Abstract
Present research work is carried out to identify the sources of nitrate (NO3−) contamination in groundwater of Vailapally and its surrounding areas of Nalgonda district, Telangana having mixed agri-rural set up by means of geochemical perspectives. Altogether Twenty seven (27) groundwater samples are collected from borewell/hand pump covering both agricultural as well as rural residential areas. Analytical results reveal that maximum nitrate contamination (263 mg/L) is restricted to rural areas whereas, most of agricultural areas have nitrate concentration below the WHO permissible limit of 45 mg/L. Presence of significant (p < 0.01) positive correlations between EC, TDS, Cl− and SO42− with nitrate signify the unlined domestic sewage and sanitary system of the residential areas as the source of contaminant. Elevated concentration of lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg) and their affinity towards NO3− are found to be regulated by some anthropogenic sources like inorganic fertilizer, animal manure or sewage. Maximum NO3− concentration is also corroborated to minimum C/N ratio (0.32). Isotopic signature further pinpoints that both animal waste and organic soil nitrogen are the major contributor of nitrate in the groundwater of Vailapally watershed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
APHA-AWWA-WPCF (1980) Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater, 15th ed. American Public Health Association, American Water Works Association and Water Pollution Control Federal, Washington, DC, p 1134
Aravena R, Mayer B (2010) Isotopes and processes in the nitrogen and sulfur cycles. In: Aelion CM, Höhener P, Hunkeler D, Aravena R (eds) Environmental isotopes in biodegradation and bioremediation. Lewis Publishers, pp 203–246
Banerjee R, Bahukhandi NK, Rahman M, Achar KK, Ramesh Babu PV, Umamaheswar K, Parihar PS (2012) Lithostratigraphic and radiometric appraisal of deeper parts of Srisailam and Palnad sub-basins in Kottapullareddipuram-Achchammagunta-Rachchamallepadu area, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh. Expl Res Atomic Miner 22:55–69
Bohlke JK, Denver JM (1995) Combined use of groundwater dating, chemical, and isotopic analyses to resolve the history and fate of nitrate contamination in two agricultural watersheds, Atlantic coastal plain, Maryland. Water Resour Res 31:2319–2339
Bottcher J, Strebel O, Voerkelius S, Schmi HL (1990) Using isotope fractionation of nitratenitrogen and nitrate- oxygen for evaluation of microbial denitrification in a sandy aquifer. J Hydrol 114:413–424
Brindha K, Rajesh R, Murugan R, Elango L (2012) Nitrate pollution in groundwater in some rural areas of Nalgonda district, Andhra Pradesh, India. J Environ Eng 54:64–70
Buzek F, Kadlecova R, Zak K (1998) Nitrate pollution of a karstic groundwater system. In: Isotope Techniques in the Study of Environmental Change, IAEA Vienna, pp 453–464
Clark I, Fritz P (1997) Environmental isotopes in hydrogeology, 1st edn. CRC Press, New York
Craig H (1961) Isotope variation in meteoric waters. Science 133:1702–1703
Dansgaard W (1964) Stable isotopes in precipitation. Tellus 16:436–438
Einsiedl F, Mayer B (2006) Hydrodynamic and microbial processes controlling nitrate in a fissured-porous karst aquifer of the Franconian Alb, Southern Germany. Environ Sci Technol 40:6697–6702
Environmental Agency (EA) (2005) Attenuation of nitrate in the sub-surface environment. Science Report SC030155/SR2. UK: Environment Agency Rio House Waterside Drive, Aztec West Almondsbury, Bristol, BS32 4UD
Fan AM, Steinberg VE (1996) Health implication of nitrite and nitrate in drinking water: an update on methemoglobinemia occurrence and reproductive and development toxicity. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol 23:35–43
Freeze RA, Cherry H (1979) Groundwater. Prentice-Hall, New Jersey
Geological Survey of India (GSI report) (2015) Geology and mineral resources of Telangana, vol 30, 1st edn. Miscellaneous Publication
Grabinska-Loniewska A, Slomczynski T, Kanska Z (1985) Denitrification studies with glycerol as a carbon source. Water Res 12:1471–1477
