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Hydrogeological characterization and assessment of groundwater quality in shallow aquifers in vicinity of Najafgarh drain of NCT Delhi

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Najafgarh drain is the biggest drain in Delhi and contributes about 60% of the total wastewater that gets discharged from Delhi into river Yamuna. The drain traverses a length of 51 km before joining river Yamuna, and is unlined for about 31 km along its initial stretch. In recent times, efforts have been made for limited withdrawal of groundwater from shallow aquifers in close vicinity of Najafgarh drain coupled with artificial recharge of groundwater. In this perspective, assessment of groundwater quality in shallow aquifers in vicinity of the Najafgarh drain of Delhi and hydrogeological characterization of adjacent areas were done. The groundwater quality was examined in perspective of Indian as well as World Health Organization’s drinking water standards. The spatial variation in groundwater quality was studied. The linkages between trace element occurrence and hydrochemical facies variation were also established. The shallow groundwater along Najafgarh drain is contaminated in stretches and the area is not suitable for large-scale groundwater development for drinking water purposes.

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Acknowledgements

Author (AS) thanks the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research for financial grant through a junior research fellowship. It is duly acknowledged that the groundwater sampling was done by the first author when he was working as a Scientist at Central Ground Water Board and the samples were analysed at CGWB Laboratory, Chandigarh. The data for publication was taken from CGWB Report by Shekhar (2008). The authors are grateful to anonymous reviewers for their meticulous review of the manuscript, which helped in improving the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology, University of Delhi, Delhi, 110 007, India

    SHASHANK SHEKHAR & ADITYA SARKAR

Authors
  1. SHASHANK SHEKHAR
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Correspondence to SHASHANK SHEKHAR.

Appendix A

Appendix A

Table showing the location of sampling stations and the concentration of different chemical parameters. Cd – Cadmium, Cr – Chromium, Cu – Copper, Fe – Iron, Mn – Manganese, Ni – Nickel, Pb – Lead, Zn – Zinc, As – Arsenic, EC – Electrical conductivity, Cl – Chloride, SO4 – Sulphate, NO3 – Nitrate, F – Fluoride, Ca – Calcium, Mg – Magnesium, Na – Sodium, K – Potassium, HCO3 – Bicarbonate, N.A – Not analysed/data not available.

Sl. No.

Locality

Cd

Cr

Cu

Fe

Mn

Ni

Pb

Zn

As

EC

Cl

SO4

NO3

F

Ca

Mg

Na

K

HCO3

1.

Rawta

0.007

0.032

0.003

3.885

0.017

0.007

0.02

0.01

0

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A.

N.A

N.A

2.

Shikarpur road

0.005

0.029

0.011

3.381

0.114

0

0.02

0.101

0

2250

489

125

75

2.23

21

88

410

10

467

3.

Shikarpur-2

0.009

0.041

0.017

1

0.076

0

0.014

0.032

0

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

4.

Nanakheri

0.004

0.013

0.007

3.072

0.026

0

0.04

0.2

0

2780

774

95

55

0.84

83

121

390

3

317

5.

Isapur Khera

0.005

0.042

0.003

0

0

0

0.02

0.025

0

2340

300

50

48

1.47

13

45

510

6

995

6.

Dhulsiras

0.002

0.017

0.073

1.7

0.182

0

0.04

4

0

2120

511

230

8

0.3

79

82

315

4

249

7.

Chhawla

0.009

0.046

0.003

1.7

0.045

0

0

1

0

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

8.

Kutub Vihar

0

0.025

0.005

2.3

0.096

0

0.04

0.133

0

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

9.

Dwarka Sec.19

0.003

0.046

0.001

2.259

0.029

0

0

0.11

0

1620

362

50

13

0.3

53

26

315

5

437

10.

Dwarka Sec.16 STP

0.006

0.025

0

0.2

0.211

0

0.003

0.4

0

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

11.

Dharampura

0

0.016

0.008

2

0.224

0

0

0.164

0

4980

1548

370

149

0.43

290

238

570

13

196

12.

Dwarka Sec.-16 J Flat

0.003

0.024

0.001

1.333

0.015

0

0

0.014

0

1100

223

105

10

0.5

53

52

135

6

234

13.

Nand Vihar

0.005

0.043

0.035

1.7

0.068

0

0.1

1.3

0

1180

113

50

9

1.2

41

32

175

4

459

14.

Ghasipura

0.003

0

0.001

1.4

0.113

0

0.02

5

0

1080

223

90

25

0.21

53

63

100

5

198

15.

Deep Enclave

0.009

0.007

0.001

1.055

0.421

0

0

0.8

0.0009

1325

223

50

0.2

0.14

60

37

200

14

458

16.

Vikash Nagar

0.005

0.031

0.005

7.4

0.358

0.014

0.04

0.6

0.0015

1470

287

100

0.4

0

51

29

260

12

351

17.

Ranhola

0.01

0.048

0.004

0.382

0.011

0

0.04

0.016

0.0019

2250

425

155

75

0.71

18

62

440

2

458

18.

Nathan Vihar

0.009

0.024

0.002

0

0

0

0

0.004

0.0026

6000

1297

1140

237

1.78

75

107

1100

650

679

19.

Chander Vihar

0.004

0.056

0.001

1.006

0.01

0

0.06

0.095

0.0019

2430

277

65

107

2.23

31

76

475

5

1007

20.

Nihal Vihar

0.011

0.031

0.006

4.879

0.496

0

0.08

0.154

0.001

2190

475

95

111

0.36

26

127

275

6

354

21.

Karampura

0.007

0.023

0.005

1.7

0.546

0.003

0.06

0.092

0.0013

3850

872

430

116

0.66

106

127

575

4

267

22.

Shashtri Nagar

0

0.053

0.003

1.667

0.031

0

0.04

8

0.0008

1100

142

115

0.2

0.05

82

21

150

7

344

23.

Roop Nagar

0.003

0.014

0.006

3.11

0.022

0

0.04

0.134

0.0028

2120

188

200

85

7.14

29

36

460

2

747

24.

Timarpur

0.006

0.047

0.001

1.615

0.149

0

0.08

0.047

0.0001

2530

305

385

261

1.25

71

96

425

3

488

25.

Nehru Vihar D-9

0.008

0.03

0.001

3.218

1.2

0.012

0.02

0.074

0.015

1255

184

25

28

2.93

68

48

150

7

466

26.

Nehru Vihar C-280

0.004

0.051

0.005

1.3

0.7

0

0.02

0.181

0.0003

755

113

32

4

0.45

40

39

73

2

259

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SHEKHAR, S., SARKAR, A. Hydrogeological characterization and assessment of groundwater quality in shallow aquifers in vicinity of Najafgarh drain of NCT Delhi. J Earth Syst Sci 122, 43–54 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-012-0256-9

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