Hydrochemical characteristics and quality assessme

Authors: A Jafar Ahamed K Loganathan R Jayakumar

Publish Date: 2015/09/16

Volume: 1, Issue: 3, Pages: 273-291

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Abstract

The hydrochemical study of groundwater in Karur district of the Amaravathi River basin has been carried out to assess the major ion chemistry and groundwater quality for domestic and drinking purposes Twentyfour groundwater samples were collected processed and analyzed for various physicochemical parameters such as pH electrical conductivity total dissolved solids total hardness cations such as calcium magnesium sodium and potassium anions such as bicarbonate chloride sulfate fluoride nitrate and phosphate in the laboratory using the standard methods given by the American Public Health Association Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater 21st edn American Public Health Association Washington DC 2005 For quality assessment the results were compared with water quality standards prescribed by the Bureau of Indian standards Indian standards specification for drinking water 1510500 Bureau of Indian Standards New Delhi 2003 and World Health Organization International standards for drinking water World Health Organization Geneva 2005 All the groundwater samples in all three seasons premonsoon monsoon and postmonsoon seasons were not useful for drinking purposes owing to elevated levels of Ca2+ Mg2+ Na+ HCO3 − and Cl− Karl Pearson correlation matrices for 14 variables were performed EC TDS and TH had significant positive correlations among themselves and also with Ca2+ Mg2+ Na+ and Cl− pH shows negative correlation with most of the parameters The piper trilinear diagram showed that groundwater in all three seasons falls into mixed Ca2+–Mg2+–Cl− type Concerning water for irrigation purposes parameters such as percent sodium Na sodium adsorption ratio SAR residual sodium carbonate RSC chloroalkaline indices CAI I and CAI II permeability index PI magnesium hazard MH Kelley’s ratio KR USSL diagram Gibbs’ ratio GR and Wilcox diagram were calculated on the basis of chemical data to evaluate the current status of groundwater in the Amaravathi River basin Parameters like MH 74  KR 75  RSC 95  and PI 69  in all three seasons indicate that the samples are suitable for irrigation and remaining are unsuitable From USSL diagram the result reveals that the samples fall in C3S1 and C4S1 indicate high to very highsalinity and lowsodium hazards Wilcox diagram revealed out of 24 samples sample no 7 8 and 11 in premonsoon monsoon and postmonsoon seasons fall under doubtful to unsuitable and 9 fall under unsuitable zone The positive CAI values in 66  samples in all three seasons indicate reverse ion exchange mechanism The present study may be helpful for further studies concerning water quality issues in this area where groundwater is a vital for drinking and other activitiesAnalysis of any water resources system is crucial because of the modernday challenges in any of the following themes drinking agriculture urban area ecosystem energy recreation etc Although climatic change inhabitants increase and more recently broad biofuel production put enormous pressure on the limited available water in a growing number of regions of the globe Naim Haie 2011 Of the 37 MKm3 of freshwater estimated to be present on the earth about 22  exists as groundwater which constitutes about 97  of all liquid freshwater potentially available for human use Foster 1998 Owing to the importance of water the United Nations has proclaimed the years of 2005–2015 as the international decade for action on “water for life” UN 2004It is a wellknown fact that potable safe water is absolutely essential for healthy living Groundwater is a preferred source of human water supply It is estimated that approximately onethird of the world’s population uses groundwater for drinking purposes UNEP 1999 For most rural and small communities groundwater is still the only source of drinking water because the government water supply does not reach to more than twothirds of the population Sharma et al 2012 In Asia alone about one billion people are directly dependent upon this resource Sivasankar and Gomathi 2009 The groundwater resources play a very significant role in meeting the ever increasing demands of the agriculture industry and domestic sectors Saleem 2007 Millions of hand pumps and profound tube wells have been introduced all over India since most recent few decades 1970s to give safe water rather than microbes influenced water However groundwaters have some dissolved chemical constituents which may be unacceptable due to their chronic health effects taste and esthetic reasons Sankararamakrishnan et al 2008Agriculture is a dominant sector in the economic development of India as it is the source of sustenance for the majority of the population and contributes 46  of the gross national product Kumarasamy et al 2011 Irrigation is necessary for agricultural production in infertile and semiarid regions where rainfall is not sufficient to uphold crop growth Irrigated agriculture consumes 60–80  of the total water usage and contributes nearly 38  of the global food productionUnderstanding the aquifer hydraulic properties and hydrochemical characteristics of water is crucial for groundwater planning and management in the study area In general the motion of groundwater along its flow paths below the ground surface increases the concentration of the chemical species Kortatsi 2007 Hence the groundwater chemistry could reveal important information about the geological history of the aquifers Elkrail et al 2004 Groundwater chemistry in turn depends on a number of factors such as general geology degree of chemical weathering of various rock types quality of recharge water and inputs from sources other than water–rock interaction Such factors and their interactions result in a complex groundwater quality Guler and Thyne 2004In this work physical hydrogeological and hydrochemical data from the groundwater system will be integrated and used to determine the main factors which influence the chemistry of groundwater in the Amaravathi River basin area There is no systematic and scientifically documented evidence of the chemical quality of the suitability of groundwater for domestic and agricultural purpose in this basin Hence this paper highlights the ionic and temporal variations in the groundwater quality and to evaluate the suitability of groundwater for drinking and irrigation purpose for a sustainable agriculture and basic human needsAmaravathi River ascends from Naimakad at a height of 2300 m above mean sea level in the Western Ghats in the Idukki region of Kerala state It streams toward upper east lastly converges with the waterway Cauvery on its right bank Amaravathi River lies between north latitudes 1120° and 1200° and east longitudes 7728° and 7850° at Karur district The total course of the river is 282 km and covers a total area of 8280 Km2 mainly constituting five districts namely Tirupur Coimbatore Erode Dindigul and Karur in the state Tamil nadu Amaravathi is a tributary of Shanmuganadhi Nankanchi and Kodaganar Rivers which join at 60 40 and 20 km upstream of Karur town respectively Amaravathi enters into Karur district near Aravakurichi and merges with river Cauvery near Kattali village and the flow in the river is seasonal from late October to early FebruaryMajor part of Karur district is drained by Cauvery River Amaravathi Kodavanar and Nanganji are the important rivers draining the western part of the district and the river Pungar drains in the eastern part of the district The drainage pattern in general is dendritic All the rivers are seasonal and carry substantial flows during the monsoon period

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