Abstract
The present study was carried out to determine the hydrogeochemical processes and the impact of tanning industries on groundwater in Ambur, Vellore district, Tamil Nadu, India. Thirty groundwater samples were collected during pre monsoon (July 2015) and post monsoon (January 2016) from the open and shallow wells around this region and were analyzed for major ions and chromium. The major ion concentration follows the order of Na+ > Ca2+ > Mg2+ > K+ (cations) and Cl− > HCO3 − > SO4 2− > NO3 − (anions) for both seasons. The high concentrations of Na+, Cl−, and Cr around the tannery regions indicate the impact of effluent discharged from tannery units. In general, the groundwater of this study area is of Na+-Cl− type, which is due to the mixing of tannery effluent and cation exchange process. Ionic ratio indicates that the silicate weathering influences the groundwater chemistry. The permissible limit of chromium in the groundwater exceeds in over 50 % of the sampling wells. The factor analysis reveals that the dominant source for ionic contents is due to tannery effluents and cation exchange processes. To overcome this situation, it is essential to improve the performance of the effluent treatment plants so as to remove the salinity of wastewater and to plan for rainfall recharge structures for improving the groundwater recharge.
Similar content being viewed by others
Reference
Adams S, Titus R, Petersen K, Tredoux G, Harris C (2001) Hydrochemical characteristics of aquifers near Sutherland in the western Karoo, South Africa. J Hydrol 241:91–103
Adem B, Hazard Ö, Numan Bulut V, Görkem A (2013) Influences of urban wastewaters on the stream water quality: a case study from Gumushane Province, Turkey. Environ Monit Assess 185:1285–1213
Ansari AA, Singh IB, Tobschall HJ (1999) Status of anthropogenic ally induced metal pollution in the Kanpur-Unnao industrial region of the ganga plain. Env. Geology 38:25–33
APHA (2005) Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater, 20th edn. American Public Health Association, Washington, DC.
Avudainayagam S, Megharaj M, Owens G, Kookana RS, Chittleborough D, Naidu R (2003) Chemistry of chromium in soils with emphasis on tannery waste sites, rev Envi Contam. Toxicol 178:53–91
Back W, Hanshaw B (1965) Chemical geohydrology advances in Hydroscience. Academic Press, New York, pp. 49–109
Bahar MM, Reza MS (2010) Hydrochemical characteristics and quality assessment of shallow groundwater in a coastal area of Southwest Bangladesh. Envi Earth Sci 61:1065–1073
Baruhart J (1997) Occurences uses and properties of chromium. Regal Toxicol Pharm 26:3–7
Bhaskaran TR (1977) Treatment and disposal of tannery effluents. Central Leather Research Institute, Chennai
BIS (2012) Specification for drinking water, IS: 10500:1991. Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi
Bonotto DM (2006) Hydro (radio) chemical relationships in the giant Guarani aquifer, Brazil. J Hydrol 323:353–386
Brindha K, Elango L (2011) Hydrochemical characteristics of groundwater for domestic and irrigation purposes in Madhuranthakam, Tamil Nadu, India. Earth Sci Res SJ 5:101–108
Brindha K, Elango L, Rajesh VG (2010) Occurrence of chromium and copper in groundwater around tanneries in Chromepet area of Tamil Nadu, India. Indian J Envi Prot 30:818–822
Carroll D (1962) Rainwater as a chemical agent of geologic processes. A Review-Geological survey water-supply 1535:1–16
Cerling TE, Pederson BL, Damm KLV (1989) Sodium calcium ion exchange in weathering of shale; implication for global weathering. Budget 17:552–554
CGWB (2009) Central ground water board, district groundwater brochure Vellore district. Tamil Nadu Technical report series:1–20
Chadda DK (1999) A proposed new diagram for geochemical classification of natural waters and interpretation of chemical data. Hydrogeol J 7:431–439
CLRI (1990) Capacity utilisation and scope for modernisation in India tanning industry. A report of the CentralLeather Research Institute, Chennai, India: 1–12
