Arab J Geosci (2013) 6:101–108

DOI 10.1007/s12517-011-0327-2

ORIGINAL PAPER

Evaluation of hydrogeochemical parameters and quality

assessment of the groundwater in Kottur blocks, Tiruvarur
district, Tamilnadu, India
Thirunavukkarasu Ramkumar & Senapathi Venkatramanan &
Irudhayanathan Anithamary & Sheik Mohamed Syed Ibrahim

Received: 8 October 2010 / Accepted: 24 March 2011 / Published online: 9 April 2011
# Saudi Society for Geosciences 2011

Abstract A study was conducted to evaluate the water Introduction

quality of Kottur block, Thiruvarur district, Tamilnadu.
Groundwater samples from hand pumps and tube wells of Water is very vital for nature and can be a limiting resource
16 stations were analyzed during postmonsoon and pre- to men and other living beings. Without a well-functioning
monsoon (2008) with the help of standard methods of water supply, it is difficult to imagine productive human
APHA (1995). Dominance of cations are in the following activity be it agriculture or livestock. The quality of water is
order Na>Ca>K>Mg and Cl>SO4>HCO3>NO3 by anions of almost the same importance to quantity in any water
in both the seasons. The analytical results shows higher supply planning. Water quality is influenced by natural and
concentration of total dissolved solids, electrical conduc- anthropogenic effects including local climate, geology, and
tivity, sodium, chloride, and sulfate which indicate signs of irrigation practices. The chemical character of any ground-
deterioration but values of pH, calcium, magnesium, and water determines its quality and utilization. The quality is a
nitrate are within permissible limit as per World Health function of the physical, chemical, and biological parame-
Organization standards. From the Piper trilinear diagram, it ters, and could be subjective since it depends on a particular
is observed that the majority of groundwater samples are intended use. Various workers in our country have carried
Na-Cl and Ca-Mg-SO4 facies clearly indicates seawater out extensive studies on water quality. In addition to the
incursion. In Wilcox diagram, most of the samples fall in rising demands of potable water in households, the shallow
low to very high sodium hazard and low to very high aquifers have been the source of water for most irrigation
salinity hazard indicates moderately suitable for agricultural schemes in Keta and surrounding areas. Whereas irrigation
activities. Kelly’s ratio and magnesium ratio indicates most activities are very much encouraged as poverty reduction
of the samples fall in suitable for irrigation purpose. strategies, the use of high salinity water has the tendency to
reduce soil and crop productivity in an area over time by
Keywords Groundwater chemistry . Piper trilinear destroying soil permeability and reducing the osmotic
diagram . Wilcox diagram . Kelly ratio . Magnesium ratio potential of crops. In light of this, one of the management
strategies for groundwater resources especially in the
coastal belt is to ensure that groundwater extraction does
not lead to the intrusion of saline seawater into the aquifers.
However, due to the relatively low elevations in the area
T. Ramkumar and the lack of strict regulation, groundwater salinization
Department of Earth Sciences, Annamalai University,
Chidambaram, Tamilnadu, India
continues to be a problem in some of the coastal areas
e-mail: [email protected] (Bannerman 1994; Jorgensen and Banoeng-Yakubo 2001;
Helstrup et al. 2007). On the other hand, this resource is the
S. Venkatramanan (*) : I. Anithamary : S. M. S. Ibrahim only source of water for agricultural activities in view of the
Research scholar, Department of Earth Sciences,
Annamalai University,
erratic nature of rainfalls in recent times. The high salinities
Chidambaram, Tamilnadu, India of groundwater from some of the wells in the area and the
e-mail: [email protected] heavy reliance of the communities on groundwater for
102 Arab J Geosci (2013) 6:101–108

