Assessment of Water Quality for the Groundwater Resources of Urbanized Part of the Nagpur District, Maharashtra (India)

Abstract

Hydrogeochemical characterization of groundwater samples representing the urbanized and industrialised parts of Nagpur district, situated in Central India has been carried out in the pre-monsoon season of 2011. The groundwater quality assessment study is attempted by examining the physicochemical parameters viz. pH, EC, TDS, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, HCO3, Cl- and SO42-. On the basis of ionic concentrations, the groundwater quality is evaluated in favour of its utility for drinking and irrigation purposes. The abundance of cations and anions in the analysed groundwater samples is, Ca2+ (%) > Mg2+ (%) > Na+ (%) > K+ (%), and HCO3- (%) > Cl- (%) > SO42- (%) > NO3- (%) > F- (%), respectively. The Piper trilinear diagram reflects almost Ca2+- HCO3- type hydrochemical facies (alkaline earth exceeds alkalis and weak acids exceed strong acids). Due to higher concentration of total dissolved solids, total hardness and magnesium, majority of the samples belongs to the very hard type. Schoeller index values corroborate existence of Base Exchange reaction. As per the United States Salinity (USSL) diagram the groundwater samples in the study area are free from sodium hazards; however, their salinity hazard shows low to very high range. Majority of the groundwater samples fall in rock dominant region and confirms existence of rock-water interaction on the Gibbs plot. A comparative study of groundwater samples on the basis of drinking water standards shows that many of the groundwater samples are unsuitable for drinking. The corrosivity ratio illustrated that four groundwater samples show higher corrosivity ratio, leads to loss in hydraulic capacity of pipes. It is inferred that the study area is moderately suitable for agricultural activities. The analytical results reveals that deep aquifer in the study area is less polluted as compared to the shallow one. The impact of anthropogenic activities on the groundwater quality is also investigated and accordingly the appropriate management measures are recommended.