Major ion chemistry and hydrochemical studies of groundwater of parts of Palar river basin, Tamil Nadu, India

Groundwater is almost globally important for human consumption as well as for the support of habitat and for maintaining the quality of base flow to rivers, while its quality assessment is essential to ensure sustainable safe use of the resources for drinking, agricultural, and industrial purposes. In the current study, 50 groundwater samples were collected from parts of Palar river basin to assess water quality and investigate hydrochemical nature by analyzing the major cations (Ca, Mg, Na, K) and anions (HCO(3), Cl, F,SO(4), NO(3), PO(4),CO(3), HCO(3), and F) besides some physical and chemical parameters (pH, electrical conductivity, alkalinity, and total hardness). Also, geographic information system-based groundwater quality mapping in the form of visually communicating contour maps was developed using ArcGIS-9.2 to delineate spatial variation in physicochemical characteristics of groundwater samples. Wilcox classification and US Salinity Laboratory hazard diagram suggests that 52% of the groundwater fall in the field of C2-S1, indicating water of medium salinity and low sodium, which can be used for irrigation in almost all types of soil with little danger of exchangeable sodium. Remaining 48% is falling under C1-SI, indicating water of low salinity and low sodium.