Abstract
The rapidly changing climatic scenario is demanding periodic evaluation of groundwater quality at the temporal and spatial scale in any region for its effectual management. The statistical, geographic information system (GIS), geostatistical, and map overlay approaches were applied for investigating the spatio-temporal variation in groundwater quality and level data of 242 monitoring wells in Punjab, Pakistan during pre-monsoon and post-monsoon seasons of the years 2015 and 2016. The analysis indicated the higher variation in data for both the seasons (pre-monsoon and post-monsoon) as coefficient of variation (CV) values were found in the range of 84–175% for groundwater quality parameters. Based on the t-test values, the marginal improvement in groundwater electrical conductivity (EC), sodium absorption ratio (SAR) and residual sodium carbonate (RSC) and decrease in groundwater level (GWL) were observed in 2016 as compared to 2015 (p = 0.05). The spatial distribution analysis of groundwater EC, SAR and RSC indicated that the groundwater quality was unfit for irrigation in the lower south-east part of the study area. The groundwater level (GWL) was also higher in that part of the study area during the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon seasons in 2015 and 2016. The overlay analysis also indicated that the groundwater EC, RSC and GWL values were higher in south-east parts of the study area during pre-monsoon and post-monsoon seasons of 2015 and 2016. Hence, there is an instant need to apply groundwater management practices in the rest of the region (especially in the lower south-east part) to overcome the future degradation of groundwater quality.
Highlights
Groundwater is becoming a basic requirement for human utilization and crop production [1,2].Approximately 2.5% of water worldwide is available as freshwater from all the global water resources.The amount of water accessible to humans is available in the form of rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and underground water [3]
The values of coefficient of variation (CV) for sodium absorption ratio (SAR) and groundwater level (GWL) during the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon seasons were found to be 84.97%, 92.97%, 79.74%, and 98.29%, respectively, which indicated the moderate variability in the data for both the seasons in 2015 (Table 1)
The present study described the integrated use of statistical, geographic information system (GIS), geostatistical, and map overlay approaches for investigating the spatio-temporal variation in groundwater quality and level using the data of 242 monitoring wells in Punjab, Pakistan during the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon seasons of the years 2015 and 2016
Summary
Groundwater is becoming a basic requirement for human utilization and crop production [1,2].Approximately 2.5% of water worldwide is available as freshwater from all the global water resources.The amount of water accessible to humans is available in the form of rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and underground water [3]. The groundwater quality has deteriorated, while the water table has increased in many irrigated areas [7]. The deterioration of groundwater quality due to annual and seasonal climate variation may impose pressure on hydrologic and hydrogeologic systems. These seasonal changes were attributed to groundwater quality as a result of monsoonal-driven surface–groundwater interaction [9]. The groundwater level varied within the period from wet to dry seasons and showed seasonal variations because of the seasonal distribution of precipitation and evaporation. Estimation of seasonal flooding impacts on groundwater quality and level due to substantial rainfall is critical to the management of this precious resource [10]. It is essential to know the seasonal variation in groundwater quality [11]
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