Assessment of groundwater quality with special emphasis on fluoride contamination in crystalline bed rock aquifers of Mettur region, Tamilnadu, India

Groundwater samples were collected from Mettur taluk of Salem district, Tamilnadu, India for two different seasons (pre-monsoon and post-monsoon) and analyzed for fluoride ion along with other chemical parameters. The major litho units of the study area are Charnockites, peninsular gneiss, and calc gneiss of meta-sedimentary group. The fluoride concentration ranges from 0.1 to 2.8?mg/L and 0.4 to 4.0?mg/L during pre-monsoon (PRM) and post-monsoon (POM) seasons, respectively. Results showed that collected water samples were contaminated by the presence of fluoride ion. During PRM and POM, 21% and 56% of samples recorded higher fluoride when compared with Indian Drinking Water Standard (1?mg/L) and (9% and 35%) of samples recorded higher fluoride when compared with World Health Organization tolerance limit (1.5?mg/L). The ratio of Na/Ca indicates high sodium content in groundwater enhances the dissolution of fluoride at higher pH. Hydrogeochemical facies indicates water-rock interaction as main source for high fluoride in groundwater. A positive correlation between pH, Mg, and F indicates high alkaline nature of water promotes fluoride leaching from source rocks into ground water. Factor analysis indicates hydro-geochemical processes like weathering, ion exchange, and anthropogenic contributes to groundwater chemistry. The saturation index indicates dissolution and precipitation contributes fluoride dissolution along with mixing.     

Assessment of groundwater pollution due to tannery industries in and around Dindigul, Tamilnadu, India

The overexploitation of groundwater in some parts of the country induces water quality degradation. The untreated industrial effluents discharged on the surface causes severe groundwater pollution in the industrial belt of the country. This poses a problem of supply of hazard free drinking water in the rural parts of the country. There are about 80 tanneries operating in and around Dindigul town in upper Kodaganar river basin, Tamilnadu, India. The untreated effluents from the tanneries have considerably affected the quality of groundwater in this area. To assess the extent of groundwater deterioration, a detailed analysis of groundwater quality data has been carried out. The concentration of cations such as Calcium (Ca²⁺), Magnesium (Mg²⁺), Sodium (Na⁺) and Potassium (K⁺), and anions such as Bicarbonate (HCO₃^–), Sulphate (SO₄^2–), Chloride (Cl^–) and Nitrate (NO₃^–) in the groundwater have been studied. Apart from these constituents, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solid and total hardness (TH as CaCO₃) were also studied. The correlation of these constituents with the EC has been carried out. The highest correlation is observed between EC and chloride with a correlation coefficient of 0.99. Progressive reduction in correlation coefficients for Mg²⁺, (Na⁺ + K⁺), Ca²⁺ and SO₄^2– are observed as 0.91, 0.87, 0.86 and 0.56, respectively. It is found that the quality of groundwater in the area under investigation is deteriorated mainly due to extensive use of salt in the leather industries.     

Assessment of groundwater vulnerability to pollution: a combination of GIS, fuzzy logic and decision making techniques

The assessment of groundwater vulnerability to pollution aims at highlighting areas at a high risk of being polluted. This study presents a methodology, to estimate the risk of an aquifer to be polluted from concentrated and/or dispersed sources, which applies an overlay and index method involving several parameters. The parameters are categorized into three factor groups: factor group 1 includes parameters relevant to the internal aquifer system’s properties, thus determining the intrinsic aquifer vulnerability to pollution; factor group 2 comprises parameters relevant to the external stresses to the system, such as human activities and rainfall effects; factor group 3 incorporates specific geological settings, such as the presence of geothermal fields or salt intrusion zones, into the computation process. Geographical information systems have been used for data acquisition and processing, coupled with a multicriteria evaluation technique enhanced with fuzzy factor standardization. Moreover, besides assigning weights to factors, a second set of weights, i.e., order weights, has been applied to factors on a pixel by pixel basis, thus allowing control of the level of risk in the vulnerability determination and the enhancement of local site characteristics. Individual analysis of each factor group resulted in three intermediate groundwater vulnerability to pollution maps, which were combined in order to produce the final composite groundwater vulnerability map for the study area. The method has been applied in the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace (Northern Greece), an area of approximately 14,000 km². The methodology has been tested and calibrated against the measured nitrate concentration in wells, in the northwest part of the study area, providing results related to the aggregation and weighting procedure.     

