Multi-parametric analysis of groundwater quality to assess human health risk and hydrogeochemical processes in an agriculturally intensive alluvial aquifer of Northwest India

Abstract

ABSTRACT Groundwater is one of the most vital sources of irrigation in semi-arid regions of India, and in Punjab, India this resource is being highly exploited due to intensive agricultural practices. In the present study, groundwater quality in Bathinda district of Punjab, India was evaluated to know its suitability for drinking and human health risk associated with direct use of groundwater. To examine the suitability of groundwater for drinking purposes, drinking water quality index (DWQI) approach was used. Non-carcinogenic human health risk associated with the presence of fluoride and nitrate in groundwater was evaluated for the adults and children, through dermal and oral ingestion exposure pathways. Further, to know the processes governing the aquifer geochemistry, Gibbs plot, interionic relationships and principal component analysis were carried out. The results of the present investigation revealed that quality in 73% groundwater samples was not suitable for direct consumption. The results of hazard index (HI) indicated that 91% samples in case of men and 95% samples in case of women and children have HI value more than 1. There is a high non carcinogenic human health risk potential due to direct use of groundwater, and children and women are more prone to this risk. The inter-ionic relationships exhibited that evaporation processes due to semi-arid hot type climate, silicate weathering, shallow groundwater level, interaction of canal and ground water along with the agricultural return flow mainly controlled the groundwater chemistry in the area under investigation.