Abstract
The present research is contributed on groundwater quality, its deterioration and evaluation based on drinking, irrigation, and construction standards. The study area chosen for investigation on water quality is the Tirunagar (TN) area, located in the south-west of Madurai City. The TN area was formerly an agricultural land but presently a residential area that is at a starvation of drinking water quality. A total of 49 bore well samples from TN and Amaithisolai (AS) were investigated for drinking, irrigation, and construction qualities based on various physicochemical parameters. The chemistry of groundwater samples was reflected from very hard and noncarbonate-dominating species. TN was recorded with higher inorganic species in groundwater sources than AS. The Water Quality Index values indicated that 75 % of the samples fall under excellent category and the positive Langelier Saturation Index values of the samples highlighted their tendency to deposit calcium carbonate. The Gibbs plot showed that AS samples were categorized under the domination of rock–water interaction whereas the TN samples under evaporation zone. The US Salinity Laboratory Staff plot depicted that all the groundwater sources at AS with C3S1 type whereas 88 % of the TN sources represented C4S1 type. The results from Wilcox diagram for irrigation inferred that the groundwater sources at AS were permissible, but 68 % of the samples at TN was registered under unfit type. The suitability of groundwater from the knowledge of residual sodium carbonate, sodium absorption ratio, and sodium percentage was also investigated. The perception based on standards recommended the groundwater sources for construction activities. The contribution of ionic species and inter-relationship among the ions were also interpreted from the knowledge of statistical studies.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Agarwal V, Jagetia M (1997) Hydrogeochemical assessment of ground water quality in Udaipur city, Rajasthan, India. In: Proceedings of national conference on Dimensions of Environmental Stress in India, Department on Geology, MS University, Baroda, India, pp. 151–154
Anazawa K, Ohmori H (2001) Chemistry of surface water at a volcanic summit area, Norikura, Central Japan: multivariate statistical approach. Chemosphere 45:807–816. doi:10.1016/S0045-6535(01)00104-7
Anonymous (2003) Saline water management for irrigation. International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage, New Delhi
APHA (2005) Standard methods for examination of water and wastewater, 21st edn. American Public Health Association, Washington, DC
Appelo CAJ, Postma D (1999) Chemical analysis of groundwater. Geochemistry, groundwater and pollution. Balkema, Rotterdam
Balasubramaian A, Sharma KK, Sastri JCV (1985) Geoelectrical and hydrogeochemical evaluation of coastal aquifer of Tambarani basin, Tamil Nadu. Geophys Res Bull 23:203–209
Briz-Kishore BH, Murali G (1992) Factor analysis for revealing hydrogeochemical characteristics of watersheds. Environ Geol Water Sci 9:3–9
Brown DW, Roberson CE (1977) Solubility of natural fluorite at 25 °C. USGS J Res 5(4):506–517
Brown E, Skougstad MW, Fishman MJ (1974) Method for collection and analysis of water sample for dissolved minerals and gases. US Department of Interior, book No. 5.
Cattel RB (1965) Factor analysis: introduction to essentials. Biometrics 21:190–215. doi:10.2307/2528364
Chidambaram S, Anandhan P, Prasanna MV, Srinivasamoorthy K, Vasanthavigar M (2012) Major ion chemistry and identification of hydrogeochemical processes controlling groundwater in and around Neyveli Lignite Mines, Tamil Nadu, South India. Arab J Geosci. doi:10.1007/s12517-012-0589-3
Chidambaram S, John Peter A, Prasanna MV, Karmegam U, Balaji K, Ramesh R (2010) A study on the impact of land use pattern in the groundwater quality in and around Madurai Region, South India—using GIS techniques. Online J Earth Sci 4:27–31
Chidambaram S, Ramanathan AL, Prasanna MV, Loganatan D, Badri Narayanan TS, Srinivasamoorthy K et al (2008) Study on the impact of tsunami on shallow groundwater from Protnova to Pumpuhar, using geoelectrical technique—SouthEast coast of India. Ind J Marine Sci 37(2):121–131
Chow VT (1964) Handbook of applied hydrology. McGraw-Hill, New York
Davis JC (1986) Statistics and data analysis in geology. Wiley, New York
Dasgupta AM, Purohit KM (2001) Status of surface and groundwater quality of Mandiakadar—Part II: agricultural utilities. Poll Res 20(2):219–225
Domenico PA, Schwartz FW (1990) Physical and chemical hydrology. Wiley, New York, p 410
Drever JI (1988) The geochemistry of natural waters. Prentice-Hall, New Jersey, p 388
Drever JI (1997) The geochemistry of natural waters, 3rd edn. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs
Durvey VS, Sharma LL, Saini VP, Sharma BK (1997) Handbook on the methodology of water quality assessment. Rajasthan Agriculture University, India
Eaton FM (1950) Significance of carbonate in irrigation waters. Soil Sci 67(3):128–133
Fetter CW (1998a) Applied hydrogeology, 2nd edn. Charles E. Merrill, London, p 592
Fetter CW (1998b) Applied hydrogeology. 2nd edn. Charles E. Merrill, London, p 592
Gibbs RJ (1970) Mechanisms controlling world water chemistry. Science 170:1088–1090
Giridharan L, Venugopal T, Jayaprakash M (2008) Evaluation of the seasonal variation on the geochemical parameters and quality assessment of the groundwater in the proximity of River Cooum, Chennai. India Environ Monit Assess 143:161–178
Gupta SC, Doshi CS, Paliwal BL (1986) Occurrence and chemistry of high fluoride groundwater in Jalore District of Western Rajasthan. Annals of Arid 25:255–264
Hem JD (1991) Study and interpretation of the chemical characteristics of natural waters. Book 2254, 3rd edn. Scientific Publishers, Jodhpur
Hem JD (1992) Study and interpretation of the chemical characteristics of natural water. USGS Water Supply Paper 2254.
