Monitoring’2023

Mon23-006
Metamorphization of the groundwaters chemical composition
within the Saksagansk-Sursk ore district of the Dnipropetrovsk
region during longstanding exploitation
*T. Koshliakova (M. P. Semenenko Institute of geochemistry, mineralogy and ore formation of the
National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine), V. Verkhovtsev (State Institution «The Institute of
Environmental Geochemistry of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine»), Eu. Lunov
(M. P. Semenenko Institute of geochemistry, mineralogy and ore formation of the National Academy
of Sciences of Ukraine), Yu. Tyshchenko (State Institution «The Institute of Environmental
Geochemistry of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine»), V. Shkapenko (State Institution
«The Institute of Environmental Geochemistry of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine»)
SUMMARY

The publication is devoted to the study of groundwaters in the Saksagansk-Sursk ore district
of the Dnipropetrovsk region, which are used to ensure the economic and drinking needs of
the local population. The chemical composition of underground waters was studied, an
assessment of their quality and suitability for potable use was made, the range of risks for the
health of local residents-consumers of water was outlined, and the rationale for possible
reasons for changes in their chemical composition during 42 years of operation (from 1978 to
2020) was provided. During the research, the authors found signs of metamorphization of the
chemical composition of groundwater. A preliminary conclusion was obtained that the
ecological-hydrogeochemical conditions of the studied groundwater are primarily determined
by: insignificant occurrences of water-bearing rocks (up to their emergence to the surface),
close hydraulic connection with surface waters and adjacent aquifers, weak protection against
surface pollution due to the lack of regionally sustained confining bed in its roof, the
chemical composition of water-bearing rocks, as well as the tectonic conditions of the
territory.

XVII International Scientific Conference “Monitoring of Geological Processes

and Ecological Condition of the Environment”
7–10 November 2023, Kyiv, Ukraine
Monitoring’2023

Introduction

Ensuring Ukraine's water security is an important strategic task, because the development of all
branches of the economy depends on the state of the country's water resources, which consist of
surface, underground and wastewater. In the current conditions of armed russian aggression, the
problem of providing the population with high-quality drinking water has become even more acute.
The population of 40% of the territory of our country consumes water that does not meet the requirements
of domestic regulatory documents. According to he United Nations, as of 2022, Ukraine was ranked
66th out of 180 countries in terms of drinking water quality. The biggest polluters of the water
resources of Ukraine are the enterprises of the mining and metallurgical complex of the Donetsk-
Dnipro region, part of which is the Dnipropetrovsk region. On average, the amount of freshwater per
capita per year in the Dnepropetrovsk region is 0,57 thousand m3, while in developed European
countries this figure is 4,6 thousand m3 (Pashkov, 2011). As noted by V.M. Shestopalov with co-
authors (Shestopalov, Stetsenko, & Rudenko, 2018), the development of alternative sources of water
supply for the population of Ukraine due to groundwaters, protected from direct inflows of pollutants,
characterized by stable chemical composition, physicochemical and microbiological parameters over
time, is of particular relevance. Hence, the quality assessment and study of the chemical composition
of drinking groundwater is an important area of scientific research (Koshliakova, Zlobina, &
Kuraieva, 2023). The object of the presented study is the groundwater of the Saksagansk-Sursk ore
district of the Dnipropetrovsk region, which is confined to the middle and upper Quaternary loess
loams (Q2-3) (Sherstuk & Nosova, 2016). The subject of the study is the peculiarities of the chemical
composition of groundwater used to provide the economic and drinking needs of the local population.

Method and Theory

A wide range of methods of obtaining, processing, and interpreting ecological-hydrogeochemical

data, including field, chemical-analytical, comparative, and graphic, were used during the research.
An AZ-8603 portable device was used for in-situ hydrochemical measurements of water samples. The
investigated indicators of the chemical composition of groundwater were measured according to the
current international standards (ISO). Acidity, total hardness, and chloride content are determined by
titration. Concentrations of heavy metals were determined using the atomic absorption method. For
indicators of total hardness, concentrations of sulfates, and chlorides, the relative error δ was 15–20%,
and for the remaining indicators – 10–15%. Mathematical and statistical methods were used in the
processing of the obtained data.

