Abstract
The present study focused on the seasonal investigation of hydro-geochemical characteristics of groundwater samples collected from the vicinity of three tributaries of the Beas River, Punjab, India. Total 45 samples were analyzed during the pre- and post-monsoon season for physico-chemical parameters and heavy metals along with health risk assessment. Results revealed that the majority of samples were below the permissible limits set by the BIS and WHO. The relative abundance of major cations was Ca2+ > Mg2+ > Na+ > K+ and Ca2+ > Na+ > Mg2+ > K+, while that of the major anions was HCO3− > SO42− > Cl− > CO32− in the pre- and post-monsoon season, respectively. Groundwater was alkaline and hard in nature at most of the sites. Bicarbonate content exceeded the desirable limit having an average concentration of 337.26 mg/L and 391.48 mg/L, respectively, during the pre- and post-monsoon season. Tukey’s multiple comparison test was applied for finding significant differences among samples at p < 0.05. The dominant hydrochemical face of water was Ca–Mg–HCO3 type. US salinity (USSL) diagram indicated that during the pre-monsoon, 48.9% samples were C2S1 type and remaining 51.1% were C3S1 type while during the post-monsoon all samples were C3S1 type. It indicates that groundwater of the study area is at risk of salinity hazards in future and is not to be ignored. Such monitoring studies are recommended to design future safety plans to combat soil and human health risks.
Highlights
Groundwater is the most important source for drinking and irrigation purpose but due to intensive farming, industrial discharge, pollution of rivers, its quality is deteriorating inNorth-West regions of Punjab, India for survival (Talabi and Kayode 2019; Adimalla et al 2020)
Physico-chemical parameters of collected groundwater samples were analyzed by following the standard methods (Trivedy et al 1987; APHA (2017); The portable kit was used for measuring pH and total dissolved solids (TDS) at sampling sites
All the tributaries were in the Bist-Doab region where groundwater level falls systematically in various regions over the last two decades
Summary
Groundwater is the most important source for drinking and irrigation purpose but due to intensive farming, industrial discharge, pollution of rivers, its quality is deteriorating in. The Beas River, falling in the Northwest of Punjab, India and its tributaries adjoining agricultural fields loaded with contaminants like heavy metals, bicarbonates, chlorides, sulfates etc. Principal Soil Chemist, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141027, India contamination in groundwater is threat to supply of good quality water (Kumar and Shah 2006; Gupta et al 2018; Jain and Mujawar 2019). Groundwater Board (CGWB 2017), the total 2420 number of villages had been found to be affected by heavy metal contamination in India, out of which 2139 had fallen in Punjab (Sharma et al 2019).The present study was undertaken to investigate the quality of groundwater by determining the various hydro-geochemical characteristics of groundwater in the vicinity of the three tributaries of Beas. River falling in Bist-Doab region, namely Pong left main canal, Odhra rivulet and Kali bein and determining the suitability of groundwater for drinking and irrigation purpose
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