Data on trend changes of drinking groundwater resources quality: A case study in Abhar

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Hydrogeology
• Water Resource Management

Background:

• Groundwater quality is crucial for urban water supply and ecosystem health.
• Abhar city, Iran, relies on groundwater resources, necessitating regular quality assessments.
• Long-term monitoring is essential to understand and manage groundwater quality trends.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze temporal changes in groundwater quality parameters in Abhar city from 2002 to 2016.
• To identify significant trends in groundwater quality over a ten-year period.
• To assess the statistical significance of observed changes in groundwater parameters.

Main Methods:

• Statistical analysis of historical groundwater data (2002-2016).
• Calculation of mean and standard deviation for key parameters: total hardness, electrical conductivity, and total dissolved solids.
• Application of Pearson correlation coefficient to determine the significance of temporal trends (α ≤ 0.05).

Main Results:

• Groundwater quality in Abhar city exhibited significant changes between 2002 and 2016.
• Mean values for total hardness, electrical conductivity, and total dissolved solids showed an increase over the study period.
• The ascending trend of certain parameter concentrations over time was statistically significant (95% confidence level).

Conclusions:

• Groundwater quality in Abhar city has deteriorated over the decade studied.
• The observed increase in total hardness, electrical conductivity, and total dissolved solids poses potential risks to water use.
• Urgent management strategies are needed to mitigate the declining groundwater quality trend in Abhar.