Hydrochemical appraisal of groundwater quality for drinking and agricultural utility in a granitic terrain of Maheshwaram area of Ranga Reddy district, Telnagana State, India

Abstract

Groundwater is the major source of water both for drinking and agriculture activities in India. Water availability and quality depends on the rock formations present in the region. To study the quality of water forty-two samples have been collected during periods (May-2015) and (December-2015). Groundwater samples are reported to be having chemical constituents above the BIS and WHO standards for drinking purposes. TDS, TH, Chloride and Nitrates are above the standard specifications with reference to drinking water and one-third of the region is unsuitable for domestic purposes. Based on the Irrigation water quality indices reveal that majority of the samples are acceptable for irrigation water except few samples are unacceptable limit for irrigation purposes. Data plotted in the Piper trilinear showed that dominant water types are Ca2+-Mg2+-Cl− and Ca2-Na+-HCO3− mixed. Cluster analysis indicates that the hydrogeochemical processes involved are due to weathering of rocks, reverse ion exchange, and anthropogenic inputs it.

Keywords

• Water quality index
• Irrigation water
• Piper trilinear and cluster analysis