irrigation necessitate an overall assessment of the quality of Description of the study area
the resource in the area for irrigation purposes (Yidana et al.
2010; Ramkumar et al. 2010; Venkatramanan et al. 2009). The study area, Kottur block is situated in Tiruvarur district
Laluraj et al. (2005) have studied groundwater chemistry of of Tamilnadu (Fig. 1). The study area lies between latitude
shallow aquifers in the coastal zones of Cochin and 10° 41′45″ North and longitude 79° 25′00″ East in the
concluded that groundwater present in the shallow aquifers survey of India toposheets number 58 N/7, N/10, and N/11.
of some of the stations were poor in quality and beyond The area receives an annual average rainfall of
potable limit as per the standard set by World Health 1,327.11 mm. The maximum and minimum temperature
Organization and Bureau of Indian Standards. Rapid ranges between 28°C and 34°C in the months of January to
increase in urbanization and industrialization leads into May, respectively.
deterioration in groundwater quality.
In coastal environments, the influence of saltwater intru-
sion is often significant. The specific objectives of this study Materials and methods
are (1) the preliminary investigation and interpretation of the
groundwater quality of Kottur block (2) find out the suitability Groundwater samples from different hand pumps and tube
of groundwater for irrigation and drinking purposes. This wells of 16 sampling points were analyzed during post and
insight hopefully would aid in ensuring better water resource premonsoon seasons during 2008. Samples were collected in
management in Kottur and its immediate environs. (3) This good quality polyethylene bottles of 1-l capacity. Sampling was
study proposes using spatial mapping to identify areas that are carried out without adding any preservatives in rinsed bottles
likely to be contaminated, and to use spatial variance of directly for avoiding any contamination and brought to the
collected data from the field to identify areas that are not laboratory. Monitoring was done during post and premonsoon
covered and lack information. With the help of GIS tools, this (February 2008–September 2006). Only high pure (Analytical
approach has been used to assess the sodium and chloride IR Grade) chemicals and double-distilled water was used for
variation in Kottur block, India. preparing solutions for analysis. Physical parameters like pH

Fig. 1 Study area and sampling location

Arab J Geosci (2013) 6:101–108 103

Table 1 Comparisons of the water quality parameters of groundwater of the study area

Sample Water quality WHO standard Indian drinking water Concentration in study area mg/l
no parameter in mg/l mg/l (World Health standard mg/l (Bureau
Organization 1984) of Indian Standards 1991) Postmonsoon Premonsoon

Min–Max Average Min–Max Average

1 pH 6.5–8.5 6.5–8.5 7.6–8.4 8.1 7.7–8.3 8.0

2 TDS 500–1,500 500–2,000 1,142–3,379.1 2,019 1,039.2–3,886.5 1,997.2
3 Ec (μs/cm) – – 1,680–4,983.4 2,993 1,517–5,676.1 2,894.4
4 Calcium (Ca) 200 75–200 40–280 148.1 60–280 147
5 Magnesium (Mg) 150 – 20–156 81.6 32–132 79.39
6 Sodium (Na) 200 – 130.9–620.7 349 132.8–620.3 353.7
7 Potassium (K) – – 13.2–189.7 56.09 12–123.5 40.4
8 Bicarbonate (HCO3) – – 122–274.5 175.7 91.5–268.4 142.4
9 Sulfate (SO4) 250 200–400 201.2–649 446.4 292.3–610 457
10 Chloride (Cl) 250–600 250–1,000 195–1,223 611.4 194.9–1,772.5 639.5
11 Nitrate (NO3) 50 45–100 0.51–1.49 0.85 1.06–4.07 2.02

(eco-tester pH 1) and total dissolved solids (TDS tester 11) calcium ions has the possibility to derive from cation
were determined at the site with the help of field kit. The exchange process (Garrels 1976). Calcium concentration
samples collected were analyzed as per standard procedures ranged from 40 to 280 and 60 to 280 mg/l in postmonsoon
(APHA 1995). The results of the physicochemical parameters and premonsoon seasons, respectively. The sodium average
of the samples are shown in Table 1. concentration varies from 349 (postmonsoon) to 353 (pre-
monsoon) mg/l in the study area. The high concentration of
Na in the groundwater can be attributed to the cation
Results and discussion exchange and to the human activities. High concentration of
Na+ in irrigated area are also the result of the repeated use of
Major ion chemistry water. The Na/Cl relationship has often been used to identify
the mechanism for acquiring salinity and saline incursion in
The pH values of the groundwater varied from 7.6 to 8.4 coastal regions. Bicarbonate ion varied from 122 to 274.5 and
(postmonsoon) with an average value 8.1, 7.7 (premonsoon) to 91.5 to 268.4 mg/l in the groundwater samples during
8.3 with an average value 8.0 which indicates that water is postmonsoon and premonsoon seasons. Chloride concentra-
alkaline in nature. These variations are slightly higher than the tion of groundwater samples in the study average ranged
permissible limit of drinking water standard. The general between 611.4 (postmonsoon) and 639.5 (premonsoon) mg/l.
increase of pH in a sedimentary terrain relates to weathering of Relatively, higher Cl concentration in groundwater in the
plagioclase feldspar in the sediments, aided by dissolved coastal region is attributed to influence of seawater on the
atmospheric carbon dioxide resulting in the release of sodium coastal aquifer which was highly visible during premonsoon
and calcium which progressively increases the pH and due decline water table. Sulfate ion varied from 566 to
alkalinity of the water. The electrical conductivity average 457 mg/l during the post and premonsoon seasons and nitrate
values were found between 2,992 (postmonsoon) and 2,894 ion varied from 1.9 to 4.07 mg/l in the study area. During the
(premonsoon) μS/cm at 25°C in the study area. The relatively premonsoon season, most of the ion concentrations are high
higher values of electrical conductivity in the study area can be compared to the postmonsoon season which may be due to
attributed to the higher amount of total dissolved salts in the dissolution of minerals (Navarro and Carnonal 2007;
groundwater and the source for that may be the salts from the Anithamary 2008). The conspicuous variation observed for
seawater This is similar to the observation of Tutmet et al. this parameter was mainly by the influence of agricultural
(2006) who made modeling studies on electrical conductivity activity and by the influence of seawater into the shallow
of groundwater. The concentration of total dissolved solids aquifer system.
average ranged from 2,018 (postmonsoon) to 1,997 (premon-
soon) mg/l in the study area. Normally, total dissolved solids Spatial distribution pattern
in water may originate from natural sources and sewage
discharges. Calcium and magnesium ions present in the The spatial distribution pattern of electric conductivity and
coastal groundwater is particularly derived from leaching of total dissolved solids during the study period is shown in
limestone, dolomites, gypsum, and anhydrites, whereas Figs. 2a, b and 3a, b. The exception is during the
104 Arab J Geosci (2013) 6:101–108

