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Evaluation of hydrogeochemical processes in the Pleistocene aquifers of Middle Ganga Plain, Uttar Pradesh, India

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Abstract

Evaluation of major ion chemistry and solute acquisition process controlling water chemical composition were studied by collecting a total of fifty-one groundwater samples in shallow (<25 m) and deep aquifer (>25 m) in the Varanasi area. Hydrochemical facies, Mg-HCO3 dominated in the largest part of shallow groundwater followed by Na-HCO3 and Ca-HCO3 whereas Ca-HCO3 is dominated in deep groundwater followed by Mg-HCO3 and Na-HCO3. High As concentration (>50 μg/l) is found in some of the villages situated in northeastern parts (i.e. adjacent to the concave part of the meandering Ganga river) of the Varanasi area. Arsenic contamination is confined mostly in tube wells (hand pump) within the Holocene newer alluvium deposits, whereas older alluvial aquifers are having arsenic free groundwater. Geochemical modeling using WATEQ4F enabled prediction of saturation state of minerals and indicated dissolution and precipitation reactions occurring in groundwater. Majority of shallow and deep groundwater samples of the study area are oversaturated with carbonate bearing minerals and under-saturated with respect to sulfur and amorphous silica bearing minerals. Sluggish hydraulic conductivity in shallow aquifer results in higher mineralization of groundwater than in deep aquifer. But the major processes in deep aquifer are leakage of shallow aquifer followed by dominant ion-exchange and weathering of silicate minerals.

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Acknowledgments

The author is indebted to the Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi for financial support under major research project (SR/S4/ES-160/2005). The author is thankful to Mr. Prahlad Ram, Mrs. Sangita Dey, Mr. Vinay Nabiyal and Mrs. Sneha Singh for their support during the field and analytical laboratory work. The author is beholden to the anonymous referee for his supportive view and valuable suggestions which enhanced the quality of the manuscript.

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  1. School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110 067, India

    Janardhana Raju Nandimandalam

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Nandimandalam, J.R. Evaluation of hydrogeochemical processes in the Pleistocene aquifers of Middle Ganga Plain, Uttar Pradesh, India. Environ Earth Sci 65, 1291–1308 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-011-1377-1

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