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Hydrogeochemistry of the groundwater flow system in a crystalline terrain: a study from the Kurunegala district, Sri Lanka

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Environmental Geology

Abstract

Water samples collected from dug wells and tube wells from the Kurunegala District of Sri Lanka have been studied for their major hydrogeochemical parameters to understand the chemical quality of water in the terrain. The region is composed of Precambrian metamorphic rocks where groundwater is only available in the regolith and along weak structural discontinuities. The study of the major chemical constituents of groundwater revealed several relationships with the aquifer lithology. Groundwater from mafic rocks have high dissolved solids, while quartzose metaclastic rocks yield water with low dissolved solids. The study area displays very low SO4 2− contents of the groundwater. The chloride content is higher in the dry regions and in terrains underlain by pink granite and marble/calc gneiss while areas with marble, as expected, show high concentrations of Ca and Mg ions. The waters in the region can be classified into non-dominant cations to Na + K dominant and Cl− and HCO3 − dominant types. Water from charnockite-bearing areas tends to have non-dominant cations and more CO3 2− + HCO3 − types. Effects such as soluble salts in the regolith, fracture intensity and climatic variations play a significant role in the behavior of the hydrogeochemistry in the area.

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Acknowledgments

Ms. Kumudini Adikari of the Water Resources Board of Sri Lanka is mentioned with gratitude, for her support in the chemical analyses. Mr. B. K. Singh of the Central Ground Water Board, India is also mentioned with great respect for his active participation in the groundwater exploration project of the Kurunegala District, Sri Lanka. Thanks go to Ms. Lisel Kopel of the Writing Center of the Oregon State University (ORST) for editing the manuscript. HAHJ acknowledges the support extended by the Biological and Ecological Engineering Department (ORST). RC acknowledges with deep gratitude, the fellowship offered by the Alexander von Humboldt (AvH) Foundation of Germany, which enabled the completion of the research work during his sabbatical leave at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

    H. A. H. Jayasena, Rohana Chandrajith & C. B. Dissanayake

  2. Institute of Geology and Mineralogy, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Schlossgarten 5, 91054, Erlangen, Germany

    Rohana Chandrajith

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  1. H. A. H. Jayasena
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  2. Rohana Chandrajith
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  3. C. B. Dissanayake
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Correspondence to Rohana Chandrajith.

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Jayasena, H.A.H., Chandrajith, R. & Dissanayake, C.B. Hydrogeochemistry of the groundwater flow system in a crystalline terrain: a study from the Kurunegala district, Sri Lanka. Environ Geol 55, 723–730 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-007-1024-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-007-1024-z

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