Hydrochemistry of groundwater in a coastal region of Cuddalore district, Tamilnadu, India: implication for quality assessment

A hydrogeochemical investigation was conducted in a coastal region of Cuddalore district to identify the influence of saltwater intrusion and suitability of groundwater for domestic and agricultural purposes. The geology of the study area comprises of sandstone, clay, alluvium, and laterite soils of Tertiary and Quaternary age. A total of 18 groundwater samples were analyzed for 14 different water quality parameters and the result indicates higher concentrations of ions like Cl (3,509 mg/l), Na (3,123 mg/l), and HCO₃ (998 mg/l) when compared with WHO, BIS, and ISI standards. A positive correlation (r ²?=?0.82) was observed between Na and Cl, indicating its sources from salt water intrusion. Three factors were extracted with a total variance of 64% which indicates the sources of salinization, cation exchange, and anthropogenic impact to the groundwater. The Piper trilinear diagram indicates both Na–Cl and mixed Na–HCO₃–Cl-type, indicating that groundwater was strongly affected by anthropogenic activities. The plot of (Ca?+?Mg)/(K?+?Na) indicates evidences of cation exchange and salt water intrusion. The (Ca–0.33*HCO₃)/ SO₄ plot indicates salt water intrusion for elevated SO₄ levels rather than gypsum dissolution. The spatial distribution of total dissolved solid indicates the saline water encroachment along the SW part of the study area. As per sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), 50% of the samples with <10 SAR are suitable for irrigation and >10 SAR indicates that water is unsuitable for irrigation purposes. The residual sodium carbonate classification indicates that 50% of the samples fall in safe and 50% of the samples fall in bad zones and prolonged usage of this water will affect the crop yield. The Chloro Alkaline Index of water indicates disequilibrium due to a higher ratio of Cl?>?Na–K, indicating the influence of salt water intrusion. The Permeability Index of the groundwater indicates that the groundwater from the study area is moderate to good for irrigation purposes.     

Assessment of groundwater potential zone using remote sensing,GIS and multi criteria decision analysis techniques

The sustainable development and management of groundwater resource needs quantitative assessment, based on scientific principle and recent techniques. In the present study, groundwater potential zone is being determined using remote sensing, Geographical Information System (GIS) and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) techniques using various thematic layers viz. geomorphology, geology, drainage density, slope, rainfall, soil texture, groundwater depth, soil depth, lineament and land use/ land cover. The Analytic Hierarchy Approach (AHP) is used to determine the weights of various themes for identifying the groundwater potential zone based on weights assignment and normalization with respect to the relative contribution of the different themes to groundwater occurrence. Finally, obtained groundwater potential zones were classified into five categories, viz. low, medium, medium-high, high and very high potential zone. The result depicts the groundwater potential zone in the study area and found to be helpful in better development and management planning of groundwater resource.     

Evaluation of groundwater vulnerability in El-Bahariya Oasis,Western Desert,Egypt, using modelling and GIS techniques: A case study

The Nubian Sandstone Aquifer (NSSA) is the main groundwater resource of the El-Bahariya Oasis, which is located in the middle of the Western Desert of Egypt. This aquifer is composed mainly of continental clastic sediments of sandstone with shale and clay intercalations of saturated thickness ranging between 100 and 1500 m. Vulnerability assessment to delineate areas that are more susceptible to contamination from anthropogenic sources has become an important element for sustainable resources management and land use planning. Accordingly, this research aims to estimate the vulnerability of NSSA by applying the DRASTIC model as well as utilising sensitivity analyses to evaluate the relative importance of the model parameters for aquifer vulnerability in the study area. The main objective is to demonstrate the combined use of the DRASTIC and the GIS techniques as an effective method for groundwater pollution risk assessment, and mapping the areas that are prone to deterioration of groundwater quality and quantity. Based on DRASTIC index (DI) values, a groundwater vulnerability map was produced using the GIS. The aquifer analysis in the study area highlighted the following key points: the northeastern and western parts of the NSSA were dominated by ‘High’ vulnerability classes while the northwestern and southeastern parts were characterised by ‘Medium’ vulnerability classes. The elevated central part of the study area displayed ‘Low’ aquifer vulnerability. The vulnerability map shows a relatively greater risk imposed on the northeastern part of the NSSA due to the larger pollution potential of intensive vegetable cultivation. Depth-to-water, topography and hydraulic conductivity parameters were found to be more effective in assessing aquifer vulnerability.     

