With burgeoning population, the groundwater demands of any area increased by many fold and therefore, it is essential to assess the groundwater potential to choose suitable sites for further groundwater development. Present study determines the groundwater potential of different parts of Gandhinagar region located at Gandhinagar district, Gujarat, India. Here, excluding city dwellers, all villagers are mostly dependent on groundwater for drinking and domestic purposes. With increasing population, there is a rise in daily human consumption and hence reduction in groundwater quantity. Various types of industries of Gandhinagar such as textile industries, food processing industries, ceramic industries etc. also require groundwater. Industrial discharges deteriorate the water quality of this region. Therefore, water level monitoring and quality assessment of groundwater in regular intervals is essential. The groundwater potential zoning is an indicator, which gives the overall idea about the groundwater condition. Overlay analysis in GIS using multiple criteria such as WQI, hydraulic conductivity, groundwater velocity, and depth to piezometric surface discloses that there are five groundwater potential zones in Gandhinagar region. This study reveals that majority of the study area is covered with medium potential zone. Different management plans such as treated surface water supply, reduction in tubewell operation time, development of rooftop rainwater harvesting system and artificial recharge system etc. are recommended for different potential zones for sustainable development of groundwater of Gandhinagar region.

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Seawater intrusion (SWI) is a universal concern, intensified and aggravated due to over-exploitation of groundwater, sea-level rise, and climate change in the coastal province. According to the Ghyben-Herzberg principle, the stability between freshwater and saltwater is caused by the density difference between the two, until the pressure equalizes. The keystone of India's geography, economy, biodiversity, and the environment are its extended and vast coastline, which occupies the most precious as well as potential aquifer system. This review mainly fascinated on the status, knowledge, and vulnerability of SWI within the aquifers of the coastal region of Gujarat, India. Foregoing investigations reveal that the meteoric intensification in the salinity of coastal regions of Gujarat is the chief provenance of socioeconomic development and environmental degradation. Different studies are performed to analyze and mitigate the SWI problem. In this region, groundwater over-exploitation is the foremost driver of SWI. There are miscellaneous developmental and management skills and techniques to diminish the SWI in coastal regions of the world. Numerous models are fabricated and established to analyze and epitomize the complications associated with it. Numerical models suggest some valuable techniques to manage groundwater-related problems. This study also delivers some advanced management strategies such as dilution of salinewater by artificial recharge techniques, construction of physical barriers in the subsurface to reduce the intrusion etc. feasible to the coast of Gujarat.

The groundwater quality of Vishwamitri River Basin (VRB), Central Gujarat, is assessed to evaluate its competency to meet the agricultural and drinking standards, and to determine associated human-health risk by consumption of this groundwater, if any. The overall groundwater quality for drinking is expressed by water quality index. Various indices like sodium adsorption ratio, salinity hazard, soluble sodium percentage, magnesium adsorption ratio, and Kelly's ratio represent groundwater's agricultural suitability. A health risk assessment model is used to measure non-carcinogenic human health hazard. Results reveal that i) trace metals like lithium, manganese, molybdenum, strontium, thallium, vanadium and zinc are present in groundwater indicating contamination of groundwater by hazardous industrial and agricultural wastes; ii) groundwater of about 78% of VRB area is unsuitable for drinking; iii) positive values of Schoeller index of maximum groundwater samples indicate that ion exchange of Na + and K + with Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ is the dominant mechanism to control the quality of groundwater; iv) SAR values indicate high to very high salinity of groundwater and therefore, it is unsuitable for irrigation; and v) the health risk assessment model discloses that the risk of gastrointestinal disorder is higher in children than adults; and oral ingestion is more dangerous than dermal exposure.

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