Abstract
Good groundwater quality is essential for crop yield, soil productivity and environmental protection. Suitability of groundwater for irrigation purposes is determined by its geochemistry. Groundwater geochemistry explains links between chemical composition of groundwater and subsurface geological and non-geological pollutants. Subsurface rock formations control the composition of soil and hence that of water and vegetation. The ground water samples were analyzed for physico-chemical parameters like Electrical Conductivity (EC), Hydrogen ion concentration (pH), Bicarbonate (HCO3-), Calcium (Ca2+), Magnesium (Mg2+), Sodium (Na+), Potassium (K+), Sulphate (SO42-), Nitrate (NO3-), and Chloride (Cl-). Inverse distance weighted method of the Geographical Information Systems is used to prepare the distribution map of physio-chemical parameters of groundwater while overlay method is used to assess spatial, temporal changes and prepare groundwater quality zones of Walayar watershed in Parambikulam-Aliyar-Palar basin situated in Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu, India. The results of study show that the quality of groundwater varies both spatially and temporally in Walayar watershed. The groundwater samples in some of the wells showed deviation from water quality standards indicating groundwater contamination. Hence, proper care must be taken to avoid any contamination of groundwater and its quality be monitored periodically.
Highlights
Groundwater resources are highly essential to the survival of human beings, in areas where other sources of potable water are lacking
As part of the study, the groundwater samples from open and bore wells of various locations (18 sites) which are extensively used for drinking and irrigation purposes in the Walayar watershed area were collected during the year of 2011 to 2014.The locations of groundwater sampling stations are shown in the Fig.[1]
PH is the measure of acidity or alkalinity of water. It is one of the most important operational water quality parameters with the optimum pH required often being in the range of 7.08.5 (Tikle et al, 2012). pH is important parameter, which determines the suitability of water for various purposes
Summary
Groundwater resources are highly essential to the survival of human beings, in areas where other sources of potable water are lacking. Many sources of contamination contribute to the impairment of this precious resource. The major sources of spot and dispersive contaminants arising from human activities on the ground and penetration of these contaminants into the ground tend to reduce the quality of the ground water. Preventing the ground water from contamination is essential to the management of ground water resources (Melloul & Collin, 1994). Groundwater, being a fragile and important source of drinking water, must be carefully managed to maintain its purity within standard limits. Groundwater degradation occurs when its quality parameters are changed beyond their natural variations by the introduction or removal of certain substances (Ramesh, 2001).
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