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Sedimentary Characteristics of Shallow Aquifers and Suitability to Irrigation in the Drought Season: The Case of the Fruit Tree Area in Ben Tre Province, Mekong River Delta

Received: 23 December 2022    Accepted: 27 December 2022    Published: 10 January 2023
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Abstract

In Ben Tre province, shallow groundwater found at a depth of 8 to 60 m is exploited for domestic use and for irrigation of crops in rural areas. The water wells have different depths and are usually moderately to high contaminated with iron alum, moreover the saline- brackish water is at different depths and locations. In recent years, due to the effects of climate change and drought, the problem of drinking water and irrigation for planting is an urgent need. The study determined the distribution characteristics of aquifers, the environment for forming sediments and analyzed some chemical indicators of water for crop irrigation. This study shows that shallow groundwater is clarified and consisting of the Holocene (qh) and upper Pleistocene (qp3) aquifers from 8 to 60 m in depth. The Holocene aquifer consists of fresh water commonly found at of 8.5-17.5 m in depth, and saline- brackish water appearing by layers and lenticular are commonly found at about 25- 35 m in depth. Fresh water is usually found in the fluvial flat, channel and estuary facies, and saline - brackish water is in the tidal flat, delta front and pro-delta facies belong to the subaqueous delta plain. It suggests that sedimentary facies in boreholes and geological cross-sections play an important role in determining distribution characteristics and water quality, clarifying the distribution of fresh and saline water in Holocene sediments in the study area. This result can be referenced for research in the Mekong River Delta and other regions. Shallow aquifers have not great thickness, uneven water quality, cannot provide concentrated water. However, the water source has an important meaning in providing water for agricultural irrigation in the drought season, especially in the fruit tree area in Ben Tre Province.

Published in Earth Sciences (Volume 12, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.earth.20231201.13
Page(s) 17-25
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Shallow Aquifer, Groundwater, Sedimentary Facies, Saltwater Intrusion, Drought, Irrigation, Ben Tre Province