Costa CR, Botta CMR, Espindola ELG, Olivi P (2008) Electrochemical treatment of tannery wastewater using DSA (R) electrodes. J Hazard Mater 153:616–627
Das BK, Kaur P (2001) Major ion chemistry of Renuka lake and weathering processes, Sirmaur district, Himachal Pradesh. India Envi Geo J:908–917. doi:10.1007/ s002540100268
Devadas DJ, Rao NS, Rao BT, Rao KVS, Subrahmanyam A (2007) Hydrogeochemistry of the Sarada river basin, Visakhapatnam district, Andhra Pradesh, India. Envi Geol 52:1331–1342. doi:10.1007/s00254-006-0577-6
Elango L, Ramachandran S (1991) Salt balance model for an alluvial aquifer in: modeling groundwater flow and pollution. Nanjing University Press, Nanjing, China 1:479–486
Fishbein L (1981) Sources transport and alteration of metal compound: an overview arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, chromium and nickel. Envi Health Perspe 40:43–64
Fisher RS, Mulican WFIII (1997) Hydrochemical evaluation of sodium-sulphate and sodium-chloride groundwater beneath the northern Chihuahuan desert, trans-Pecos, Texas USA. Hydrogeol J 10:455–474
Freeze RA, Cherry JA (1997) Groundwater prentice hall Inc Englewood cliffs. New Jersey 604
Galiana-Aleixandre MV, Mendoza-Roca JA, Bes-Pia A (2011) Reducing sulfates concentration in the tannery effluent by applying pollution prevention techniques and nano filtration. J Clean Prod 19:91–98
Garrels RM (1967) Genesis of some groundwaters from igneousrocks. In: Abelson PH (ed) Researchers in geochemistry 2. Wiley, New York, pp. 405–420
Gibbs RJ (1970) Mechanisms controlling worlds water chemistry. Sci 170:1088–1090
Gowd SS, Govil PK (2008) Distribution of heavy metals in surface water of Ranipet industrial area in Tamil Nadu, India. Environ Monit Assess 136:197–207
Grassi S, Doveri M, Cortecci G, Amadori M (2011) Hydrogeological study of the intensely exploited aquifer of the Santa Croce leather-producing district, Tuscany (Central Italy). Hydrogeol J 19:671–684
Gültekin T, Görkem A, Ali Danışman M (2010) Assessment of the pollution from tannery effluents upon waters and soils in and around Kula vicinity, Turkey. Water Air Soil Poll 213:199–210. doi:10.1007/s11270-010-0378-0
Gupta AK, Sinha S, Basant A, Singh KP (2007) Multivariate analysis of selected metals in agricultural soil receiving UASB treated tannery effluent at Jajmau, Kanpur (India). Bull Envi Conta Toxi 79:577–582
Habib A, Riaz N, Iftikhar a, Tahira s (2008) Grondwater contamination by effluent fron tanneries in Kasur (Pakistan). J Chem Soc Pak 30:348–351
Hindeya gebru N t, Bheemalingeswara k (2012) Impact of waste disposal from tannery on surface and groundwater, Sheba leather factory near Wukro, Tigray, northern Ethiopia. Inter J Earth Sci and Eng 05:665–672
Intissar F, Kamel Z, Adel R, Ridha B (2015) Origin of the groundwater salinity and geochemical processes in detrital and carbonate aquifers: case of Chougafiya basin (Central Tunisia). J Hydrol 530:508–532
Jalali M (2007) Hydrochemical identification of groundwater resources and their changes under the impacts of human activity in the Chah basin in western Iran. Environ Monit Asses 130:347–364
Jankowski J, Acworth RI (1997) Impact of debris flow deposits on hydrogeochemical process and the development of dry land salinity in the Yass River catchment, new South Wales, Australia. Hydrogeol J 5:71–88. doi:10.1007/s100400050119
Jankowski J, Acworth RI, Shekarforoush S (1998) Reverse ion exchange in deeply weathered porphyritic dacite fractured aquifer system, Yass, new South Wales, Australia. In: Arehart GB, Hulston JR (eds) 9th Inte Symp on Water–Rock Intera. AABalkema, Rotterdam, pp. 243–246
Katz BG, Coplen TB, Bullen TD, Davis JH (1998) Use of chemical and isotopic tracers to characterize the interaction between groundwater and surface water in mantled karst. Groundwater 35:1014–1028
Khwaja AR, Singh R, Tandon SN (2001) Monitoring of ganga water, and sediments Vis-a-Vis tannery pollution at Kanpur (India): a case study. Envi Monit Asses 68:19–35
