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Spatiotemporal assessment of groundwater quality in the Central Ganga Plain, India, using multivariate statistical tools

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Abstract

In the present study, the water quality status of the Sadar block in Pratapgarh district of Uttar Pradesh, India, was calculated by Water Pollution Index (WPI) using 15 groundwater quality parameters (pH, turbidity, EC (electric conductivity), TDS (total dissolved solids), salinity, total hardness, Ca2+, K+, Mg2+, Na+, Cl−, F−, SO42−, HCO3−, and NO3−) at 40 different study locations. It is found that 10%, 25%, and 65%, of samples, fall under the good, moderately polluted, and highly polluted category, respectively. Irrigation suitability of groundwater has also been evaluated by using irrigation suitability parameters, i.e., Sodium Absorption Ratio (SAR), Residual Sodium Carbonate (RSC), Permeability Index (PI), Kelly Ratio (KR), Percentage Sodium (% Na), and Magnesium Hazards (MH). Based on the analysis, it was determined that most of the samples were suitable for irrigation in the area. Irrigation practices are found to be unsuitable for Kelly’s ratio of 37.5%, MH 60%, and RSC 55% samples. WPI and Pearson’s correlation matrix (PCA) have suggested a significant linear relationship among the water quality parameters based on the test results. The Gibbs plot indicates that the majority of samples fall under the “evaporation dominance” category while the rest fall under the “rock weathering dominance” suggesting that the complex geochemical mechanisms are active in the study area. This study would be very helpful to government authorities and it would aid them to suggest alternate drinking water resources in affected areas.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to Dr. A. K. Singh, Vice-Chancellor, Shri Ramswaroop Memorial University, for providing the laboratory facilities required for the conduction of this study. Our families are to be highly appreciated for being a constant motivation behind the conduction of this study.

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  1. Faculty of Civil Engineering, Institute of Technology, Shri Ramswaroop Memorial University, Barabanki, UP, 225003, India

    Sandhya Maurya & Abhishek Saxena

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  1. Sandhya Maurya
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  2. Abhishek Saxena
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SM conducted the investigation, developed the suitable methodology and approach, and was involved with the writing (original draft) of the manuscript. AS provided supervision in the presented work and helped in the review and editing of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Abhishek Saxena.

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Maurya, S., Saxena, A. Spatiotemporal assessment of groundwater quality in the Central Ganga Plain, India, using multivariate statistical tools. Environ Monit Assess 194, 865 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-022-10442-9

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