Case Report Open Access

APPLICATIONS OF GIS TECHNIQUE FOR THE EVALUATION OF GROUNDWATER QUALITY: A CASE STUDY OF PANCHGANGA SUGAR FACTORY LTD, KABNUR, ICHALKARANJI, KOLHAPUR, MAHARASHTRA

Abstract

The present study reveals the assessment of groundwater quality in and around Panchganga Sugar Factory Ltd., Kabnur, Ichalkaranji, Kolhapur. Groundwater is the main source of irrigation in the study area. Eleven dug-wells and four bore-wells representative groundwater samples were obtained respectively from the "pre" and "post-monsoon" seasons in 2019, in parts of basaltic terrain in order to assess the quality. Water samples collected in the field were analysed in the laboratory for cations and anions using the standard methods. The main water quality parameters considered for this study were pH, EC, TDS, Total Hardness, Ca, Mg, Na, K, Chloride, Total Alkalinity, Carbonate, Bicarbonate and Sulphate. The groundwater quality information IDW maps of the entire study area were created using GIS spatial interpolation techniques for all of the above physicochemical parameters. The results obtained from this study and the spatial database established in GIS will be helpful for monitoring and managing groundwater pollution in the study area. The Piper diagram reveals that the majority of groundwater samples, 40% and 90% represent mixed Ca2+-Mg2+-Cl type hydrochemical facies in pre and post monsoon respectively; 55% and 5% of groundwater samples represent Ca2+-Cl− type hydrochemical facies in pre and post monsoon respectively; and each 5% of groundwater samples represent Ca2+HCO3 type facies in pre and post monsoon respectively. According to the Gibbs diagram, the predominant samples of pre-monsoon fall into the evaporation dominance field while post-monsoon samples fall into the rock dominance field of the Gibbs diagram. This can be attributed to the weathering of rock, which is controlling the groundwater chemistry. According to the U.S. salinity diagram, groundwater samples from both seasons fall into the following fields: 24% of samples fall into the C4-S2 field, 14% of samples fall into the C4-S3 field, 3% of samples fall into the C4-S4 field, 17% of samples fall into the C3-S3 field, 27% of samples are in the C3-S2 field, 6% of samples fall into the C3-S1 field, 6% of samples fall into the C2-S4 field, and 3% of samples fall into the C2-S1 field, respectively. The groundwater sample shows medium to very high salinity; hence the water is unsuitable for irrigation purposes. Most of the physiochemical parameters usually show high variations in concentration. The study also shows that the groundwater in the study area has been contaminated. Over all, the data shows that the water is hard in nature and thus unfit for drinking purposes.

NAJIM M. MULLA , DIPAK B. PANASKAR

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