Jeevanandam M, Kannan R, Srinivasalu S, Rammohan V (2006) Hydrogeochemistry and groundwater quality assessment of lower part of the Ponnaiyar River Basin, Cuddalore District, South India. Environ Monit Assess 132(1):263–274
Jha SK, Nayak AK, Sharma YK (2009) Fluoride occurrence and assessment of exposure dose of fluoride in shallow aquifers of Makur, Unnao district Uttar Pradesh, India. Environ Monit Assess 156(1–4):561–566
Johnson CC (1979) Land application of wate—an accident waiting to happen. Groundwater 17(1):69–72
Karnath KR (1989) Hydrogeology. McGraw-Hill, New Delhi
Karanth KR (1997) Groundwater assessment, development and management. McGraw-Hill, New Delhi, p 720
Kaiser HF (1958) Psychometrica 23:3
Krishna KS, Rammohan V, Dajkumar SJ, Jeevanandam M (2009) Assessment of groundwater quality and hydrogeochemistry of Manimuktha River basin, Tamil Nadu, India. Environ Monit Assess 159(1–4):341–351
Kumar M, Kumari K, Ramanathan AL, Saxena R (2007) A comparative evaluation of groundwater suitability for irrigation and drinking purposes in two intensively cultivated districts of Punjab, India. Environ Geol 53:553–574
Khurshid SH, Hasan N, Zaheeruddin M (2002) Water quality status and environmental hazards in parts of Yamuna–Karwan sub-basin of Aligarh–Mathura District, Uttar Pradesh, India. J App Hydrol 14(4):30–37
Langeleir WF (1946) Chemical equilibria in water treatment. J Am Water Works Assoc 38:169
Lawrence FW, Upchurch SB (1982) Identification of recharge areas using geochemical factor analysis. Ground Water 20(6):680–687
Mahlknecht J, Steinich B, de Navarro LL (2004) Groundwater chemistry and mass transfers in the Independence aquifer, Central Mexico by using multivariate statistics and mass balance models. Environ Geol 45:781–795
Majumdar D, Gupta N (2000) Nitrate pollution of ground water and associated human health disorders. Ind J Environ Hlth 42(1):28–39
Mathess G (1982) The properties of groundwater. Wiley, New York. doi:10.1016/0016-7037(82)90218-6
Meybeck M (1987) Global chemical weathering of surficial rocks estimated from river dissolved loads. Am J Sci 287:401–428
Milliot G (1970) Geology of clays. Springer, Berlin
Mohan R, Singh AK, Tripathi JK, Chowdhary GC (2000) Hydrochemistry and quality assessment of ground water in Naini Industrial area, Allahabad district, Uttar Pradesh. J Geol Soc India 55:77–89
National Building Code (NBC) of India 2005, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), New Delhi
Nickson RT, McArthur JM, Shrestha B, Kyaw-Nyint TO, Lowrt D (2005) Arsenic and other drinking water quality issues, Muzaffargarh District, Pakistan. App Geochem 20:55–68
Niranjan Babu P, Subba Rao N, Chandra Rao P, Prakesa Rao J (1997) Ground water quality and its importance in the land developmental programmes. Ind J Geol 69(4):305–312
Paliwal KV (1972) Irrigation with saline water. Monogram 2. IARI, New Delhi, p 198
Pulle JS, Khan AM, Ambore NE, Kadam DD, Pawar SK (2005) Assessment of ground water quality of Nanded City. Poll Res 24(3):657–660
Raju KCB (1998) Importance of recharging depleted aquifers: state of the art of artificial recharge in India. J Geol Soc India 5:429–454
Ritzi RW, Wright SL, Mann B, Chen M (1993) Analysis of temporal variability in hydrogeochemical data used for multivariate analyses. Groundwater 31:221–229
Sahinci A (1991) Geochemistry of natural waters (in Turkish). Reform Printing Office, Izmir, p 548
Saravanan P, Arun Prasad K, Sudha G, Ilangovan P (2011) An assessment of environmental degradation: case study of Avaniapuram town Panchayat, Madurai. Int J Environ Sci 1:1504–1514
Sawyer CN, McCarty P (1967) Chemistry for sanitary engineers, 2nd edn. McGraw-Hill, New York