Kousalya K, Vijayageetha VA, Dheenadhayalan MS, PandiaRajan A, Nandhagopalakrishnan R (2014) A study of the quality of ground water from Maruthanikulam area due to flow of industrial effluent and sewage at Pillaiyar Natham of Dindigul District. J Envi Nanotech 3:168–172
Kyoung-Ho K, Seong-Taek Y, Seong-Sook P, Yongsung J, Tae-Seung K (2014) Model-based clustering of hydrochemical data to demarcate natural versus human impacts on bedrock groundwater quality in rural areas, South Korea. J Hydrol 519:626–636
Leghouchi E, Laib E, Guerbet M (2009) Evaluation of chromium contamination in water, sediment and vegetation caused by the tannery of Jijel (Algeria): a case study. Envi Monit Assess 153:111–117
Li P, Qian H, Wu J, Zhang Y, Zhang H (2013) Major ion chemistry of shallow groundwater in the Dongsheng coalfield, Ordos Basin, China. Mine Wat Envir 32:195–206. doi:10.1007/s10230-013-0234-8
Li P, Zhang Y, Yang N, Jing L, Yu P (2016) Major ion chemistry and quality assessment of groundwater in and around a mountainous tourist town of China. Expo Heal 8:239–252. doi:10.1007/s12403-016-0198-6
Maya AL, Loucks MD (1995) Solute and isotopic geochemistry and groundwater flow in the central Wasatch range, Utah. J Hydrol 172:31–59
Mayback M (1987) Global chemical weathering of surficial rocks estimated from river dissolved loads. Am J Sci 287:401–428
Meikandaan TP, Ilayaraja K, Hemapriya M (2011) Spatial distribution of ground water analysis in Vaniyambadi town, Vellore district, Tamil Nadu. Inte J of Eng Tre Tech (IJETT) 2:18–37
Mohammad Amir H, Bhuiyan NI, Suruvi SB, Dampare MA, Islam SB, Quraishi SG, Shigeyuki S (2011) Investigation of the possible sources of heavy metal contamination in lagoon and canal water in the tannery industrial area in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Envi Monit Assess 175:633–649. doi:10.1007/s10661-010-1557-6
Mohsen J (2011) Hydrogeochemistry of groundwater and its suitability for drinking and agricultural use in Nahavand, western Iran. Nat Reso Res 20:65–73
Mondal NC, Singh VP (2010) Need of groundwater management in tannery belt: a scenario about Dindigul town, Tamil Nadu, India. J Geol Soc India 76:303–309
Mondal NC, Singh VP (2011) Hydrochemical analysis of salinization for a tannery belt in southern India. J Hydrol 405:235–247
Mondal NC, Saxena VK, Singh VS (2005a) Assessment of groundwater pollution due to tanneries in and around Dindigul, Tamilnadu, India. Envi Geol 48:149–157
Mondal NC, Saxena VK, Singh VS (2005b) Impact of pollution due to tanneries on groundwater regime. Curr Sci 88:1988–1994
Mondal NC, Singh VP, Singh VS, Saxena VK (2010) Determining the interaction between groundwater and saline water through groundwater major ions chemistry. J Hydrol 388:100–111
Mondal NC, Singh VP, Sankaran S (2011) Groundwater flow model for a Tannery Belt in southern India. J Water Reso and Prot 3:85–97
Naeem M, Kazi AA, Rehman S, Iqbal J (2008) Geohydrochemical and isotopic study of the effects of tannery effluents on the ground water quality in Kasur area. J Chem Soc Pak 30:23–28
Paces T (1972) Chemical characteristic and equilibration in natural water-felsic rock-CO2 systems. Geochim Cosmo chim Ac 36:217–240
Pandian GV, Kannan N, Paulra jK, Paulrajan S (2006) Effect of industrial polluation on groundwater in Madurai suburban area. Indian J Envi Prot 26:939–945
Park S, Yun S, Chae G, Yoo I, Shin K, Heo C, Lee S (2005) Regional hydrochemical study on salinization of coastal aquifers, western coastal area of South Korea. J Hydro 313:182–194
Parkhurst DL, Appelo CAJ (1999) User’s guide to PHREEQC (version 2)-a computer program for speciation, batch-reaction, one-dimensional transport and inverse geochemical calculations. United States geological survey, Washington. Wat Reso Inve Rep 99:4259–4326
Piper AM (1953) A graphic procedure in the geo-chemical interpretation of water analyses, USGS Groundwater.
