Abstract
Groundwater makes up almost 99 % of available freshwater sources on Earth. However, Malaysia’s freshwater supply comprises less than 10 % of groundwater. As the water shortage crisis becomes more severe, attention has shifted towards utilizing groundwater. However, due to progressing urbanization and the increase in population, the treatment of groundwater is necessary to ensure safe consumption. This research focuses on the hydrochemistry of groundwater samples collected from 3 different sites located in Johor, Malaysia. The main objective of this study is to establish the quality of groundwater in terms of its physicochemical properties to determine its viability to be used as drinking water. The important physical properties of groundwater such as pH, conductivity, total dissolved solids (TDS), and ion concentration analysis were conducted in the lab. The chemical composition of the groundwater was determined where major cations (Ca2+, K+, Mg2+, Na+) and anions (HCO3-, F-, NO3-, SO42-, Cl-) concentrations are present in the groundwater together with several trace elements (Si, Al, As). The results of ion concentration analysis obtained for the groundwater samples were compared with the guidelines set by the Ministry of Health Malaysia (MOH) for drinking water quality to check whether it adheres to the standard values or not since excess of any mineral ions can cause severe health implications. The analysis data indicated that Ca2+ is the major cation present in all the samples at the highest concentration while HCO3- is the dominant anion that exists at an abundant concentration in all the groundwater samples. According to the analysis results obtained, it can be deduced that the groundwater samples from all three locations can be classified into the bicarbonate-calcium-rich type of water category. The groundwater samples also adhere to the quality limit set by MOH for the major ions’ concentration, establishing the potential of groundwater for consumption purposes and household needs as well.