Haag D, Kaupenjohann M (2001) Landscape fate of nitrate fluxes and emissions in Central Europe. A critical review of concepts, data, and models for transport and retention. Agric Ecosyst Environ 86:1–21
Jianyao C, Changyuan T, Jingjie Y (2006) Use of 18O, 2H and 15N to identify nitrate contamination of ground water in a wastewater irrigated field near the city of Shijiazhuang, China. J Hydrol 326(1–4):367–378
Kaown D, Koh DC, Mayer B, Lee KK (2009) Identification of nitrate and sulfate sources in groundwater using dual stable isotope approaches for an agricultural area with different land use (Chuncheon, mid-eastern Korea). Agric Ecosyst Environ 132:223–231
Kellman LM, Hillaire-Marcel C (2003) Evaluation of nitrogen isotopes as indicators of nitrate contamination sources in an agricultural watershed. Agric Ecosyst Environ 95:87–102
Kendall C (1998) Tracing nitrogen sources and cycling in catchments. In: Kendall C, McDonnell JJ (eds) Isotope tracers in catchment hydrology. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 521–576
Kendall C, Aravena R (2000) Nitrate isotopes in groundwater systems. In: Cook PG, Herczeg AL (eds) Environmental tracers in subsurface hydrology. Springer Science and Business Media, New York, pp 261–297
Kendall C, Elliott EM, Wankel SD (2007) Tracing anthropogenic inputs of nitrogen to ecosystems, chapter 12. In: Michener RH, Lajtha K (eds) Stable isotopes in ecology and environmental science, 2nd edn. Blackwell Publishing, pp 375–449
Koh DC, Mayer B, Lee KS, Ko KS (2010) Land-use controls on sources and fate of nitrate in shallow groundwater of an agricultural area revealed by multiple environmental tracers. J Contam Hydrol 118:62–78
Kreitler CW (1979) Nitrogen-isotope ratio studies of soils and groundwater nitrate from alluvial fan aquifers in Texas. J Hydrol 42:147–170
Majumder RK, Hasnat MA, Hossain S, Ikeue K, Machida M (2008) An exploration of nitrate concentration in groundwater aquifers of central-west region of Bangladesh. J Hazard Mater 159:536–543
Mariotti A, Landreau A, Simon B (1998) 15N isotope biochemistry and natural denitrification process in groundwater: application to the Chalk aquifer of northern France. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 52:549–555
Mason CF (2002) Biology of freshwater pollution, 4th edn. Prentice Hall, Harlow
McIlvin MR, Altabet MA (2005) Chemical conversion of nitrate and nitrite to nitrous oxide for nitrogen and oxygen isotopic analysis in freshwater and seawater. Anal Chem 77:5589–5595
Mohseni-Bandpi A, Elliott DJ (1998) Groundwater denitrification with alternative carbon sources. Water Sci Technol 38(6):37–243
Moore KB, Ekwurzel B, Esser BK, Hudson GB, Moran JE (2006) Sources of groundwater nitrate revealed using residence time and isotope methods. Appl Geochem 21:1016–1029
Nagaraja Rao BK, Rajurkar ST, Ramalingaswamy G, Ravindra Babu B (1987) Stratigraphy, structure and evolution of the Cuddapah basin. In: Purana Bains of Peninsular India (Middle to Late Proterozoic), Memoir Geological Society of India, vol 6, pp 33–86
Natarajan V, Murthy SRN (1974) Fluorite bearing granites of Sivannagudem area, Nalgonda district. In: A.P. Indian academy of geological science, proceedings, a symposium on fluorosis, Hyderabad, pp. 49–53
Pierre G, Claude HM (1997) Determining the source of nitrate pollution in the Niger discontinuous aquifers using the natural 15N/14N ratios. J Hydrol 199(3–4):239–251
Piper AM (1953) A graphic procedure in the geochemical interpretation of water analysis. United State Geological Survey, Groundwater note 12, p 63
Reddy AGS, Kumar KN, Rao DS, Rao SS (2009) Assessment of nitrate contamination due to groundwater pollution in north eastern part of Anantapur district, A.P, India. Environ Monit Assess 148:463–476
Reddy DV, Nagabhushanam P, Sukhija BS, Reddy V, Smedley AGS (2010) Fluoride dynamics in the granitic aquifer of the Wailapally watershed, Nalgonda District, India. Chem Geol 269:278–289
Sacchi E, Acutis M, Bartoli M, Brenna S, Delconte CA, Laini A, Pennisi M (2013) Origin and fate of nitrates in groundwater from the central Po plain: insights from isotopic investigations. Appl Geoche 34:164–180
