An evaluation of groundwater quality and its suitability for drinking and irrigation uses under the GIS framework

Abstract

Abstract This study reported the results of groundwater quality for drinking and irrigation purposes in Kurukshetra district, Haryana, India. Twelve parameters, namely pH, TDS, TH, sodium (Na+), magnesium (Mg2+), calcium (Ca2+), potassium (K+), chloride (Cl−), sulfate (SO42−), bicarbonate (HCO3−), nitrate (NO3−), and fluoride (F−) were evaluated and the Water Quality Index (WQI) was calculated. Based on the WQI, 31.57% and 68.43% of samples fall in excellent and good drinking water quality. The sodium adsorption ratio (SAR: 5.75–33.8), magnesium hazard ratio (MHR: 0.21–0.75), percent sodium (%Na: 31.34–72.84), residual sodium carbonate (RSC: 139–770), potential salinity (PS: 18.5–90), and Kelley Ratio (KR: 0.9–3.13) were calculated. The SAR, %Na, MHR, and KR indicated that most of the groundwater is suitable for irrigation. In addition, the inverse distance weighted (IDW) interpolation method was also employed to determine the spatial distribution of groundwater quality in the form of maps using ArcGIS software. The Pearson correlation matrix has been calculated to analyze the relationship between the water quality parameters. Gibbs plots have shown that evaporation and rock weathering are primary processes responsible for affecting the hydrochemistry of groundwater. Piper plots suggested that maximum groundwater samples are (HCO3−–Na+), (Na+), and (HCO3−) types.