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Hydrogeochemical processes and quality assessment of groundwater in Dumka and Jamtara districts, Jharkhand, India

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Abstract

The hydrogeochemical study of groundwater in Dumka and Jamtara districts has been carried out to assess the major ion chemistry, hydrogeochemical processes and groundwater quality for domestic and irrigation uses. Thirty groundwater samples were collected and analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids (TDS), total hardness, anions (F−, Cl−, NO3 −, HCO3 −, SO4 2−) and cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+). The analytical results show the faintly alkaline nature of water and dominance of Mg2+ and Ca2+ in cationic and HCO3 − and Cl− in anionic abundance. The concentrations of alkaline earth metals (Ca2+ + Mg2+) exceed the alkali metals (Na+ + K+) and HCO3 − dominates over SO4 2− + Cl− concentrations in the majority of the groundwater samples. Ca–Mg–HCO3 is the dominant hydrogeochemical facies in 60 % of the groundwater samples, while 33 % samples occur as a mixed chemical character of Ca–Mg–Cl hydrogeochemical facies. The water chemistry is largely controlled by rock weathering and ion exchange processes with secondary contribution from anthropogenic sources. The inter-elemental correlations and factor and cluster analysis of hydro-geochemical database suggest combined influence of carbonate and silicate weathering on solute acquisition processes. For quality assessment, analyzed parameter values were compared with Indian and WHO water quality standards. In majority of the samples, the analyzed parameters are well within the desirable limits and water is potable for drinking purposes. Total hardness and concentrations of TDS, Cl−, NO3 − , Ca2+ and Mg2+ exceed the desirable limits at a few sites, however, except NO3 − all these values were below the highest permissible limits. The calculated parameters such as sodium adsorption ratio, percent sodium (%Na) and residual sodium carbonate revealed excellent to good quality of groundwater for agricultural purposes, except at few sites where salinity and magnesium hazard (MH) values exceeds the prescribed limits and demands special management.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are gratefully acknowledge the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi for the financial support under its 11th Five Year Plan Project (IAP-006) to establish the lab and analytical facilities. We wish to thank editor and the anonymous reviewers for their suggestions and critical comments.

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  1. CSIR-Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research, Barwa Road, Dhanbad, 826 015, India

    Abhay Kumar Singh, G. C. Mondal, T. B. Singh, S. Singh, B. K. Tewary & A. Sinha

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  1. Abhay Kumar Singh
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  2. G. C. Mondal
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  3. T. B. Singh
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  4. S. Singh
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  5. B. K. Tewary
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Correspondence to Abhay Kumar Singh.

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Singh, A.K., Mondal, G.C., Singh, T.B. et al. Hydrogeochemical processes and quality assessment of groundwater in Dumka and Jamtara districts, Jharkhand, India. Environ Earth Sci 67, 2175–2191 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-012-1658-3

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