Abstract
Increased population and increasing demands for food in the Indo-Gangetic plain are likely to exert pressure on fresh water due to rise in demand for drinking and irrigation water. The study focuses on Bhojpur district, Bihar located in the central Ganga basin, to assess the groundwater quality for drinking and irrigation purpose and discuss the issues and challenges. Groundwater is mostly utilized in the study area for drinking and irrigation purposes (major crops sown in the area are rice and wheat). There were around 45 groundwater samples collected across the study region in the pre-monsoon season (year 2019). The chemical analytical results show that Ca2+, Mg2+ and HCO3− ions are present in abundance in groundwater and governing the groundwater chemistry. Further analysis shows that 66%, 69% and 84% of the samples exceeded the acceptable limit of arsenic (As), Fe and Mn respectively and other trace metals (Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd) are within the permissible limit of drinking water as prescribed by Bureau of Indian Standard for drinking water. Generally, high As concentration has been found in the aquifer (depth ranges from 20 to 40 m below ground surface) located in proximity of river Ganga. For assessing the irrigation water quality, sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) values, residual sodium carbonate (RSC), Na%, permeability index (PI) and calcium alteration index (CAI) were calculated and found that almost all the samples are found to be in good to excellent category for irrigation purposes. The groundwater facie has been classified into Ca-Mg-HCO3 type.
Highlights
Groundwater (GW) act as a vital natural resources for millions of people in India and around the globe for drinking, irrigation and industrial uses
The Bhojpur district, Bihar located in the central Ganga basin has been selected for the present study
When Residual Sodium Carbonate (RSC) increases, Ca and Mg gets precipitated from the water solution and increases the sodium percentage which increases the potential of sodium hazard
Summary
Groundwater (GW) act as a vital natural resources for millions of people in India and around the globe for drinking, irrigation and industrial uses. The people use groundwater due to its fascinating features, such as its large storage volume, it can be extracted based on requirement, its lower risk compared to other surface water sources, etc. The GW quality assessment is an important tool for examining groundwater utilization for drinking and irrigation purposes [16]. It is affected by different processes extending from atmospheric condensation to the water discharged from a well. A hydro-chemical study was carried out to identify groundwater chemistry and to assess the suitability for drinking and irrigation uses. The population of the district is 27.20 lakh with population density of 1136 inhabitants per square kilometer
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