Hydrogeochemical Characterization and Assessment of Water Suitability for Irrigation in Salt-Affected Area of Israna block, Haryana, India

Abstract

Irrigation water quality is crucial to the sustainability of agriculture, particularly in arid and semi-arid parts of the world, where farmers are compelled to use whatever water resources are available to them, regardless of their quality. Past studies have demonstrated that unscientific water management practices have exacerbated soil salinity and sodicity issues and resulted in a significant loss in agricultural output. Therefore, the current study highlights the seasonal variation in surface and groundwater quality and evaluates their suitability for irrigation in the salt-affected region of Israna, Panipat (Haryana). Thirty water samples (12 surface water and 18 groundwater) were taken during the pre- and post-monsoon seasons of June and December 2012 respectively. Key physiochemical and irrigation parameters that determine the quality of irrigation water were analyzed on water samples. Hydrochemical facies revealed Ca-Mg-HCO3 type as the predominant surface water whereas groundwater belonged to Na-HCO3 type. In terms of seasonal variation, enrichment of different cations and anions in surface as well as groundwater was observed suggesting increased surface runoff, or dissolution and leaching of different chemical constituents to canal and groundwater respectively, indicating the greater influence of anthropogenic activities. Surface water was determined to be acceptable for irrigation at majority of locations; however, an increase in potential magnesium hazard was observed in post-monsoon period. Most of the groundwater samples were found to be unsuitable for agricultural activities and exhibited high salinity and medium to high alkalinity suggesting that continued use of these waters might result in salinity or sodicity problems in soils of the study area and therefore, restriction should be applied on their usage for irrigation activities. The results suggest that canal water is more suitable for irrigation purpose and thus canal irrigation should be preferred over groundwater irrigation in the study area.