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Environmental monitoring of water resources with the use of PoS index: a case study from Subarnarekha River basin, India

Environmental Earth Sciences volume 77, Article number: 70 (2018) Cite this article

Abstract

Ten surface and ten groundwater samples were collected from the middle part of Subarnarekha River basin, Jharkhand, India, during the pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon periods in the year 2008 (n = 60) in order to outline the hydrogeochemical signatures and to assess their overall quality. The study area was selected for their significance to diverse physiographic characteristics, mining and cultivation practices. Samples were analyzed for totally 21 parameters, including of physicochemical properties (pH, electrical conductivity and total dissolved solids), major and minor ions (Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, F−, Cl−, SO42− and NO3−) and trace elements (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sr and Zn). Results suggest that quality status, in general, is acceptable with few exceptions; however, issues related to the mining and imposed cultivation were identified which in turn could potentially lead to environmental degradation. The geogenic factors and anthropogenic influences are affecting the hydrogeochemical characteristics of water resources in the study area. The results were confirmed by numerical index Poseidon index (PoS) which has classified the samples according to their quality status. The PoS provides a generic water quality assessment through a single score that is representative of the overall hydrogeochemical characteristics of water, regardless of the processes involved, specific goals and characterization. Overall, the geological setup, hydrogeological regime, unmanaged cultivation practices and overexploitation of groundwater have adverse impacts on water resources of the region. Environmental protection and production optimization may be achieved through the implementation of custom actions and appropriate management measures in the region.

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Acknowledgements

We are thankful to anonymous reviewers and Editor in Chief for their valuable suggestions and recommendation. SKG thanks the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, India, for providing the financial support [09/263 (0703)/2008-EMR-I] and DST N-PDF [File No: PDF/2017/002820] and altogether acknowledges the technical and administrative staff of School of Environmental Sciences, JNU of their technical support. Corresponding author (SKS) express sincere thanks to University Grants Commission, New Delhi, India, for financial support (F.N.-42-74/2013 (SR). The authors are also grateful to Dr. Anup Kumar, Assistant Professor, Department of Biostatistics, and Health Informatics, SGPGIMS, Lucknow-226014, India helps in performing the Paired Sample Wilcoxon Test.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110067, India

    Sandeep Kumar Gautam & Jayant Kumar Tripathi

  2. Hellenic Agricultural Organization “Demeter”, Soil and Water Resources Institute, Sindos Industrial Zone, 57400, Sindos, Greece

    Tziritis Evangelos

  3. K. Banerjee Centre of Atmospheric and Ocean Studies, IIDS, Nehru Science Centre, University of Allahabad, Allahabad, UP, 211002, India

    Sudhir Kumar Singh

  4. Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research, Barwa Road, Dhanbad, Jharkhand, 826001, India

    Abhay Kumar Singh

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  1. Sandeep Kumar Gautam
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  2. Tziritis Evangelos
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  3. Sudhir Kumar Singh
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  4. Jayant Kumar Tripathi
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Correspondence to Sudhir Kumar Singh.

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Gautam, S.K., Evangelos, T., Singh, S.K. et al. Environmental monitoring of water resources with the use of PoS index: a case study from Subarnarekha River basin, India. Environ Earth Sci 77, 70 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-018-7245-5

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Keywords

  • Anthropogenic influences
  • Groundwater
  • Geogenic factors
  • Hydrogeological regime
  • Trace elements
  • PoS index