Results

The groundwaters investigated by the authors are used by the inhabitants of the villages of
Bozhedarivka, Zorya, Vilne, Saksagan, Kovalivka, Novogurivka, and Novozhitlivka to ensure
economic and drinking needs. The depth of investigated wells is, on average, 6–8 m. Schematic
geological map of the lower structural floor of the research area with the marking of water sampling
points (compiled by the authors according to (Sukach et al., 2006) is presented in Figure 1.

In the first stage of the study, the authors compared the major indicators of groundwaters chemical
composition as of 2020 (by median values) with the values of maximum permissible concentrations
(MPCs) following domestic regulatory documents and the requirements of the World Health Organization
(WHO), and the water quality class was established. The studied groundwaters are chloride-sulfate
magnesium-sodium. According to State Standard of Ukraine 7525:2014 «Drinking water.
Requirements and methods of quality control», as of 2020, the excess of mineralization (by 40%),
total hardness (by 60%), calcium concentrations (by 35%), nickel (almost doubled), lead (six times)
are fixed, as well as the content of sulfates (more than twice). It is worth noting that exceeding the
MPC for nickel according to the national regulatory document is not critical, since the MPC value of

XVII International Scientific Conference “Monitoring of Geological Processes

and Ecological Condition of the Environment”
7–10 November 2023, Kyiv, Ukraine
Monitoring’2023

nickel according to WHO is 0,07 mg/dm3. The situation is the same with zinc, the limit value for
which in drinking water according to the WHO is quite high – 3 mg/dm3.

Figure 1 Schematic geological map of the lower structural floor of the research area with the
marking of water sampling points (compiled by the authors according to (Sukach et al., 2006):
Demurinskyi Complex (fine-grained biotite, porphyroblastic granites), 2 – Saksaganskyi Complex
(plagiogranites and plagiomigmatites), 3 – Surskyi Complex (plagiogranites), 4 – Teplivska
Formation (chlorite-carbonate-magnetite jaspilites, cumingtonite-chlorite-magnetite, quartz-sericite
schists -chlorite and carbonate-quartz-chlorite), 5 – Varvarivskyi complex (serpentinites), 6 –
Mykhailivska formation of Bilozerska series (phyllite quartz-(sericite)-(biotite)-chlorite shales,
metasandstones, magnetite-(carbonate)-(amphibole) layers )-chlorite quartzites, 7 – Surska
Formation of Konkska series (meta basalts, metadolerite-basalts, actinolite, chlorite-actinolite
schists), 8 – the settlements boundaries, 9 – tectonic faults

The results of water quality assessment according to State Standard of Ukraine 4808:2007 «Sources
of centralized drinking water supply. Hygienic and environmental requirements for water quality and
selection rules» showed the following. According to the generalized integral index (Iinteg. ser.=2.29,
class 3, subclass 2(3)), the investigated groundwaters are rated as "good", clean water with a bias
towards the class of "satisfactory", slightly polluted water of acceptable quality. In order to carry out a
detailed comparative analysis of the content of individual trace elements in the studied groundwaters,
graphs of heavy metals content were constructed (Figure 2).

At the next stage of the research, a comparative analysis of the chemical composition of the studied
groundwater as of 2020 was performed with hydrogeochemical data obtained in 1978 during the
geological and surveying works carried out during the research of the chemical and radiation state of
underground waters on the territory adjacent to the Novogurivsk site of uranium ores
(Verkhovtsev et al., 2020). Water samples were taken from the wells of residents of the villages of
Novogurivka, Novozhitlivka and Zorya. Such indicators of the groundwaters chemical composition as
mineralization, total hardness, sulfate and chloride content were compared. The sample of data with
the results of chemical analysis of water for the year 1978 covers 55 values, for the year 2020 - 5
values. Histograms of the distribution of the specified indicators for two time periods were
constructed (Figure 3). The obtained results made it possible to evaluate the transformation of the
chemical composition of the studied groundwaters over 42 years of exploitation.

