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Precipitation controlled spatial variations in groundwater quality indices-suitability for drinking and irrigation purposes in the basalts of South India

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Abstract

Regional study on the impact of variations in input rainfall over groundwater quality and its suitability for utilitarian purposes is essential for its extraction and management. Water chemistry from 456 observations wells for 2007–2011 period in hard rock Basaltic terrain of Upper Godavari basin is supported with 8 field samples (in 2014) in this analysis. Based on mean annual rainfall (MAR), four narrow climatic zones are identified in the basin, defined as “humid” (MAR > 1600 mm), “sub-humid” (1600–1000 mm), “semi-arid” (1000–600 mm), and “arid” (MAR < 600 mm). NICB ratio (<±10%), and anionic percentages demarcated the polluted areas from rest “good data”, composing of 1818 samples. Hydrochemical facies are studied using Piper diagram, secondary alkalinity exceeded 50% and not one cation–anion pair exceeded 50%, and silicate–carbonate plot, arid zone nearer to silicate pole indicated the dominance of SiO2 in Ca/Na vs Mg/Na plot. These geochemical variations emphasize a detailed study on role of climatic gradient on groundwater suitability for different purposes, for groundwater extraction, and its management. Suitability of groundwater for drinking based on water quality indices (WQI) indicated 98% of the samples as suitable (WQI < 50%). TDS in humid zone is 150–500 and 500–1000 mg/L in rest of the zones with ∼68% in permissible range, 15% as hard water (TDS > 600 mg/L) and not acceptable for drinking. Suitability of groundwater for irrigation is studied using sodium percentage (Na %), Wilcox diagram, sodium absorption ratio (SAR), US salinity diagram, residual sodium carbonate (RSC), permeability index (PI), Kelly’s ratio (KR), ancd magnesium absorption ratio (MgAR). Na % in four zones is < 60% and permissible for irrigation. Very few water samples fall in “doubtful to unsuitable” and “unsuitable” category of Wilcox diagram. Region is observed to have SAR < 6, indicating that water would not cause any problem to the soil and crop. Humid and sub-humid zones belonged to C1S1 and C2S1 categories (low and medium sodium), while semi-arid extended to C3S1 category (salinity hazard zone) in US salinity plot. RSC for all the three zones ranged from 1 to 1.5 meq/L, with 90–95% of the area safe for irrigation. Out of 1818 samples, 1129 belonged to class 2 of PI classification (PI ranging from 25 to 75%) while rest 689 samples had PI >75% (class 1). KR varied from 0.05 to 12.81, with 70–80% of the area having KR < 1. MgAR ratio ranged from 67% to 96%, with sub-humid, humid zones having higher Mg concentrations (increased salinity). Thus, 90% of the samples indicated non-alkaline water with 1% of normal alkalinity. Hence, the current study systematically analyzed the effect of precipitation and geology on groundwater quality and on its usability for various purposes. This stepwise procedure categorized the regions, and the same can be adopted for any regional hydrogeochemical studies.

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Acknowledgements

Our special thanks to Groundwater Surveys and Development Agency (GSDA), Pune, for providing us with the necessary data for this research work. This organization is part of the Water Resource Department, Government of Maharashtra, India, and but for their data, this research and analysis would have been impossible. We are also thankful to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD, Pune) for providing rainfall information for the three districts of our concern. We gratefully acknowledge the support and encouragement received from College of Engineering Pune (COEP) to complete this work. We are also thankful to the editor and reviewers for giving suggestions which have markedly improved the manuscript.

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  1. Environmental and Water Resources Division, Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering (COEP), Pune, Maharashtra, 411005, India

    Soumya Siva B & Ravindra B. Kamble

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  1. Soumya Siva B
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Correspondence to Soumya Siva B.

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B, S.S., Kamble, R.B. Precipitation controlled spatial variations in groundwater quality indices-suitability for drinking and irrigation purposes in the basalts of South India. Arab J Geosci 10, 171 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-017-2887-2

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