Evaluation of groundwater vulnerability to pollution using DRASTIC framework and GIS

Groundwater management has a prominent role in the world especially in arid and semi-arid areas which have a shortage of water, and due to this serious problem, many researchers work on that for prevention and managing the water recourses to conserve and monitor sources. DRASTIC index can be put forward for estimating of groundwater vulnerability to such pollution. The main purpose of using the groundwater vulnerability model is to map groundwater susceptibility to pollution in different areas. However, this method has been used in various areas without modification, disregarding the effects of pollution type and characteristics. Thus, this technique must be standardized and approved for Kerman plain. Vulnerability evaluation to explain areas that are more vulnerable to contamination from anthropogenic sources has become a prominent element for land use planning and tangible resource management. This contribution aims at evaluating groundwater vulnerability by applying the DRASTIC index as well as employ sensitivity analyses to evaluate the comparative prominent of the model parameters for groundwater vulnerability in Kerman plain in the southeastern part of Iran. Moreover, the potential of vulnerability to pollution is more accurately assessed by optimizing the weights of the DRASTIC parameters with the single-parameter sensitivity analysis (SPSA). The new weights were calculated. The result of the study revealed that the DRASTIC-Sensitivity analysis exhibit more efficiently than the traditional method for a nonpoint source pollution. Observation of ultimate nitrate showed the result of DRASTIC-SPSA has more accuracy. The GIS method offers an efficient environment for carrying out assessments and greater capabilities for dealing with a huge quantity of spatial data.     

Assessing groundwater vulnerability using GIS-based DRASTIC model for Ahmedabad district,India

The present research aims to derive the intrinsic vulnerability of groundwater against contamination using the GIS platform. The study applies DRASTIC model for Ahmedabad district in Gujarat, India. The model uses parameters like depth, recharge, aquifer, soil, topography, vadose zone and hydraulic conductivity, which depict the hydrogeology of the area. The research demonstrates that northern part of district with 46.4% of area is under low vulnerability, the central and southern parts with 48.4% of the area are under moderate vulnerability, while 5.2% of area in the south-east of district is under high vulnerability. It is observed from the study that lower vulnerability in northern part may be mostly due to the greater depth of vadose zone, deeper water tables and alluvial aquifer system with minor clay lenses. The moderate and high vulnerability in central and southern parts of study area may be due to lesser depth to water tables, smaller vadose zone depths, unconfined to semi-confined alluvial aquifer system and greater amount of recharge due to irrigation practices. Further, the map removal and single-parameter sensitivity analysis indicate that groundwater vulnerability index has higher influence of vadose zone, recharge, depth and aquifer parameters for the given study area. The research also contributes to validating the existence of higher concentrations of contaminants/indicators like electrical conductivity, chloride, total dissolved solids, sulphate, nitrate, calcium, sodium and magnesium with respect to groundwater vulnerability status in the study area. The contaminants/indicators exceeding the prescribed limits for drinking water as per Indian Standard 10500 (1991) were mostly found in areas under moderate and high vulnerability. Finally, the research successfully delineates the groundwater vulnerability in the region which can aid land-use policies and norms for activities related to recharge and seepage with respect to existing status of groundwater vulnerability and its quality.     

Delineation of groundwater potential zone in Chhatna Block, Bankura District, West Bengal, India using remote sensing and GIS techniques

Groundwater is one of the most valuable natural resources, which is an immensely important and dependable source of water supply in all climatic regions over the world. Groundwater is in demand in areas where surface water supply is inadequate and nonsexist in the Chhatna Block, Bankura district and is located on the eastern slope of Chotonagpur Plateau, which is mapped on 73 I/15, 73 I/16 and 73 M/3, and falls between latitude 23°10′–23°30′N and longitude 86°47′–87°02′E. It represents plain land and gentle slope, which is responsible for infiltration and groundwater recharge. The groundwater in this region is confined within the fracture zones and weathered residuum. The present investigation is, therefore, undertaken to delineate potential zones for groundwater development with the help of a remote-sensing study. IRS–LISS-III data along with other data sets, e.g., existing toposheets and field observation data, have been utilized to extract information on the hydrogeomorphic features which include valley fills, buried pediment moderate, buried pediment shallow and structural hills, lineament density contour and slope map of this hard rock terrain. The target of this study is to delineate the groundwater potential zones in Chhatna block, Bankura District, West Bengal. Satellite imagery, along with other data sets, has been utilized to extract information on the groundwater controlling features of this study area. Three features (hydrogeomorphology, slope, and lineaments) that influence groundwater occurrences were analyzed and integrated. All the information layers have been integrated through GIS analysis and the groundwater potential zones have been delineated. The weighted index overlay method has been followed to delineate groundwater potential zones. The results indicate that good to excellent groundwater potential zones are available in almost the entire block. The results show that there is good agreement between the predicted groundwater potential map and the existing groundwater borehole databases. The area is characterized by hard rock terrain—still due to the presence of planation surface along valley fills; it became the prospective zone. The area has been categorized into four distinct zones: excellent, good, fair and poor. Excellent groundwater potential zones constitute 30–35 % of the total block area; good groundwater potential zones occupy a majority of the block, covering approximately 55–60 % and the fair potential zones occupy about 10–15 % of the total block. Poor potential zones occupy a very insignificant portion (less than 1 %).     