Rajmohan N, Elango L (2004) Identification and evolution of hydrogeochemical processes in the groundwater environment in an area of the Palar and Cheyyar River basins, southern India. Envi. Geo 46:47–61
Rajmohan N, Elango L (2006) Hydrogeochemistry and its relation to groundwater level fluctuation in the Palar and Cheyyar river basins, southern India. Hydrol Process 20:2415–2427
Ramesh K, Thirumangai V (2014) Trace metals contamination of groundwater in and around tannery industrial area of pallavaram, Chennai city, India. Inte J Rese Eng Tech 03:163–169
Ramesh Kumar A, Riyazuddin P (2010) Chromium speciation in groundwater of a tannery polluted area of Chennai City, India. Environ Monit Assess 160:579–591. doi:10.1007/s10661-008-0720-9
Ravikumar P, Somashekar RK, Mhasizonuo A (2011) Hydrochemistry and evaluation of groundwater suitability for irrigation and drinking purposes in the Markandeya River basin, Belgaum District, Karnataka state. India Environ Monit Assess 173:459–487
Reddy AGS, Saibaba B, Sudarshan G (2012) Hydrogeochemical characterization of contaminated groundwater in Patancheru industrial area, southern India. Environ Monit Assess 184:3557–3576
Sahebrao Sonkamble V, Satish kB, Amarender PM, Dhunde S, Sethurama K, Raj k (2014) Delineation of fresh aquifers in Tannery Belt for sustainable development—a case study from southern India. J Geo Soc India 83:279–289
Sajil Kumar PJ (2012) Assessment of fluoride contamination in groundwater as precursor for electrocoagulation. Bull Envi Contam Toxi 89:172–175
Sajil Kumar PJ (2014) Evolution of groundwater chemistry in and around Vaniyambadi industrial area: differentiating the natural and anthropogenic sources of contamination. Chem Erde 74:641–651
Sajil Kumar PJ, Jegathambal P, James EJ (2011) Multivariate and geostatistical analysis of groundwater quality in Palar river basin. Int J Geo 5:108–119
Sajil Kumar PJ, Davis Delson P, Vernon JG, James EJ (2013) A linear regression model (LRM) for groundwater chemistry in and around the Vaniyambadi industrial area, Tamil Nadu, India. Chin J Geochem 32:019–026
Sami K (1992) Recharge mechanisms and geochemical processes in a semi-arid sedimentary basin, eastern cape, SouthAfrica. J Hydrol 139:27–48. doi:10.1016/0022 1694(92)90193
Saravanan K, Srinivasamoorthy K, Prakash R, Gopinath S, Suma CS (2015) An evaluation of hydrogeochemistry of groundwater in upper Vellar sub-basin using mineral stability and solute transport modelling. Inter confer water Reso, coastal and ocean Eng (ICWRCOE 2015. Aquatic Procedia 4:1119–1125
Sarin MM, Krishnaswamy S, Dilli K, Somayajulu BLK, Moore WS (1989) Major-ion chemistry of the ganga-Brahmaputra river system: weathering processes and fluxes to the bay of Bengal. Geochem Cosmo chim Acta 53:997–1009
Saxena VK, Singh VS, Mondal NC, Jain SC (2003) Use of chemical parameters to delineation fresh ground water resources in Potharlanka Island, India. Envi. Geo 44:516–521
Sivakumar D (2014) Groundwater quality assessment around Nagalkeni tannery Industrial Belt. Inte J Civil Stru Const and Arch Eng 8:320–325
Spears DA (1986) Mineralogical control of the chemical evolution of groundwater. In: Trudgill ST (ed) Solute processes, vol 512. Wiley, Chichester, UK
Sridhar SGD, Kanagaraj G, Priyalakshmi R, Jobin J, Baskar K (2013) Impact of leather and cosmetic industries on quality of groundwater, in Nagalkeni, Kanchipuram District, Tamilnadu, India. Inte J Adva Earth Sci and Eng 2:84–92
Stallard RF, Edmond JM (1983) Geochemistry of the Amazon: the influence of geology and weathering environment on the dissolved load. J Geophys rese. Oceans 88:9671–9688
Stuart ME, Milne CJ (2001) The risk to groundwater from wastewater irrigation using high chromium tannery effluent. Envi Geoche and Health 23:247–251
Sundar K, Chandrasekaran N (2010) Seasonal variations in the chromium concentration and chromium resistant bacterial populations in Vellore district. Rese J App Sci Eng Tech 2:378–380
Tamilarasi V, Murugesan S, Vishwanathan B (2015) Groundwater quality monitoring in Walajah block, in Palar river basin at Vellore District, Tamilnadu, India. Int Rese J Envi Sci 4:33–41
Tamma Rao G, Gurunadha Rao VVS, Ranganathan K, Surinaidu L, Mahesh J, Ramesh G (2011) Assessment of groundwater contamination from a hazardous dump site in Ranipet, Tamil Nadu, India. Hydrol J 19:1587–1598
Tamma Rao G, Gurunadha Rao VVS, Ranganathan K (2013) Hydrogeochemistry and groundwater quality assessment of Ranipet industrial area, Tamil Nadu, India. J earth. Syst Sci 122:855–867
Tariq SR, Shah MH, Shaheen N, Khalique A, Manzoor S, Jaffar M (2005) Multivariate analysis of selected metals in tannery effluents and related soil. J Hazard Mater 122:17–22
Todd DK (1983) Goundwater Hydrology, 2nd edition, John Wiley and Sons 267–315.
Vanderzalm JL, Jeuken BM, Wischusen JDH, Pavelic P, Le Gal La Salle C, Knapton A, Dillon PJ (2011) Recharge sources and hydrogeochemical evolution of groundwater in alluvial basins in arid Central Australia. J Hydrol 397:71–82
Acknowledgments
This work was carried under Dr. D.S. Kothari Postdoctoral fellowship scheme, University Grant Commission (UGC), New Delhi, Grant No. (F.4-2/2006(BSR)/ES/14-15/0002) awarded to the author.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kanagaraj, G., Elango, L. Hydrogeochemical processes and impact of tanning industries on groundwater quality in Ambur, Vellore district, Tamil Nadu, India. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 24364–24383 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7639-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7639-4