Assessment of groundwater quality for irrigation use in Alathur Block, Perambalur District, Tamilnadu, South India

Abstract

The suitability of groundwater for irrigation uses was assessed in Alathur Block located in Perambalur District of the state of Tamil Nadu. Groundwater samples from ten villages were analyzed in two seasons for major cations, anions and other parameters such as electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, Kelly’s ratio, sodium absorption ratio (SAR), magnesium ratio, % sodium, chloro-alkaline indices, residual sodium carbonate and permeability index to know the suitability of groundwater for irrigation purpose. Piper trilinear diagram interpretations were made to know the suitability of chemical type of the groundwater. It reveals that the subsurface water is alkaline (Na + K) than the alkaline earth (Ca + Mg) type. According to the SAR values plotted in the USSL Staff diagram, most of the groundwater samples belong to class high-salinity hazard and low-sodium hazard (C3−S1) and high-salinity hazard and medium-sodium hazard (C3−S2), which indicate that the groundwater of most stations require a special type of irrigation method.