The increasing water demand in Egypt causes massive stress on groundwater resources. The high variability in the groundwater depth, aquifer properties, terrain characteristics, and shortage of rainfall make it necessary to identify the groundwater potentiality in semi-arid regions. This study used the possibilities of multi-criteria decision approaches (MCDA), geographical information system (GIS), and groundwater field data to delineate potential groundwater zones in the Tushka area, west of Lake Nasser, South Egypt. Furthermore, groundwater potentiality identification can help decision-makers better plan and manage the water resources in this promising area. Eight controlling factors were utilized to achieve the objective of the present work using multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) approaches, namely the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and frequency ratio (FR) models. The controlling parameters were integrated with the geographic information system (GIS) to develop the zones of groundwater potentialities. The results revealed that high and moderate-potential zones cover approximately 61% and 52% of the total area in the AHP and FR models, respectively. A total of 44 groundwater production wells along with the well yield were collected and used to validate the models. The results were evaluated using the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve. The best-performing prediction rates achieved by AHP and FR were 83% and 81%, respectively. Finally, the obtained results indicated that the AHP model achieved better performance than the FR model.

A complete understanding of groundwater dynamics and its interaction with surface water under the impact of agricultural activities is vital for local agriculture, ecology, and residents of dry regions, which is not commonly recognized in arid areas. This research outlines the geochemical characteristics, recharge sources, and potential factors impacting groundwater quality in a new land reclamation located in the small basin of Abu Mina, which is part of the Western Nile Delta region.1 Thirty-one groundwater samples and two surface water samples were collected in 2021 to represent the Pleistocene aquifer and were subjected to multivariate statistical, hydrochemical, and stable isotope analyses. Data analysis demonstrates that Na⁺> Ca²⁺> Mg²⁺> K⁺and SO₄^2– > Cl^– > HCO₃^– > NO₃^–are the predominant cations and anions, respectively. Groundwater salinity ranged from 465.60 to 6455.18 mg/l, with slightly alkaline. Most of the water samples fall into one of three types of facies: Ca–Cl, Na–Cl, and Mixed Ca–Mg–Cl, in decreasing order. The meteoric genesis index (r2) indicates that deep meteoric water percolation dominates the Pleistocene aquifer. The aquiline diagrams, correlation matrix, and different ionic ratios indicate that evaporation, reverse ion exchange reactions, and the dissolution of carbonate and silicate minerals are the main processes governing groundwater chemistry. Factor analysis (FA) indicated that three factors explain groundwater hydrochemistry, accounting for 71.98% of the total variance. According to the rotating components matrix (F1–F3), the chemistry of the Quaternary aquifer is principally affected by evaporation, ion exchange reactions, and anthropogenic influences. Additionally, salinity increases due to the return flow of irrigation activities and mixing between old and recent water. The stable isotopes (δ^18Oand δ^2H) indicate that the Quaternary aquifer receives groundwater recharge through the return flow of excess irrigation and canal seepage. Under desert reclamation conditions, groundwater salinization processes should be given special consideration. All groundwater samples are appropriate for agricultural irrigation based on the Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR), Permeability Index (PI), Percent Sodium (%Na), and Residual Sodium Carbonate (RSC).

The arsenic (As) pollution of water has been eliminated via intensive scientific efforts, with the purpose of giving safe drinking water to millions of people across the world. In this study, the adsorption of As(V) from a synthetic aqueous solution was verified using a Bentonite-Anthracite@Zetag (BT-An@Zetag) composite. The SEM, FT-IR, XRD, DSC, TGA, and SBET techniques were used to characterize the (BT-An@Zetag) composite. The adsorption of As(V) was explored using batch adsorption under varied operating scenarios. Five kinetic modelswere used to investigate kinetic data, whereas three isotherms had been used to fit empirical equilibrium data. According to the findings, the adsorption mechanism of As(V) was best described by the Freundlich isotherm with a maximum monolayer coverage of 38.6 mg/g showing pseudo-second-order mode. The estimated enthalpy (H°) indicates that the adsorption process is both chemical and endothermic.The calculated free energy (G°) indicates that the reaction is nonspontaneous. After four sequential adsorption cycles, the produced BT-An@Zetag composite demonstrated good reusability and a greater adsorption affinity for As(V) ions. Overall, the BT-An@Zetag composite is suited for removing arsenic from wastewater using adsorption as a cost-effective and efficient technique.

Information collected from geophysical and geochemical data has been used in investigating the groundwater resources potential, hydrogeochemical characteristics, major hydrogeochemical processes that govern groundwater chemistry, quality and suitability assessment for drinking and irrigation uses from six wells of shallow quaternary aquifer in southern part of Eastern Desert, Egypt. A total of 32 Time-Domain electromagnetic soundings (TDEM) in time phase and vertical electrical soundings (VES) were measured on the same sites to detect the subsurface geologic section and delineate water-bearing layers. The results of geoelectrical interpretation calibrated with gamma ray and resistivity logs of drilled wells. The findings illustrated that the subsurface section has four geoelectrical layers. The second layer represents the freshwater aquifer. Our results demonstrated that the dominant hydrogeochemical facies observed in this area is Ca + Mg-Cl + SO4 and mixed Ca + Mg-Cl + SO4 type. According to Base Exchange index (r1) and (r2), the water classified as Na-SO4 type, which is associated with salinization (r1<1) and deep meteoric percolation type (r2<1). The groundwater chemistry depends on reverse ion exchange weathering of carbonate minerals as well as silicate weathering. Moreover, evaporation process controlling factors of groundwater chemistry in quaternary aquifer. Results from EC, sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), soluble sodium percentage (SSP), permeability index (PI) and magnesium hazard (MH) reveal that most of groundwater is relatively appropriate for Agricultural purposes.