Response of the groundwater environment to rapid urbanization in Hohhot, the provincial capital of western China

• Published in: Journal of hydrology (Amsterdam) Vol. 603; p. 127033
• Main Authors: Li, Xiaoyuan, Zhang, Yilong, Li, Zhenghong, Wang, Rui
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.12.2021
• Subjects: Driving factors; Groundwater hydrochemistry; Groundwater quality; Urbanization; Urbanization; Groundwater quality; Driving factors; Groundwater hydrochemistry
• ISSN: 0022-1694; 1879-2707
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2021.127033

•The effects of urbanization on groundwater environment is studied in a long time series.•Water level and typical ions are highly correlated with socioeconomic development.•PCA finds the reasons for the deterioration of groundwater environment. Urbanization may change the groundwater environment. This study aimed to explore the degree and mechanism of the response of the groundwater environment to rapid urbanization. Groundwater level, water quality, and socioeconomic development data were collected between 1990 and 2017 from Hohhot in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Over the studied period, the Piedmont water level and the confined water level in the plain area of Hohhot decreased by 34.98 and 28.08 m, respectively, and the shallow water level dropped sharply in 2005 and had decreased by 12.02 m by 2014. The hydrochemical type of groundwater changed from Ca·Mg-HCO3 to Ca·Na·Mg-HCO3·SO4, the variability and complexity increased, and the groundwater showed characteristics of salinization and hardening. The NO3− content and hardness exceeded Class III of the Chinese national groundwater quality standard range in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Water level, Ca2+ content, Mg2+ content, SO42− content, and hardness were highly correlated with socioeconomic development indicators. Principal component analysis attributed the deterioration of the groundwater environment to socioeconomic development, population growth, overexploitation of groundwater, and fertilizer application. Therefore, the national and local governments should pay attention to the balance between socioeconomic development and groundwater environment.