Schoeller H (1965) Hydrodynamique dans le karst (Hydrodynamics of karst). Actes du Colloques de Doubronik IAHS/UNESCO, Wallingford, pp 3–20
Showers WJ, Genna B, McDade T, Bolich R, Fountain JC (2008) Nitrate contamination in groundwater on an urbanized dairy farm. Environ Sci Technol 42(13):4683–4688
Sonkamble S, Sahya A, Mondal NC, Harikumar P (2012) Appraisal and evolution of hydrochemical processes from proximity basalt and granite areas of Deccan Volcanic Province (DVP) in India. J Hydrol 438:181–193
Stadler S (2012) Identification of sources and infiltration regimes of nitrate in the semi-arid Kalahari: regional differences and implications for groundwater management. Water S A 2:213–224
Sundaraiah R, Sudarshan V (2014) nitrate contamination in the groundwater of Kalwakurthy area, Mahabubnagar district, Andhra Pradesh, India. Indian J Appl Res 4(9):240–243
Sunitha V, Rajeswara Reddy B (2006) Nitrate contamination in groundwater of Urvakonda, and surrounding areas, Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh. J Appl Hydrol 9(1&2):111–120
Sunitha V, Reddy BM, Reddy MR (2012) Assessment of nitrate contamination due to groundwater pollution in southeastern part of Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh. Int J Earth Sci Eng 5(1):110–116
Suthar S, Bishnoi P, Singh S, Mutiyar PK, Nema AK, Patil NS (2009) Nitrate contamination in groundwater of some rural areas of Rajasthan, India. J Hazard Mater 171:189–199
Tandia AA, Gaye CB, Faye A (1998) Origin, Process and Migration of Nitrate compounds in the aquifers of Dakar region, Senegal -TECDOC-1046. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Vienna (Austria), vol 269, pp 67–80
Wakida FT, Lerner DN (2005) Non-agricultural sources of groundwater nitrate: a review and case study. Water Res 39:3–16
Wassenaar LI (1995) Evaluation of the origin and fate of nitrate in the Abbotsford Aquifer using the isotopes of 15N and 18O in NO3−. Appl Geochem 10:391–405
Wassenaar LI, Hendry MJ, Harrington N (2006) Decadal geochemical and isotopic trends for nitrate in a transboundary aquifer and implications for agricultural beneficial management practices. Environ Sci Technol 40:4626–4632
Widory D, Petelet-Giraud E, Negrel P, Ladouche B (2005) Tracking the sources of nitrate in groundwater using coupled nitrogen and boron isotopes: a synthesis. Environ Sci Technol 39(2):539–548
World Health Organization (WHO) (1994) Fluorides and oral health. Report, “The WHO Expert Committee on Oral Health Status and Fluoride Use met in Geneva from 22 to 28 November 1993”. World Health Organization (WHO Technical Report Series, No. 846; http://whqlibdoc.who.int/trs/WHO_TRS_846.pdf)
Xue D, Botte J, de Baets B, Accoe F, Nestler A, Taylor P, Van Cleemput O, Berglund M, Boeckx P (2009) Present limitations and future prospects of stable isotope methods for nitrate source identification in surface- and groundwater. Water Res 43:1159–1170
Acknowledgements
The research work is supported by the SERB, Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India. The authors are thankful to Dr. D. V. Reddy, isotope hydrology laboratory of National Geophysical Research Laboratory, Hyderabad for his endless help in analyzing major ions and stable isotopes applicable for this research work. The authors are also thankful to the CSIR-NIO, Goa especially Supriya G. Karapukar for her effortful help to analysis of Nitrate isotope in groundwater samples. Special acknowledgements also go to Dr. Rama Mohan K. and Mr. P. B. Rama Murty for extending their instrumental support and give their best suggestions in all the stages of research work.
Funding
Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) for funding under National Post-Doctoral Fellowship Scheme, File Number: PDF/2016/000455.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Mondal, D., Gupta, S., Reddy, D.V. et al. Evaluation of geochemical processes and nitrate contamination pathways in Vailapally watershed, Telangana, India: a stable isotope perspective. Sustain. Water Resour. Manag. 8, 160 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40899-022-00741-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40899-022-00741-x