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Hydrogeochemical evolution and quality assessment of groundwater of Ajmer district, Rajasthan, India

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Abstract

Prevalence of arid to semi-arid climatic conditions, scanty annual precipitations, near absence of perennial drainage system and lack of proper irrigational facilities render the heavily populated Ajmer district of Rajasthan to depend on groundwater as the principal source of fresh water. Considering this, suitability of the groundwater of Ajmer district (Rajasthan, India) for drinking and irrigations purposes was evaluated. Total 213 groundwater samples were collected in a random manner from the bore wells and dug wells currently in use over the entire district and analysed for pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, hardness, major cations (Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+) and anions (Cl–, SO42–, HCO3–, NO3–, CO32–, F–) to determine its suitability for domestic and irrigation purposes. The groundwater of the study area is typically alkaline in nature. The dominance of cations and anions are found in the order of Na+ > Mg2+ > Ca2+ > K+ and Cl– > HCO3– > SO42– > NO3– > CO32– > F–, respectively. The concentrations of alkali ions (Na+ and K+) are dominant over concentrations of alkaline earth ions (Ca2+ and Mg2+) in 80% of the samples and strong acids (Cl– and SO42–) are dominant over weak acids (HCO3– and CO32–) in 71% of the samples. The concentration of solute is dominated by ion exchange and silicate weathering process along with the secondary influences of agricultural and other anthropogenic activities. Water quality index (WQI) for drinking purpose was calculated for all the samples and around 40% of the total samples falls under good to excellent category, while majority (60%) of the samples fall under unsuitable category. Based on the WQI values, around 67% of the samples were identified as none to slightly suitable for agriculture purposes. Combining both these observations, poor condition of the consumed groundwater was noted in the Ajmer district, which warrants immediate attention and demands adopting effective remedial measures without further delay.

Research highlights

  1. 1.

    The groundwater of the study area is characterised by the concentrations of alkalis, dominated over concentrations of alkaline earth and strong acids, dominated over weak acids.

  2. 2.

    WQI values for drinking purpose indicate that majority of the samples were in poor to unsuitable category (60%).

  3. 3.

    Only 16% samples were identified as good for agriculture purpose based on WQI for irrigation purpose.

  4. 4.

    The solute acquisition process is dominated by ion exchange and silicate weathering along with secondary influences of anthropogenic and agricultural activities defines the hydrogeochemical character of the study area.

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Acknowledgements

Authors are very much thankful to Shri K C Sahoo, Deputy Director General and HOD, Geological Survey of India, Western Region, Jaipur, for his continuous encouragement and support to prepare the manuscript. We are very much grateful to Groundwater Department (S & R), Ajmer, Rajasthan, for providing groundwater data sets. Authors express their sincere thanks to Shri D Bhattacharya, Director, Geological Survey of India, for his technical guidance to improve the manuscript. We are also grateful to anonymous reviewer for improving our manuscript.

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  1. Geological Survey of India, Western Region, Jaipur, Rajasthan, 302 004, India

    Arindam Gantait, Sohini Das, Sudipta Ghosh & Shubhabrata Mukhopadhyay

  2. Groundwater Department (S&R), Ajmer, Rajasthan, India

    Gurudutt Bohra

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  1. Arindam Gantait
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Contributions

Arindam Gantait, Sohini Das and Sudipta Ghosh were involved in data processing, analysis, interpretations and preparation of the manuscript. Gurudutt Bohra was engaged in data acquisitions and preparation of the manuscript. Shubhabrata Mukhopadhyaya was involved in overall supervision of the preparation of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Arindam Gantait.

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Communicated by Abhijit Mukherjee

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Gantait, A., Das, S., Ghosh, S. et al. Hydrogeochemical evolution and quality assessment of groundwater of Ajmer district, Rajasthan, India. J Earth Syst Sci 131, 236 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-022-01975-1

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