GIS Based Spatial and Temporal Investigation of Groundwater and Soil Quality along Noyyal River, Tiruppur, India

Abstract

Soil and water quality crisis owing to industrialization is massive at present due to the illegal discharge of wastewater to the environment. Textile is one such industry, discharges untreated wastewater into nearby environment and poses major threats worldwide. Similar situation was observed for the last three decades (1980-2013) along Noyyal river in Tiruppur, India. Since 2013, zero liquid discharge (ZLD) has been adopted by the textile industries in Tiruppur to reduce further deterioration of environment. The groundwater from open wells and soil from agricultural land was examined continuously for three years (2015, 2016 and 2017) in order to assess the existing environment status along Noyyal river basin in Tiruppur. The GIS study reveals that 71% of groundwater remains unsuitable for drinking and also 54% are unfit for irrigation use. The findings further reveal that 61% of surface and 20% of subsurface soils are not suitable for agriculture. The detailed investigations established that the open wells located in the downstream of textile industries and near to Orathupalayam reservoir are highly contaminated with organic and inorganic contaminants associated with textile processing activities. The temporal variation of groundwater in these open wells indicated that the dilution by rainwater is very slow. It is also identified that soils near to the contaminated open wells are extremely affected and soil of 15 cm depth is extremely contaminated. Thus, implementation of ZLD somewhat reduced discharge of wastewater into the basin; however the recovery of groundwater to potable quality and soils for agriculture production needs immediate remediation.

Electrokinetic Remediation for Textile Wastewater Contaminated Soil

“…Discharge of partially or untreated textile wastewater into nearby environment is practiced in developing countries for the last few decades and it affects aquatic organisms, plant growth, groundwater, soil quality, and human health. Similar situation was observed for the last three decades in Tiruppur, a textile hub in Tamil Nadu, Southern India, where deterioration of agricultural soil quality was observed and reported in a recent study (Raman & Mkandawire, 2021). The textile wastewater contaminated soil consists of residue of mixed reactive dyes and inorganic salts, affect soil fertility and it is challenging to remediate the soil.…”

Recent Advances in the Remediation of Textile-Dye-Containing Wastewater: Prioritizing Human Health and Sustainable Wastewater Treatment

“…Conversely, there are other industries that release untreated industrial effluents straight into water sources, hence presenting significant ecotoxicological risks and causing harmful effects on organisms (see Figure 3). Farmers in various Asian nations, such as India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Indonesia, have historically employed the practice of irrigating their agricultural lands with untreated industrial effluents present in wastewater [74,75]. This practice has had detrimental effects on both soil quality and crop germination rates.…”