Investigation of hydrogeochemical processes and groundwater quality in Upper Vellar sub-basin Tamilnadu, India
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Investigation of hydrogeochemical processes and groundwater quality in Upper Vellar sub-basin Tamilnadu, India K. Saravanan 1 & K. Srinivasamoorthy 1 & S. Gopinath 1 & R. Prakash 1 & C. S Suma 1
Received: 28 September 2015 / Accepted: 8 February 2016 # Saudi Society for Geosciences 2016
Abstract An attempt has been made in the Upper Vellar subbasin to assess the hydrogeochemical processes influencing the water chemistry along with suitability of water for domestic and agricultural utilities. A total of 35 groundwater samples were collected for two different seasons, premonsoon (PRM) and post monsoon (POM), and analyzed for major cations, anions, and trace elements. The obtained results indicate that the dominance of silicate weathering, ion exchange process, and anthropogenic and microbial activities alter the chemistry of groundwater. The Piper plot suggests the facies evolution from Ca-HCO3, Ca-Mg-Cl and mixed Ca-Na-HCO3 and NaCl fluxes influencing the water chemistry. The ionic ratio plots suggest the predominance of Na+, Ca2+, HCO3− and Cl− indicating the silicate minerals dissolution and anthropogenic activities. All the trace elements are within the scale; however, Zn exceeds the WHO standard. The stability plot suggests samples representing kaolinite field during PRM and evolves towards montmorillonite and chloride field during POM infers the dissolution of silicates minerals and ions from host rocks. According to the WHO standard, 23% of PRM and 6% of POM water samples exceed the maximum permissible limits for drinking purposes.
Keywords Geochemical characteristics . Water quality parameters . Ionic exchanges . Rock water interaction . Upper Vellar
* K. Srinivasamoorthy [email protected]
1
Department of Earth Sciences, School of Physical, Chemical and Applied Sciences Pondicherry University, Puducherry, India
Introduction In hard rock terrain with arid and semi-arid climatic conditions, all the water requirements are met with sub-surface water due to reducing surface water resources, changing climatic conditions, growing population, industrialization, and intensive agricultural, and urbanization activities have put high demand for groundwater especially in growing countries like India (Srinivasamoorthy et al. 2011). Besides, the unawareness of groundwater significance and absence of regular legislative methods have created a huge pressure on groundwater both quantitatively and qualitatively; hence, appraisal of chemical and physical parameters of groundwater is essential for effective groundwater planning and management to meet the increasing water requirements (Sophocleous 2000). The concentration of the chemical species is due to various processes such as precipitation, rock water interactions, prolonged storage of water into the aquifer, effective mineral dissolution and human activities (Vasanthavigar et al. 2010). Owing to these processes, the chemical composition of groundwater is altered with respect to space and time, and the concentration of the chemical species increases
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