Abstract
The hydrogeochemical study of surface water in Pratapgarh district has been carried out to assess the major ion chemistry and water quality for drinking and domestic purposes. For this purpose, twenty-five surface water samples were collected from river, ponds and canals and analysed for pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids (TDS), turbidity, hardness, major cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+ and K+), major anions (HCO3−, F−, Cl−, NO3−, SO42−) and dissolved silica concentration. The analytical results show mildly acidic to alkaline nature of surface water resources of Pratapgarh district. HCO3− and Cl− are the dominant anions, while cation chemistry is dominated by Na+ and Ca2+. The statistical analysis and data plotted on the Piper diagram reveals that the surface water chemistry is mainly controlled by rock weathering with secondary contributions from agriculture and anthropogenic sources. Ca2+–Mg2+–HCO3−, Ca2+–Mg2+–Cl− and Na+–HCO3−–Cl− are the dominant hydrogeochemical facies in the surface water of the area. For quality assessment, values of analysed parameters were compared with Indian and WHO water quality standards, which shows that the concentrations of TDS, F−, NO3−, Na+, Mg2+ and total hardness are exceeding the desirable limits in some water samples. Water Quality Index (WQI) is one of the most effective tools to communicate information on the quality of any water body. The computed WQI values of Pratapgarh district surface water range from 28 to 198 with an average value of 82, and more than half of the study area is under excellent to good category.
Highlights
The availability of fresh water is potentially one of the most pervasive crises of the coming century
Values of analysed parameters were compared with Indian and WHO water quality standards, which shows that the concentrations of total dissolved solids (TDS), F, NO3, Na?, Mg2? and total hardness are exceeding the desirable limits in some water samples
The analytical data indicate that 48 % surface water samples are moderately hard and 36 % are of hard categories, while 16 % water samples have hardness higher than 300 mg L-1, which is the desirable limit for drinking purposes (Fig. 5)
Summary
The availability of fresh water is potentially one of the most pervasive crises of the coming century. Geographical information system (GIS) is a powerful tool for developing solutions for water resource problems, assessing water quality, determining water availability, zone mapping and risk assessment on environmental health problems on a local to regional scale (Tjandra et al 2003; Ghosh et al 2015). GIS-based, simple and robust WQI is an essential tool for rapid transfer of information to water resources managers and public and useful for taking quick policy decisions (Srivastava et al 2011; Singh et al 2013b; Tiwari et al 2014). Sai is the most important river flowing from west to east direction through heartland of the Pratapgarh district. The upper layer of alluvium is composed of sandy loam and clayey loam
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