Assessment of groundwater vulnerability to pollution in Dire Dawa,Ethiopia using DRASTIC

Assessment of groundwater vulnerability to pollution is an effective tool for the delineation of groundwater protection zones. DRASTIC approach was used to determine vulnerability zones in Dire Dawa groundwater basin, a semiarid region of Ethiopia. Maps of the seven DRASTIC parameters were prepared. GIS-ArcView was used for mapping and performing weighted-overlay analysis. The result of the analysis indicated that eastern part of the study area, in which Dire Dawa town is located, is highly vulnerable. A low aquifer vulnerability class was determined for the western portion of the study area as a result of greater groundwater depths, higher relative soil-clay content, and relatively low recharge rates for this area. The area between the two zones is of medium vulnerability. Observed nitrate concentrations in boreholes are in accordance with the vulnerability map. Some of the boreholes in the Sabian well field (Dire Dawa area) already deliver groundwater with nitrate levels significantly exceeding health standards set by the World Health Organization, while boreholes in the western part (low vulnerability zone) contain almost no nitrate. The result of this study is useful for risk assessments and for the development of effective groundwater management strategies for this region and others like it.     

Identification of groundwater potential in hard rock aquifer systems using Remote Sensing,GIS and Magnetic Survey in Veppanthattai,Perambalur, Tamilnadu

Water is an essential natural resource without which life wouldn’t exist. The study aims to identify groundwater potential areas in Vepapanthattai taluk of Perambalur district, Tamil Nadu, India, using analytic hierarchy process (AHP) model. Remote sensing and magnetic parameters have been used to determine the evaluation indicators for groundwater occurrence under the ArcGIS environment. Groundwater occurrence is linked to structural porosity and permeability over the predominantly hard rock terrain, making magnetic data more relevant for locating groundwater potential zones in the research area. NE-SW and NW-SE trending magnetic breaks derived from reduction to pole map are found to be more significant for groundwater exploration. The lineaments rose diagram indicates the general trend of the fracture to be in the NE-SW direction. Assigned normalised criteria weights acquired using the AHP model was used to reclassify the thematic layers. As a result, the taluk’s low, moderate, and high potential zones cover 25.08%, 25.68% and 49.24% of the study area, respectively. The high potential zones exhibit characteristics favourable for groundwater infiltration and storage, with factors as gentle slope of <3°, high lineament densities, magnetic breaks, magnetic low zones as indicative of dykes and cracks, lithology as colluvial deposits and land surface with dense vegetation. The depth of the fracture zones was estimated using power spectrum and Euler Deconvolution method. The groundwater potential mapping results were validated using groundwater level data measured from the wells, which indicated that the groundwater potential zoning results are consistent with the data derived from the real world.     

Coastal vulnerability assessment for Chennai, east coast of India using geospatial techniques

The study area is 56-km coastal zone of Chennai district of the Tamil Nadu state, southeast coast of India. The coastline, which includes tourist resorts, ports, hotels, fishing villages, and towns, has experienced threats from many disasters such as storms, cyclones, floods, tsunami, and erosion. This was one of the worst affected area during 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and during 2008 Nisha cyclone. The present study aims to develop a Coastal Vulnerability Index for the Chennai coast using eight relative risk variables to know the high and low vulnerable areas, areas of inundation due to future SLR, and land loss due to coastal erosion. Both conventional and remotely sensed data were used and analyzed with the aid of the remote sensing and geographic information system tools. Zones of vulnerability to coastal natural hazards of different magnitude (high, medium, and low) are identified and shown on a map. Coastal regional elevation, near-shore bathymetry, and socio-economic conditions have been considered as additional important variables. This study revealed that 11.01?km of the coastline has low vulnerability, 16.66?km has medium vulnerability, and 27.79?km is highly vulnerable in the study area, showing the majority of coastline is prone to erosion. The map prepared for the Chennai coast can be used by the state and district administration involved in the disaster mitigation and management plan and also as a tool in planning a new facility and for insurance purpose.     