Fig. 2 a Spatial distribution of TDS (postmonsoon), b spatial distribution of TDS (premonsoon)

Fig. 3 a Spatial distribution of EC (postmonsoon), b spatial distribution of EC (premonsoon)

Arab J Geosci (2013) 6:101–108 105

postmonsoon season when a higher concentration of TDS Hydrogeochemical nature

and higher electrical conductivity (EC) were observed in
the northeast direction. This spatial pattern clearly indicates Hydrogeochemical facies are distinct zones that possess cation
that large values of TDS and EC in groundwater correspond and anion concentration categories (Freeze and Cherry 1979).
to the influence of seawater in some coastal wells. This The interpretation of distinct facies from the 0% to 10% and
phenomenon is widely observed throughout the world in 90% to 100% domains on the diamond-shaped cation and
freshwater aquifers lying close to the sea coast. In anion graph is more helpful than using equal 25% increment.
premonsoon season, EC and TDS were observed in the This is useful to understand the total chemical character of
southern part of the study area indicating the influence of water samples in terms of cation–anion pairs. The percentage-
agricultural activity. The spatial distribution pattern of reacting values at the three cation groups Ca, Mg, and (Na + K)
sodium during the postmonsoon season (Fig. 4a, b) shows are plotted as a single point in the left triangular field and the
a higher concentration on the north and south sides. These three anion groups—(HCO3 +CO3), SO4, and Cl similar on the
well lie near the coastal area, and seawater influences the right triangular field. Piper (1953) classification is used to
distribution pattern. The spatial distribution of chloride express similarity and dissimilarity in the chemistry of different
during the study period is shown in Fig. 5a, b and is similar water samples based on the dominant cations and anions.
to the spatial distribution of sodium. During the postmon- Major cations and anions such as Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+,
soon season, higher concentrations of chloride are observed HCO3−, SO42−, and Cl− in meq/l were plotted in Piper’s
on the northeastern coastal side. During the premonsoon trilinear diagram to evaluate the hydrochemistry of ground-
seasons, high levels of chloride are observed on the water of Kottur City with the help of Aquachem 4.1
southwest side. On the southern and northern sides, the software (Fig. 6a, b). The plot shows that most of the
spatial distribution of sodium and chloride is determined by groundwater samples fall in the field of Na–Cl facies. The
seawater intrusion; irrigation return flow from agricultural remaining samples fall in Ca Mg SO4 facies, it clearly
activity also plays a significant role in determining the indicates the presence of seawater incursion and hard water
sodium and chloride content. in the study area.

