TITLE:
Evaluation of Groundwater Quality and Its Suitability for Domestic and Irrigation Use in Parts of the Chandauli-Varanasi Region, Uttar Pradesh, India
AUTHORS:
Shubhra Singh, N. Janardhana Raju, Ch. Ramakrishna
KEYWORDS:
Groundwater Quality, Hydrogeochemical Facies, Drinking Water, Irrigation Water
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Water Resource and Protection,
Vol.7 No.7,
May
22,
2015
ABSTRACT: The present study focused on the hydrochemistry of groundwater in parts
of Chandauli-Varanasi region to assess the quality of groundwater for
determining its suitability for drinking and agricultural purposes.
Urbanization and agriculture activities have a lot of impacts on the
groundwater quality of the study area. A total of 70 ground water samples were
collected randomly from different sources viz. hand pump, dug wells and bore wells, and analyzed for major cations and anions.
The domination of cations and anions was in the order of Na > Ca > Mg >
K and HCO3 > Cl > SO4 > NO3 > F.
The Piper classification for hydrogeochemical facies indicates that alkaline
earth exceeds alkalis and weak acids exceed strong acid. Water quality index
rating was calculated to quantify overall water quality for human consumption.
Out of 70 groundwater samples, 7% and 10% samples exhibit water unsuitable for
drinking purposes in pre- and post-monsoon, respectively, due to effective
leaching of ions, direct discharge of domestic effluents and agricultural
activities. Residual sodium carbonate values revealed that 6% sample is not
suitable for irrigation purposes in both the seasons due to low permeability of
the soil. The calculated values of PI indicate that the water for irrigation
uses is excellent to good quality in both seasons. As per Wilcox’s diagram and
US salinity laboratory classification, most of the groundwater samples are
suitable for irrigation except one sample which is unsuitable for irrigation
purposes. The overall quality of groundwater in post-monsoon season in all
chemical constituents is on the higher side due to dissolution of surface
pollutants during the infiltration and percolation of rainwater at few places
due to agricultural and domestic activities.