In this study, the suitability of groundwater quality
for the purpose
of drinking and irrigation was evaluated in the upper piedmont area
of Haridwar, India. In this regard, inverse distance-weighted interpolation,
water quality index (WQI), principal component analysis (PCA), piper
trilinear diagram (PTD) analysis, and sodium absorption ratio (SAR)
methods were used to assess the geospatial variation of groundwater
quality. The results showed that groundwater was partially affected
by rapid industrialization and urbanization practices. The groundwater
quality revealed the presence of different cations and anions in the
following order: Ca2+ > Na+ > Mg2+ > K+ and HCO3
– > NO3
– > SO4
2– >
Cl– > SiO2
– >
F–. WQI showed an excellent range (29.94–45.17)
for sampling sites S1–S3 and S5–S8 and a good value
for site S4 (99.2). In addition, PTD confirmed that the calcium and
magnesium bicarbonate type and mixed type for groundwater while PCA
revealed that nitrate was dominant at site S4. In addition, the SAR
and Na contents were in excellent ranges, indicating their suitability
for irrigation purposes. The outcomes of this study indicated that
geogenic and anthropogenic processes were the major reasons for the
change in groundwater quality of this region.
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