A hydrogeochemical study of groundwater of district Ballia, U.P., India

Abstract

Arsenic is naturally found in the rocks of the Pleistocene and Holocene ages in the groundwater aquifer media. The district Ballia has many reports which are focused on arsenic contamination in its different blocks. This article is devoted to a thorough study of hydrogeochemical characteristics and the source of origin of arsenic in the groundwater system of the Ballia district. The relationship between this hydrogeologically present arsenic and various cations and anions including some physicochemical parameters are discussed here. These observations have been done using ICP MS and ion chromatographic techniques. The relationship study has been done by using a correlation matrix which is further proven by the dendrogram. Different types of loading plots of various principal components have also been studied with the help of principal component analysis. The nature and quality of groundwater are studied with the help of a piper plot. This research article is a complete and detailed study of the nature of groundwater in district Ballia. It also enlightens the source of arsenic contamination in the study area. HIGHLIGHTS The sampling area is 16 blocks of district Ballia, U.P. India.; The physicochemical studies have been done by ICP MS and ion chromatograph.; The quality of the groundwater samples was examined with the help of a piper plot.; The water sample shows various positive correlations with different ions which are found in it.; The relationship of As with other ions could be helping in its removal.;

Keywords

• arsenic
• correlation
• dendrogram
• groundwater
• pca
• piper plot