Authors:
Ashay Devidas Shende; Mrunmayee Manjari Sahoo;
Abstract:
Arid and semi-arid regions significantly depend upon groundwater to meet their water demand, especially when groundwater is only and limited resource for drinking and other human needs. The primary concerns are the excessive consumption of groundwater for agricultural and industrial activities, low recharge rate, and percolation of impurities in groundwater, affecting groundwater quality and quantity. This study was performed to identify the variation in the water quality of groundwater of arid or semi-arid regions using geographical information system (GIS) and water quality index (WQI). The database generated by analyzing samples of 3 decades (1990 to 2019) spatially varied over 68 sampling locations, and the dataset was classified based on designated use. The dispersal of chemical constituents in groundwater over study area was determined using GIS, and water quality was classified based on WQI. The maximum concentration of Magnesium, Nitrate and Sulphate was found as 307.6 mg/L, 600.16 mg/L and 890.0 mg/L, respectively, but overall water quality found varying between Marginal to Good due to tremendous variation. The southeastern and southwestern parts of study area was found majorly affected with high concentrations of electrical conductivity, total Hardness, chloride and sulphate. Integrating GIS and WQI evolves new knowledge on spatial variation in groundwater characteristics for the designated use. The integrated model derives valuable information for land use planners and decision-makers on groundwater resource management.
Keywords:
Groundwater, Groundwater Quality Index, GIS, Spatial distribution