and achieving sustainable development goals of the United Nations.