Hydrogeochemical characterisation and evaluation of seasonal variation in groundwater chemistry in upper Panda river Basin, India

Abstract

The shortage of water resources of good quality is becoming an important issue in hard rock and semi-arid zones and rapid declining of groundwater supplies are common (Raju and Reddy, 2007). Groundwater is the primary source of water for domestic, agricultural and industrial uses in many countries, and its contamination has been recognised as one of the most serious problems in India (Raju, 2007; Reddy et al., 2010; Raju et al 2009a). Major ion-chemistry of ground water provides the basis to investigate the weathering reactions in the basin (Das and Kaur, 2007; Raju et al., 2011). Each groundwater system, in the area, has a unique chemistry, acquired as a result of chemical alteration of meteoric water recharging the system (Back, 1966; Drever, 1997; Raju, 2012). The assessment of the suitability of groundwater for domestic water supply requires knowledge of the concentrations of inorganic constituents and their comparison with existing standards. Irrigation water quality concerns the amounts of salts present in ground water and their effects on crop growth and development. Since there is no adequate surface water supply, about 80-90 % of drinking and irrigation use is from available groundwater resources and the importance of groundwater utilization has increased at an alarming rate in parts of Panda River basin, Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh (Dey, 2010). Some parts of the study area are facing severe groundwater problems i.e. fluoride contamination which makes the water unfit for human consumption (Raju et al., 2009b). The main objective of the study is to assess spatial distribution of hydrogeochemical parameters and evaluate seasonal variation in groundwater chemistry of the upper Panda River basin, Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh, India.