XVII International Scientific Conference “Monitoring of Geological Processes

and Ecological Condition of the Environment”
7–10 November 2023, Kyiv, Ukraine
Monitoring’2023

Figure 2 Graphs of the content (mg/dm3) of the trace elements in the studied groundwater as of 2020:
1 – well №1 (7в) in the Bozhedarivka village, 2 – well №2 (6в) in the Zorya village, 3 – well №16
(11в) in the Vilne village, 4 – well №8 (4в) in the Saksagan village, 5 – well №26 (21в) in the
Kovalivka village, the maximum allowable concentration is indicated by a dotted line according to
State Standard of Ukraine 7525:2014

Figure 3 Histograms of the distribution of some indicators of the macrocomponent composition of the
studied groundwater: 1 – as of 1978, 2 – as of 2020, the maximum permissible concentration value
according to State Standard of Ukraine 7525:2014 is indicated by a dotted line

XVII International Scientific Conference “Monitoring of Geological Processes

and Ecological Condition of the Environment”
7–10 November 2023, Kyiv, Ukraine
Monitoring’2023

Conclusions

As a result of the conducted research, it was found that investigated groundwaters of the Saksagansk-
Sursk ore district are chloride-sulfate magnesium-sodium and according to the generalized integral
index of water quality are evaluated as " good", clean waters with an inclination to the class of
"satisfactory", slightly polluted water of acceptable quality. Meanwhile, these waters do not meet the
requirements of domestic regulatory documents, as well as the standards established by the WHO for
drinking water, according to individual indicators: mineralization, general hardness, calcium, lead,
and sulfate content. Among all surveyed settlements, the most complex hydrogeochemical conditions
are observed in Zorya village. The water samples from this settlement have the highest levels of
mineralization, sulfate, calcium, and heavy metals (nickel and lead). The comparative analysis
performed for two different time samples of hydrochemical data made it possible to evaluate the
transformation of the studied groundwaters over 42 years of operation. It was found that the quality of
the studied groundwaters has significantly improved, which is evidence of the restoration of its state
to natural. This is probably due to a decrease in the level of man-made load on the water environment
over the years caused by a significant decline in the rate of industrial development of uranium and
iron ores. Despite this, investigated groundwaters still do not meet the requirements of domestic
regulatory documents regarding the quality of drinking water. Their regular consumption by residents
to meet economic and drinking needs poses a threat to health. Of particular concern is the high
content of lead (four times higher than the MPC). Thus, even under the conditions of the gradual
restoration of the chemical composition of the studied groundwaters to their natural state and
reduction of the volume of discharge of polluted return waters into underground aquifers, the scale of
man-made pollution with heavy metal compounds is still extremely high, which necessitates the
immediate intervention of local authorities and state bodies of nature management supervision.

References

Koshliakova, T., Zlobina, K., and Kuraieva, I. [2023]. Ecological and geochemical aspects of
interlayer water use for potable water supply of urban population: a case study in the Dnieper–
Donetsk aquifer system, Ukraine, Acta Geochimica, pp. 1-17 (in English).
Pashkov, A.P. [2011] Problems of surface, underground and wastewater pollution and measures for
their elimination and prevention in Ukraine, Life Safety, 4, pp. 10-16 (in Ukrainian).
Sherstuk N.P., and Nosova L.A. [2016] Analysis of the chemical composition of the groundwater
aquifers of Quaternary sediments of the Northern mining and processing plant (Kryvbas),
Dnipropetrovsk University Bulletin. Series geology, geography, 1(24), pp. 151–157 (in
Ukrainian).
Shestopalov, V.M., Stetsenko, B.D., and Rudenko, Yu.F. [2018] Groundwater of fractured cristalline
rock as reserve source for potable water supply to Vinnytsia (Ukraine), Geological journal,
1(362), pp. 5-16 (in Ukrainian).
Sukach V.V., Isakov L.V., Kurochka O.O. et al. [2006] Geological and formational study of the
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Verkhovtsev V.G., Tyshchenko Yu.Ye., Farrakhov O.V. et al. [2020] The enterprise for the
development of the Novogurivsk site of uranium ores by the method of underground well
leaching, Environmental impact assessment report, Kyiv, 390 p. (in Ukrainian).

XVII International Scientific Conference “Monitoring of Geological Processes

and Ecological Condition of the Environment”
7–10 November 2023, Kyiv, Ukraine