Appraisal of Groundwater Quality with Human Health Risk Assessment in Parts of Indo-Gangetic Alluvial Plain, North India

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Appraisal of Groundwater Quality with Human Health Risk Assessment in Parts of Indo‑Gangetic Alluvial Plain, North India Saurabh Shukla1   · Abhishek Saxena1  Received: 2 May 2020 / Accepted: 8 October 2020 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020

Abstract Groundwater contamination in the Indo-Gangetic alluvial plain has reportedly been affected by various factors, such as mineral dissolution, overexploitation, precipitation, and ion exchange. This study was designed to interpret the hydrochemical fluctuations in the groundwater sources of a rural area in Raebareli district. Groundwater is slightly alkaline and affected by the issues of fluoride, salinity, hardness, and nitrate. The Pollution Index of Groundwater significantly categorize 57% and 79% of the samples under the “insignificant pollution” category during pre-monsoon and post-monsoon periods. The Health risk assessment indicated the high susceptibility of children toward health risks. It also indicated that fluoride had greater impact than nitrate in the study area. The multivariate statistical analysis indicates that anthropogenic activities, such as agricultural practices, including excessive fertilizer application and improper domestic and cattle waste management, are ­ +. Furthermore, the base exchange index clasprobable causes of groundwater contamination through N ­ O3−, ­Cl−, ­Na+, and K sified 71.43% samples in pre-monsoon and 78.57% in post-monsoon as Na-HCO3 type. The meteoric genesis index suggested that 78.57% and 85.71% of the samples belong to shallow meteoric water percolation type during pre- and post-monsoon periods, respectively. The Piper plots revealed that ­HCO3–Ca·Mg and ­SO4·Cl–Na + K type are the prominent facies in the area, with dominance of alkalis and weak acids. According to Gibbs plot, majority of the samples fall under “rock dominance” suggesting that “rock-water” interaction was the dominant natural process controlling the groundwater chemistry. Increasing population, rapid urbanization, and industrialization have stressed the groundwater resources around the globe (Li et al. 2017; Shukla and Saxena 2020a, b). Groundwater quality generally depend upon its chemical constituents, which are largely affected by the intrinsic geological formations and anthropogenic activities in the surrounding regions. The increasing anthropogenic intervention has disturbed the chemical balance and brought about a qualitative and quantitative depletion in groundwater during the past few decades (Devic et al. 2014; Selvakumar et al. 2017; Su et al. 2020; Wang et al. 2020). Hence, supply of safe drinking water has become a major concern, especially in a developing country like India and is one of the most important agenda of governing bodies around the world. * Saurabh Shukla [email protected] Abhishek Saxena [email protected] 1



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

Understanding the contamination status and its