Fig. 4 a Spatial distribution of sodium (postmonsoon), b spatial distribution of sodium (premonsoon)

106 Arab J Geosci (2013) 6:101–108

Fig. 5 a Spatial distribution of chloride (postmonsoon), b spatial distribution of chloride (premonsoon)

Kelley’s ratio 66.42. Based on magnesium ratio, the most of the samples
found to be unfit for irrigations with respect to magnesium
The level of sodium measured against calcium and magne- ratio (Table 2).
sium is known as Kelley’s (1997) ratio index. Kelley’s ratio is
used to find whether the groundwater is suitable for irrigation Wilcox classification
or not. All concentration values are expressed in equivalents
per million. Kelly’s ratio is calculated as follows: Wilcox (1955) classification, the groundwaters in the study
area are ranging between good to permissible for irrigation
Kelly_s ratio ¼ Na=ðCa þ MgÞ
uses. The primary effect of high EC reduces the osmotic
In the study area, majority of the samples in all seasons activity of plants and thus interferes with the absorption of
found to be suitable for irrigations with respect to Kelley’s ratio. water and nutrients from the soil.
Throughout the study period, Wilcox classification
Magnesium ratio indicates that groundwater is low to very high sodium
hazard and low to very high salinity hazard, and was
Magnesium ratio is the excess amount of magnesium over observed to be moderately suitable for agricultural activities
calcium and magnesium amount. Magnesium present in (Fig. 7a, b)
water would adversely affect soil quality, rendering it
alkaline; thus, resulting in decreased crop yields for
Conclusion
magnesium ratio with more than 50% can poison the water.
All concentrations are epm. Magnesium ratio is calculated
Interpretation of hydrogeochemical analysis reveals that the
as follows:
groundwater of study area is slightly saline and alkaline in
Magnesium ratio ¼ Mg  100=ðCa þ MgÞ nature. In postmonsoon, the higher concentration of ions was
observed in northeast side indicates saline water incursion near
During postmonsoon, it varied from 16.25 to 61.8 with the coastal area. During premonsoon, the higher concentration
mean of 47.1 and Premonsoon, it varied from 26.10 to was observed in southern part indicates irrigation return flow
Arab J Geosci (2013) 6:101–108 107

Fig. 6 a Distribution of the water samples on Piper diagram

(postmonsoon). b Distribution of the water samples on Piper diagram
(premonsoon)

into the coastal aquifer. The trilinear diagram shows that most
of the groundwater samples fall in the field of Na-Cl and Ca- Fig. 7 a Wilcox classification according to EC and SAR values
Mg-SO4 facies. Kelly’s ratio indicates that most of the (postmonsoon). b Wilcox classification according to EC and SAR
samples fall in suitable category and unfit zone in Mg ratio. values (premonsoon)
The Wilcox diagram illustrates that most of the groundwater

Table 2 Hydrogeochemical facies of groundwater samples

Sample no Kelly’s ratio Magnesium ratio Concentration in epm

Range Category Range Category Postmonsoon Premonsoon

Min–Max Average Min–Max Average

1 <1.0 Suitable <50 Suitable 0.33–5.35 1.66 0.39–2.45 1.18

2 >1.0 Unsuitable >50 Unsuitable 16.2–61.8 47.1 26.10–66.42 47.01
108 Arab J Geosci (2013) 6:101–108

samples fall in the field of C3S1, indicating low to very high Helstrup T, Jorgensen NO, Banoeng-Yakubo B (2007) Investigation
of hydrochemical characteristics of groundwater from the
sodium hazard and low to very high salinity hazard which can
Cretaceous–Eocene limestone in southern Ghana and southern
be used for irrigation on almost all type of soil with little Togo using hierarchical cluster analysis. Hydrogeology 15:977–
danger of exchangeable sodium. The result obtained indicates 989
that there is a greater thread of seawater incursion to the Jorgensen NO, Banoeng-Yakubo BK (2001) Environmental isotopes
(18O, 2 H, and 87Sr/86Sr) as a tool in groundwater
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investigations in the Keta Basin, Ghana. Hydrogeology 9:190–
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acteristics of the area for effective management and proper Kelley (1997) Heterogeneities in groundwater geochemistry of in a
utilization of groundwater resources for better living con- sand aquifer beneath an irrigated field. J Hydrol 198:254
Laluraj, Gopinath, Dineshkumar (2005) Groundwater chemistry of
ditions of the people. A continuous monitoring program of the shallow aquifers in the coastal zones of Cochin, India. Appl Ecol
water quality will avoid further deterioration of the water Environ Res 3:133–139
quality in the coastal region. Navarro A, Carnonal ME (2007) Evaluation of groundwater contam-
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(Barcelona, Spain). J Environ Manage 85:259–269
Piper (1953) A graphic procedure in the geochemical interpretation of
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