Environmental applications of geophysical and geochemical methods to map groundwater quality at Tuticorin, Tamilnadu, India

Coastal aquifers can become polluted due to natural and human activities, such as intrusion of saline water, discharge of effluents in industrial areas and chemical weathering of natural geological deposits. The present study is aimed mainly at understanding the geophysical and chemical characteristics of groundwater near Tuticorin, Tamilnadu, India by studying the electrical resistivity distribution of the subsurface groundwater by applying the Schlumberger vertical electrical sounding (VES) technique followed by chemical analysis of water samples. A total of 20 VES soundings were carried out to understand the resistivity distribution of the area and 21 water samples were collected to analyze the chemical quality. The interpretation and analysis of the results have identified different hydrogeologic behaviors, a highly saline coastal aquifer and freshwater locations. The results obtained from geophysical and geochemical sampling are in good agreement with each other. The approach shows the efficacy of the combination of geophysical and geochemical methods to map groundwater contamination zones in the study area.     

Assessment of groundwater quality using multivariate statistical techniques in Hashtgerd Plain, Iran

Multivariate statistical techniques, such as cluster analysis (CA), factor analysis (FA), principal component analysis (PCA), and discriminant analysis (DA), were applied for the evaluation of variations and the interpretation of a large complex groundwater quality data set of the Hashtgerd Plain. In view of this, 13 parameters were measured in groundwater of 26 different wells for two periods. Hierarchical CA grouped the 26 sampling sites into two clusters based on the similarity of groundwater quality characteristics. FA based on PCA, was applied to the data sets of the two different groups obtained from CA, and resulted in three and five effective factors explaining 79.56 and 81.57% of the total variance in groundwater quality data sets of the two clusters, respectively. The main factors obtained from FA indicate that the parameters influencing groundwater quality are mainly related to natural (dissolution of soil and rock), point source (domestic wastewater) and non-point source pollution (agriculture and orchard practices) in the sampling sites of Hashtgerd Plain. DA provided an important data reduction as it uses only three parameters, i.e., electrical conductivity (EC), magnesium (Mg²⁺) and pH, affording more than 98% correct assignations, to discriminate between the two clusters of groundwater wells in the plain. Overall, the results of this study present the effectiveness of the combined use of multivariate statistical techniques for interpretation and reduction of a large data set and for identification of sources for effective groundwater quality management.     

Evaluation of hydrogeochemical parameters and quality assessment of the groundwater in Kottur blocks, Tiruvarur district, Tamilnadu, India

A study was conducted to evaluate the water quality of Kottur block, Thiruvarur district, Tamilnadu. Groundwater samples from hand pumps and tube wells of 16 stations were analyzed during postmonsoon and premonsoon (2008) with the help of standard methods of APHA (1995). Dominance of cations are in the following order Na>Ca>K>Mg and Cl>SO₄>HCO₃>NO₃ by anions in both the seasons. The analytical results shows higher concentration of total dissolved solids, electrical conductivity, sodium, chloride, and sulfate which indicate signs of deterioration but values of pH, calcium, magnesium, and nitrate are within permissible limit as per World Health Organization standards. From the Piper trilinear diagram, it is observed that the majority of groundwater samples are Na-Cl and Ca-Mg-SO₄ facies clearly indicates seawater incursion. In Wilcox diagram, most of the samples fall in low to very high sodium hazard and low to very high salinity hazard indicates moderately suitable for agricultural activities. Kelly’s ratio and magnesium ratio indicates most of the samples fall in suitable for irrigation purpose.     

Evaluation of groundwater vulnerability in the lower Varuna catchment area,Uttar Pradesh,India using AVI concept

Groundwater vulnerability assessments calculate the sensitivity of quality of groundwater to an imposed contaminant load which is essential element of the aquifer management plans. Seventy five groundwater samples have been analyzed for different chemical parameters to understand the groundwater quality of the lower Varuna river basin, Uttar Pradesh, India. The intrinsic groundwater vulnerability map of the lower Varuna catchment area in the north of the city of Varanasi (India) shows a high dependency on the depth to groundwater. The topmost layer of alluvial silty clay, protects the groundwater against contamination in this urban area, but the retention time in the unsaturated zone can be estimated to several months only. The input dataset is very sparse i.e. groundwater levels were measured twice (pre- and post-monsoon 2009) and the geological map shows only alluvium as the outcrop. Several boreholes in this area show, that the alluvium has a thickness of about 4 m and below that are fine grained sands. The surface information does not allow the development of a risk map since land use changes very fast and contamination areas can not be identified accurately. The vulnerability maps developed in this study have become important tools for environmental planning and predictive management of the groundwater resources in the fast urbanizing region in the Varanasi area.     

