Identification of surface water-groundwater interaction by hydrogeochemical indicators and assessing its suitability for drinking and irrigational purposes in Chennai, Southern India

Abstract

Large cities face water quality and quantity problems due to increasing population and improper disposal of solid and liquid wastes. It is essential to monitor the water quality to take corrective measures. This study was carried out in one of the densely populated metropolitan cities in India to ascertain the suitability of groundwater for drinking and irrigation activity, identify the processes controlling the geochemistry of groundwater and the impact of Adyar River on the groundwater quality. Magnesium and pH concentration in groundwater of this area were within the maximum permissible limits of WHO standards. Sodium and potassium concentration of groundwater were greater than the permissible limit in 30.8 % and in 50 % of the samples, respectively. About 35 % of the groundwater samples were not permissible for drinking based on the electrical conductivity (EC). The EC of groundwater was increasing towards the coast. In general, the quality of groundwater for irrigation purpose vary from moderate to good based on Na%, magnesium hazard, residual sodium carbonate, sodium absorption ratio, permeability index, and USDA classification. Na-Cl and Ca-Mg-Cl were the dominant groundwater and surface water type. Increased ionic concentration of groundwater towards the eastern part of the study area is due to the discharge of industrial effluents and domestic sewage into the Adyar River. Seawater intrusion is also one of the reasons for Na-Cl dominant groundwater near the coast. Evaporation and ion exchange were the major processes controlling groundwater chemistry in this area. The groundwater quality of this region is affected by the contaminated surface water.

Hydrogeochemical investigation and characterization of shallow groundwater within Ankpa Town, North Central Nigeria

“…Soil containing large proportions of sodium, with carbonate as the predominant anions is termed as alkali soil, whereas with chloride or sulphate as the predominant anions the soil is termed as saline soil. Both the spoil types will not support plant growth (Brindha et al, 2014). Saline soils are soils with high levels of total salinity.…”

“…Magnesium hardness (MH) in the groundwater in the study area ranges from 2.05 to 41.04%, with an average of 20.35% (Table 5). MH above 50 is considered to be unsuitable for irrigation (Singh et al, 2009; Brindha et al, 2014). This indicates that the entire water is safe for use for irrigation purposes.…”

“…Doneen (1964), and also the World Health Organization (WHO) classified irrigation water quality into three: Class I, Class II and Class III (Brindha et al, 2014;Şen, 2015). Water of Class I and Class II with 75% of maximum permeability in the Doneen chart are considered to be good and suitable for irrigation, while Class III water is unsuitable for irrigation (Brindha et al, 2014). With regards to the PI, all the water samples fall under Class III, and are therefore unsuitable for irrigation.…”

Evaluation of water quality and hydrogeochemistry of surface and groundwater, Tiruvallur District, Tamil Nadu, India

“…Soil containing large proportions of sodium with carbonate as the predominant anion is termed as alkali soil, whereas with chloride or sulphate as the predominant cations is termed as saline soil (Brindha et al 2014). The mean concentration of Ca and Mg for surface water and groundwater is slightly higher than the BSI-and WHOsuggested standard limit (70 mg/l).…”

Interactions of artificial lakes with groundwater applying an integrated MODFLOW solution

“…However, such methods are vulnerable to heterogeneity and therefore difficult for spatial integration. Hydrochemical analysis and mass balance methods (Sacks et al 1998;Stauffer 1985) are better in that respect but require a conservative tracer not influenced by land-use practices such as for example stable isotopes (Brindha et al 2014;Kanduč et al 2014;Krabbenhoft et al 1990;Sacks et al 2014); additionally, convenient semianalytical water balance models (Ghosh et al 2015;Rudnick et al 2015) involve quite a number of assumptions simplifying spatial heterogeneity. The most complete and reliable assessment of lake-groundwater interaction is by increasingly sophisticated physically based distributed and integrated hydrological models, particularly if based on solid characterization of hydrogeological conditions of a lake and its adjacent area and time series data, as proposed in this artificial lakegroundwater interaction study.…”