Hydro-geochemistry and Water Quality Assessment of Surface and Groundwater Resources of Deogarh District, Jharkhand, India

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Singh, Abhay Kumar | Mondal, G.C. | Mahato, Mukesh Kumar | Singh, T.B.

Affiliations: Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research (Council of Scientific & Industrial Research) Barwa Road, Dhanbad – 826 015, India

Note: [] Corresponding author: E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: The hydrogeochemical study of surface and sub-surface water resources of Deogarh district of Jharkhand state was undertaken to assess major ion chemistry and water quality in relation to domestic and irrigation uses. Analytical results show mildly acidic to alkaline nature of water and dominance of Ca^{2+} and Na^+ in cationic and HCO_3^- and Cl^- in anionic abundance. In general, alkaline earth elements (Ca^{2+}+Mg^{2+}) exceed alkalies (Na^++K^+) and weak acids dominate (HCO_3^-) over strong acids (SO_4^{2-}+Cl^-) in majority of water samples. Ca-Mg-HCO_3 is the dominant hydrochemical facies both in surface and groundwater of the area. Weathering of rock forming minerals and ion exchange processes mainly controlled solute chemistry with secondary contribution from anthropogenic sources. Assessments of water quality for drinking purposes pointed that majority of water samples are suitable for drinking. Concentration of TDS, TH, F^-, Cl^- and NO_3^- are exceeding desirable levels prescribed for drinking water at some sites. However, these parameters are well within the maximum permissible limit except for some cases. SAR, RSC, %Na, MH and PI values suggest that both surface and groundwater are good for irrigation uses except at some sites, where salinity, MH and PI values are higher than the prescribed levels.

Keywords: Water quality, groundwater, Deogarh district, SAR, RSC

Journal: Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 43-58, 2015