Groundwater vulnerability assessment in the Melaka State of Malaysia using DRASTIC and GIS techniques

The present work attempts to interpret the groundwater vulnerability of the Melaka State in peninsular Malaysia. The state of groundwater pollution in Melaka is a critical issue particularly in respect of the increasing population, and tourism industry as well as the agricultural, industrial and commercial development. Focusing on this issue, the study illustrates the groundwater vulnerability map for the Melaka State using the DRASTIC model together with remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS). The data which correspond to the seven parameters of the model were collected and converted into thematic maps by GIS. Seven thematic maps defining the depth to water level, net recharge, aquifer media, soil media, topography, impact of vadose zone and hydraulic conductivity were generated to develop the DRASTIC map. In addition, this map was integrated with a land use map for generating the risk map to assess the effect of land use activities on the groundwater vulnerability. Three types of vulnerability zones were assigned for both DRASTIC map and risk map, namely, high, moderate and low. The DRASTIC map illustrates that an area of 11.02 % is low vulnerability, 61.53 % moderate vulnerability and 23.45 % high vulnerability, whereas the risk map indicates that 14.40 % of the area is low vulnerability, 47.34 % moderate vulnerability and 38.26 % high vulnerability in the study area. The most vulnerability area exists around Melaka, Jasin and Alor Gajah cities of the Melaka State.     

Urban flood vulnerability zoning of Cochin City,southwest coast of India,using remote sensing and GIS

Natural Hazards - The present study identified the various zones vulnerable to urban flood in Cochin City, one of the biggest metro cities on the southwest coast of peninsular India. The analysis...     

Delineation of groundwater potential zones in Kakund watershed,Eastern Rajasthan,using remote sensing and GIS techniques

The remotely sensed data provides synoptic viewing and repetitive coverage for thematic mapping of natural resources. In the present study hydrogeomorphological mapping has been carried out in Kakund watershed, Eastern Rajasthan for delineating groundwater potential zones. IRS-1D LISS III Geocoded FCC data in conjunction with Survey of India toposheet (1:50000 scale) and field inputs were used for thematic mapping. Geomorphic units identified through visual interpretation of FCC include: alluvial plain, plateau, valley fills, intermontane valleys, burried pediment, residual hills, and linear ridges. In addition, lineaments were mapped since they act as conduit for groundwater recharge. Majority of the lineaments trends NE-SW and a few along NW-SE directions and are confined to the southern and southeastern parts of the watershed. Based on hydrogeomorphological, geological and lineament mapping the Kakund watershed has qualitatively been categorized into four groundwater potential zones, viz. good to very good, moderate to good, poor to moderate and very poor to poor. The study reveals that only 10.97% of the area has good to very good, 35.41% area with moderate to good, 49.04 % of the area has poor to moderatel, while remaining 4.57% has poor to very poor groundwater potential.     

Groundwater quality assessment using WQI and GIS techniques, Dindigul district, Tamil Nadu, India

The quality of groundwater was assessed by determining the physicochemical parameters (pH, EC, TDS and TH) and major ions concentration (HCO₃, Cl, FSO₄, Ca, Mg, Na and K) around Dindigul district, Tamil Nadu, India. The groundwater samples were collected from 59 bore wells covering the entire study area and analyzed using standard methods. The GIS mapping technique were adopted to highlight the spatial distribution pattern of physicochemical parameters and major ion concentration in the groundwater. Gibbs diagram reveals that the source of major ions is predominantly derived from rock–water interaction and evaporation dominance process. The salt combinations of the aquifers are dominated by CaHCO₃, mixed CaMgCl, mixed CaMgHCO₃ and CaCl facies type due to leaching and dissolution process of weathered rocks. The Canadian Council of Ministers of Environment Water Quality Index (CCMEWQI) suggests that most of the groundwater quality falls under good to marginal category. The statistical analysis indicates that the presence of major ions and physicochemical parameters are chiefly controlled by rock–water interaction and residence time of the groundwater. However, the major nutrient like nitrite in the groundwater probably comes from anthropogenic process. Based on the groundwater quality standards, majority of the samples are suitable for drinking purposes except few in the study area.