• Seasonal Variations in Groundwater and Surface Water Quality and Implications for Agricultural Use in an Urban-Rural Mixed Area

  • Yebin Lee1,2, Kyung-Seok Ko1,2, and Hanna Choi1,2*

  • 1Geo-Environment Research Division, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, Daejeon 34132, Korea
    2University of Science and Technology, Geological Science, Daejeon 34113, Korea

  • 도농복합지역 지하수 및 지표수의 계절별 수질 특성과 농업용수 적용 적합성 평가

  • 이예빈1,2ㆍ고경석1,2ㆍ최한나1,2*

  • 1한국지질자원연구원 지구환경연구본부, 2과학기술연합대학원대학교 지질과학

  • This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Urban–rural transitional zones are influenced by domestic, industrial and agricultural inputs, which complicate water quality assessment. This study evaluated the seasonal water quality characteristics of groundwater and surface water in Daejeon Metropolitan City, South Korea, and assessed their suitability for agricultural use. Groundwater and surface water samples were collected during the wet (n = 32) and dry (n = 39) seasons. Irrigation suitability was evaluated using the sodium adsorption ratio, sodium percentage, and residual sodium carbonate. Most samples were classified as Ca–HCO3 type, which indicated strong hydrological connectivity between groundwater and surface water. Fluorescent dissolved organic matter analysis revealed that groundwater during the dry season was increasingly influenced by relatively fresh, microbially derived organic matter. Surface water and groundwater in the study area were suitable for irrigation regardless of season and showed no evidence of salinity accumulation in soils. This suggests that pollutant inputs into the water system are being systematically and effectively managed in this urban–rural mixed environment.


Keywords: Urban–rural mixed area; Groundwater–surface water interaction; Seasonal water quality; Irrigation water suitability; Dissolved organic matter

This Article

  • 2026; 31(1): 28-40

    Published on Feb 28, 2026

  • 10.7857/JSGE.2026.31.1.028
  • Received on Feb 5, 2026
  • Revised on Feb 18, 2026
  • Accepted on Feb 26, 2026

Correspondence to

  • Hanna Choi

  • 1Geo-Environment Research Division, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, Daejeon 34132, Korea
    2University of Science and Technology, Geological Science, Daejeon 34113, Korea

  • E-mail: pythagoras84@kigam.re.kr