An assessment of the groundwater quality and suitability for domestic and drinking purposes in Tocra City, Libya

Groundwater quality in Tocra city region which is located in the eastern of Libya area was evaluated for its suitability for drinking, human, domestic and irrigation uses. Several twenty-one groundwater samples were collected from seven different wells of the study area. Physical and chemical parameters including temperature, pH, conductivity, total dissolved solids (TDS), electrical conductivity (EC), an ionic and cationic constituent (chloride Cl-; sulphate SO42; nitrate; NO3-; calcium Ca2+; magnesium Mg2+) were determined by standard titrimetric and spectrophotometric methods. The chloride ion average concentration was between 812 ± 10 to 2616 ± 10 mg/l, the concentration levels of SO42- were ranged between 74 ± 2.6 to 290 ± 3.4 mg/l, the concentration levels of NO3- were ranged between 54 ± 0.7 to 89 ± 3.2 mg/l, the average value of total hardness were between 2400 ± 8 to 3600± 15 mg/l as CaCO3 and the average value of Mg 2+ were between 1000± 6 to 2712± 8 mg/l as MgCO3. A flame photometer was used to determine the concentration of sodium Na+ and potassium K+ The results showed great variations among the analyzed samples with respect to their physical and chemical parameters. However, all the values were above the maximum permissible levels recommended by Libyan and WHO drinking water standards.