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Influence of regional climatic on the hydrogeochemistry of a tropical river basin—a study from the Walawe river basin of Sri Lanka

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Abstract

The Walawe river basin is one of the important watersheds in Sri Lanka subjected to water scarcity due to intensive exploitation for irrigation and domestic purposes. The groundwater resource in the basin is under-explored for its capacity to sustain a continuous supply of water for future demand while facing the growing climate change challenges. The objective of this study was to identify the behavior of groundwater in the Walawe river basin that flows through two major climatic zones in Sri Lanka. The study approach includes hydrogeochemical and stable isotope analysis in order to differentiate the geochemical evolution of groundwater in the basin with respect to climatic factors. Water samples from thirty-eight (38) deep wells (> 20 m), 25 shallow wells, and 14 surface water bodies were collected and measured for their major ions, and isotope ratios of δ2H and δ18O. The results indicated a clear difference in the geochemistry of groundwater between the two climatic zones of the basin. The dry zone area was characterized by a higher content of dissolved minerals as compared to that in the wet zone area. Silicate weathering, calcite dissolution, and ion exchange processes were found to be the main control of groundwater geochemistry in the basin. The Ca-HCO3-type water was found to be the predominant water type. The isotope data suggested that the groundwater in the study area is recharged mainly from the northeast monsoon rain. Isotope characteristics also suggested that direct infiltration is prominent in the wet zone regions, whereas modifications of shallow groundwater by evaporation were dominated in the dry zone areas. The findings of the study suggest that water quality management in the dry zone areas of the basin is critical for the future sustainability of the water resource of the basin.

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All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article and raw data is available upon request.

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Acknowledgments

Professor C.B. Dissanayake was acknowledged for his editorial assistance.

Funding

This work was supported by the grant of Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka (Grant SUSL/RG/2019/01) as a joint effort with the University of Peradeniya and Atomic Energy Authority, Sri Lanka.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Natural Resources, Faculty of Applied Sciences and Faculty of Graduate Studies, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, Belihuloya, Balangoda, Sri Lanka

    Sachintha Senarathne & Jayawardana Mudiyanselage Chandramali Kumari Jayawardana

  2. Faculty of Graduate Studies, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka BelihulOya, Balangod, Sri Lanka

    Sachintha Senarathne & Jayawardana Mudiyanselage Chandramali Kumari Jayawardana

  3. Isotope Hydrology Section, Atomic Energy Authority, Orugodawatta, Sri Lanka

    Edirisinghe Appuhamilage Nandana Viraj Edirisinghe

  4. Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Kandy, Sri Lanka

    Rohana Chandrajith

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  1. Sachintha Senarathne
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  2. Jayawardana Mudiyanselage Chandramali Kumari Jayawardana
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  3. Edirisinghe Appuhamilage Nandana Viraj Edirisinghe
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  4. Rohana Chandrajith
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Contributions

Sachintha Senarathne: data curation, chemical analysis and interpretation, statistical calculations, visualization, draft preparation;

Chandramali Kumari Jayawardana: conceptualization, funding acquisition, project supervision and writing, review, and editing;

Viraj Edirisinghe: isotope analyses and supervision;

Rohana Chandrajith: supervision, designed the final manuscript structure, reviewed the scientific literature, and finalized the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Rohana Chandrajith.

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Senarathne, S., Jayawardana, J.M.C.K., Edirisinghe, E.A.N.V. et al. Influence of regional climatic on the hydrogeochemistry of a tropical river basin—a study from the Walawe river basin of Sri Lanka. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 15701–15715 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11712-0

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