Abstract
Groundwater is an important source for drinking water supply in hard rock terrain of Bundelkhand massif particularly in District Mahoba, Uttar Pradesh, India. An attempt has been made in this work to understand the suitability of groundwater for human consumption. The parameters like pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, alkalinity, total hardness, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, bicarbonate, sulfate, chloride, fluoride, nitrate, copper, manganese, silver, zinc, iron and nickel were analysed to estimate the groundwater quality. The water quality index (WQI) has been applied to categorize the water quality viz: excellent, good, poor, etc. which is quite useful to infer the quality of water to the people and policy makers in the concerned area. The WQI in the study area ranges from 4.75 to 115.93. The overall WQI in the study area indicates that the groundwater is safe and potable except few localized pockets in Charkhari and Jaitpur Blocks. The Hill-Piper Trilinear diagram reveals that the groundwater of the study area falls under Na+-Cl−, mixed Ca2+-Mg2+-Cl− and Ca2+-{text{HCO}}_{3}^{ - } types. The granite-gneiss contains orthoclase feldspar and biotite minerals which after weathering yields bicarbonate and chloride rich groundwater. The correlation matrix has been created and analysed to observe their significant impetus on the assessment of groundwater quality. The current study suggests that the groundwater of the area under deteriorated water quality needs treatment before consumption and also to be protected from the perils of geogenic/anthropogenic contamination.
Highlights
In India, there has been a tremendous increase in the demand for groundwater due to rapid growth of population, accelerated pace of industrialization and urbanization (Yisa and Jimoh 2010)
The groundwater samples were collected during pre-monsoon (June 2016) period from the study area according to standard procedures of the American Public Health Association (APHA, 2017)
The various parameters considered in the study are being discussed: The Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS 2012, 2015) and World Health Organization (WHO 2017) of drinking water standards have been considered as a reference in this study
Summary
In India, there has been a tremendous increase in the demand for groundwater due to rapid growth of population, accelerated pace of industrialization and urbanization (Yisa and Jimoh 2010). The availability and quality of groundwater are badly affected at an alarming rate due to anthropogenic activities viz. Overexploitation and improper waste disposal (industrial, domestic and agricultural) to groundwater reservoirs (Panda and Sinha 1991; Kavitha et al 2019a, 2019b). Human health is seriously threatened by the prevailing agricultural practices in relation to excessive application of fertilizers; unsanitary conditions and disposal of sewage into groundwater (Panigrahi et al 2012). The groundwater quality varies with depth of water, seasonal changes, leached dissolved salts and subsurface environment (Gebrehiwot et al 2011). Once the groundwater is contaminated, it is difficult to ensure its restoration and proper quality by preventing the pollutants
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