References
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[2] Dillon P., Molly R., (2006). Technical Guidance for ASR. Peter Dillon, Robert Molly. CSIRO Land and water. February, 2006.
[3] Report WaterAid in Nepal, (2011). Rainwater harvesting for recharging shallow groundwater, 45 pp.
[4] Central ground water board Ministry of Water resources New Delhi, (2011) Rain water harvesting and artificial recharge, 188pp.
[5] Minderhood P. S. J., et al., (2017). Impacts of 25 years of groundwater extraction on subsidence in the Mekong delta, Vietnam. Environ. Res. Lett. 12 (2017) 064006.
[6] Minderhood P. S. J., Middelkoop H., Erkens G., and E Stouthamer E., (2020). Groundwater extraction may drown mega-delta: projections of extraction-induced subsidence and elevation of the Mekong delta for the 21st century. Environ. Res. Commun. 2 (2020) 011005.
[7] Nouchi, S., Ito, T., Shibasaki, N., Sato, H., and Mekong group, (2019). Study on land subsidence by continuous monitoring of land comparsion with groundwater level and field uplift survery Ca Mau province, Vietnam, Pro. Conference on Advanced Researches in the Earth and Environment Sciences - CAREES-2019, p. 421.423.
[8] Dillon P., (Eds) (2018). Managed aquifer recharge in integrated water resource management. Sustain Water Resour Manag (Spec. Issue).
[9] Report on project, (2013). Assessment and exploitation of freshwater resources for production and economic development in coastal areas of Ba Tri district, Ben Tre province, 85 pp, in Vietnamese.
[10] Tran Thi Le Hang et al., (2018). Effects of groundwater depletion on agricultural production in coastal areas of Vinh Chau town, Soc Trang province. Journal of Science Can Tho University, 54 (6A), 12-19, in Vietnamese.
[11] Report on project (2016). Mapping the distribution of underground water resources in Ben Tre province to serve the zoning of areas that must be registered for underground water exploitation” People's Committee of Ben Tre Province, 90 pages, in Vietnamese.
[12] Gugliotta, M., Saito, Y., Nguyen, V. L., Ta, T. K. O. and Tamura, T. (2019) Sediment distribution and depositional processes along the fluvial to marine transition zone of the Mekong River delta, Vietnam. Sedimentology, 66 (1), 146–164.
[13] Gugliotta, M., Saito, Y., Ta, T. K. O., Nguyen, V. L., La Croix, A., Wang, Z., Tamura, T., Nakashima, R., Lieu, K. P. (2022) Late Holocene stratigraphic evolution and sedimentary facies of an active to abandoned tide-dominated distributary channel and its mouth bar. Sedimentology, 69, 1151–1178.
[14] Ta, T. K. O., Nguyen, V. L., Tateishi, M., Kobayashi, I., Saito, Y. (2001). Sedimentary facies, diatom and foraminifer assemblages in a late Pleistocene-Holocene incised-valley sequence from the Mekong River Delta, Bentre Province, Southern Vietnam: the BT2 core. J. Asian Earth Sci. 20, 83-94.
[15] Ta, T. K. O., Nguyen, V. L., Tateishi, M., Kobayashi, I., Saito, Y., Nakamura, T. (2002). Sediment facies and Late Holocene progradation of the Mekong River Delta in Bentre province, southern Vietnam: an example of evolution from a tide- dominated to a tide- and wave-dominated delta. Sed. Geol. 152, 313-325.
[16] Ta, T. K. O., Nguyen, V. L., Tateishi, M., Konayashi, I. and Saito, Y. (2005). Holocene delta evolution and depositional models of the Mekong River Delta, southern Vietnam. In: River Deltas – Concepts, Models and Examples (Eds Giosan, L. and Bhattacharya, J. P.), SEPM special publication no. 83, 453–466.
[17] Ta, T. K. O., Nguyen, V. L., Saito, Y., Gugliotta, M., Tamura, T., Nguyen, T. M. L., Hoang, T. and Bui, T. L. (2021) Late Pleistocene to Holocene stratigraphic record and evolution of the paleo-Mekong-Incised-valley, Vietnam. Mar. Geol., 433, 106406.
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    Nguyen Van Lap, Ta Thi Kim Oanh, Duong Ba Man, Lieu Kim Phuong, Nguyen Thi Mong Lan, et al. (2023). Sedimentary Characteristics of Shallow Aquifers and Suitability to Irrigation in the Drought Season: The Case of the Fruit Tree Area in Ben Tre Province, Mekong River Delta. Earth Sciences, 12(1), 17-25. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20231201.13

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    ACS Style

    Nguyen Van Lap; Ta Thi Kim Oanh; Duong Ba Man; Lieu Kim Phuong; Nguyen Thi Mong Lan, et al. Sedimentary Characteristics of Shallow Aquifers and Suitability to Irrigation in the Drought Season: The Case of the Fruit Tree Area in Ben Tre Province, Mekong River Delta. Earth Sci. 2023, 12(1), 17-25. doi: 10.11648/j.earth.20231201.13