Sastri JCV (1994) Groundwater chemical quality in river basins, Hydrogeochemical modeling. Lecture notes—refresher course, School of Earth Sciences, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu, India
Scofield CS (1935) Salinity of irrigation water. Annual report. Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC, pp 275–287
Singh B, Narayan P (1980) Relationship between fluoride and other characteristics of underground irrigation waters in brackish water belt. Agrochimica 24(203):207–211
Subba Rao N, Srinivasa Rao G, Venkateswara Rao S, Madhusudhana Reddy P, John Devadas D (1999) Environmental control of groundwater quality in a tribal region of Andhra Pradesh. Ind J Geol 71(4):299–304
Subba Rao N (2006) Seasonal variation of groundwater quality in a part of Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, India. Environ Geol 49:413–429
Subba Rao N (2008) Factors controlling the salinity in groundwater in parts of Guntur District, Andra Pradesh, India. Environ Monit Assess 138:327–341
Sunitha V, Sudarsha V, Rajeswara Reddy B (2005) Hydrogeochemistry of groundwater, Gooty area, Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, India. Poll Res 24(1):217–224
Szaboles I, Darab C (1964) The influence of irrigation water of high sodium carbonate content of soils. In: Proceedings of 8th International Congress of ISSS, II (pp. 803–812).
Tesoriero AJ, Spruill TB, Eimers JL (2004) Geochemistry of shallow groundwater in coastal plain environments in the South-Eastern United States: implications for aquifer susceptibility. App Geochem 19:1471–1482
Tiwari TN, Mishra M (1985) A preliminary assessment of water quality Index of major Indian rivers. Indian J Environ Prot 5:276–279
Todd DK (1980) Groundwater hydrology. Wiley, New York
Tukey JW (1977) Exploratory data analysis. Addison-Wesley, Reading. ISBN 0-201-07616-0. OCLC 3058187.
USSL (1954) Diagnosis and improvement of saline and alkaline soils. USDA Handbook 60:147
Valdes D, Dupont JP, Laignel B, Ogier S, Leboulanger T, Mahler BJ (2007) A spatial analysis of structural control on, Karst groundwater geochemistry at a regional scale. J Hydrol 340:244–255
Vasanthavigar M, Srinivasamoorthy K, Prasanna MV (2012) Evaluation of groundwater suitability for domestic, irrigational, and industrial purposes: a case study from Thirumanimuttar river basin, Tamil Nadu, India. Environ Monit Assess 184:405–420
Venkateswaran S, Vijay Prabhu M, Mohammed Rafi M, Vallel KLK (2011) Assessment of groundwater quality for irrigational use in Cumbum valley, Madurai District, Tamil Nadu, India. Nat Environ Pollut Technol 10:207–212
Walton WC (1970) Groundwater resource evaluation. McGraw-Hill, New York, 664 p
World Health Organization (2006) Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality Health Criteria and other supporting information (2nd edition). Geneva.
Wilcox LV (1955) Classification and use of irrigation water. US Geol Dept Agric Circ 969:19
Wilcox LV (1948) The quality of water for irrigation use, US Department of Agriculture Technology, 40th edn. Bulletin 962, Washington, DC
Wilcox LW, Magistad OC (1943) Interpretation of irrigation water quality and relative salt tolerance of crops. US Bureau of Plant Industry, Washington, DC
Zuane JD (1990) Drinking water quality: standards and control. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York
Acknowledgment
The authors thank the Principal and Management of Thiagarajar College of Engineering (Autonomous), Madurai—625 015 for their support and encouragement.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sivasankar, V., Omine, K., Msagati, T.A.M. et al. Evaluation of groundwater quality in Madurai City, South India for drinking, irrigation and construction purposes. Arab J Geosci 7, 3093–3107 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-013-0994-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-013-0994-2