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    AMA Style

    Nguyen Van Lap, Ta Thi Kim Oanh, Duong Ba Man, Lieu Kim Phuong, Nguyen Thi Mong Lan, et al. Sedimentary Characteristics of Shallow Aquifers and Suitability to Irrigation in the Drought Season: The Case of the Fruit Tree Area in Ben Tre Province, Mekong River Delta. Earth Sci. 2023;12(1):17-25. doi: 10.11648/j.earth.20231201.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.earth.20231201.13,
      author = {Nguyen Van Lap and Ta Thi Kim Oanh and Duong Ba Man and Lieu Kim Phuong and Nguyen Thi Mong Lan and Vo Thi Hong Quyen},
      title = {Sedimentary Characteristics of Shallow Aquifers and Suitability to Irrigation in the Drought Season: The Case of the Fruit Tree Area in Ben Tre Province, Mekong River Delta},
      journal = {Earth Sciences},
      volume = {12},
      number = {1},
      pages = {17-25},
      doi = {10.11648/j.earth.20231201.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20231201.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.earth.20231201.13},
      abstract = {In Ben Tre province, shallow groundwater found at a depth of 8 to 60 m is exploited for domestic use and for irrigation of crops in rural areas. The water wells have different depths and are usually moderately to high contaminated with iron alum, moreover the saline- brackish water is at different depths and locations. In recent years, due to the effects of climate change and drought, the problem of drinking water and irrigation for planting is an urgent need. The study determined the distribution characteristics of aquifers, the environment for forming sediments and analyzed some chemical indicators of water for crop irrigation. This study shows that shallow groundwater is clarified and consisting of the Holocene (qh) and upper Pleistocene (qp3) aquifers from 8 to 60 m in depth. The Holocene aquifer consists of fresh water commonly found at of 8.5-17.5 m in depth, and saline- brackish water appearing by layers and lenticular are commonly found at about 25- 35 m in depth. Fresh water is usually found in the fluvial flat, channel and estuary facies, and saline - brackish water is in the tidal flat, delta front and pro-delta facies belong to the subaqueous delta plain. It suggests that sedimentary facies in boreholes and geological cross-sections play an important role in determining distribution characteristics and water quality, clarifying the distribution of fresh and saline water in Holocene sediments in the study area. This result can be referenced for research in the Mekong River Delta and other regions. Shallow aquifers have not great thickness, uneven water quality, cannot provide concentrated water. However, the water source has an important meaning in providing water for agricultural irrigation in the drought season, especially in the fruit tree area in Ben Tre Province.},
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Sedimentary Characteristics of Shallow Aquifers and Suitability to Irrigation in the Drought Season: The Case of the Fruit Tree Area in Ben Tre Province, Mekong River Delta
    AU  - Nguyen Van Lap
    AU  - Ta Thi Kim Oanh
    AU  - Duong Ba Man
    AU  - Lieu Kim Phuong
    AU  - Nguyen Thi Mong Lan
    AU  - Vo Thi Hong Quyen
    Y1  - 2023/01/10
    PY  - 2023
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20231201.13
    DO  - 10.11648/j.earth.20231201.13
    T2  - Earth Sciences
    JF  - Earth Sciences
    JO  - Earth Sciences
    SP  - 17
    EP  - 25
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-5982
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20231201.13
    AB  - In Ben Tre province, shallow groundwater found at a depth of 8 to 60 m is exploited for domestic use and for irrigation of crops in rural areas. The water wells have different depths and are usually moderately to high contaminated with iron alum, moreover the saline- brackish water is at different depths and locations. In recent years, due to the effects of climate change and drought, the problem of drinking water and irrigation for planting is an urgent need. The study determined the distribution characteristics of aquifers, the environment for forming sediments and analyzed some chemical indicators of water for crop irrigation. This study shows that shallow groundwater is clarified and consisting of the Holocene (qh) and upper Pleistocene (qp3) aquifers from 8 to 60 m in depth. The Holocene aquifer consists of fresh water commonly found at of 8.5-17.5 m in depth, and saline- brackish water appearing by layers and lenticular are commonly found at about 25- 35 m in depth. Fresh water is usually found in the fluvial flat, channel and estuary facies, and saline - brackish water is in the tidal flat, delta front and pro-delta facies belong to the subaqueous delta plain. It suggests that sedimentary facies in boreholes and geological cross-sections play an important role in determining distribution characteristics and water quality, clarifying the distribution of fresh and saline water in Holocene sediments in the study area. This result can be referenced for research in the Mekong River Delta and other regions. Shallow aquifers have not great thickness, uneven water quality, cannot provide concentrated water. However, the water source has an important meaning in providing water for agricultural irrigation in the drought season, especially in the fruit tree area in Ben Tre Province.
    VL  - 12
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Resources Geography, Tay Nguyen Institute of Scientific Research, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

  • Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Resources Geography, Tay Nguyen Institute of Scientific Research, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

  • Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Resources Geography, Tay Nguyen Institute of Scientific Research, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

  • Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Resources Geography, Tay Nguyen Institute of Scientific Research, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

  • Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Resources Geography, Tay Nguyen Institute of Scientific Research, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

  • Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Resources Geography, Tay Nguyen Institute of Scientific Research, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

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