The present study is an attempt to study the impact of the On-site sanitation system on the groundwater sources in its vicinity. The study has been undertaken in the Agra city of Yamuna sub-basin. In this context, sampling sites (3 nos) namely Pandav Nagar, Ayodhya Kunj and Laxmi Nagar were selected for sampling. The groundwater samples were analyzed for major cations, anions and faecal coliform. Critical parameters namely chloride, nitrate and Faecal coliform were considered to assess the impact of the On-site sanitation systems. The analytical results shown that except for chloride, most of the samples exceeded the Bureau of Indian Standard limits for drinking water for all the other analyzed parameters, i.e., nitrate and faecal coliform in the first two sites. In Laxmi Nagar, except for faecal coliform, all the samples are below the BIS limits. In all the three sites, faecal coliform was found in majority of the samples. A comparison of present study indicates that the contamination of groundwater in alluvial setting is less as compared to hard rock where On-site sanitation systems have been implemented.
The present study is an attempt to investigate the impact of intensive agriculture and horticulture activities on the hydrogeological and hydrochemical regime in a watershed in Central India. The study area covers 137 km2 and the land use land cover (LULC) study shows that 39.72% area is agri-horticulture land, and 29.78% of the land is covered with other vegetation. Groundwater budgeting is aimed to estimate stage of groundwater development and to examine the contribution of different competing users (domestic, agriculture and industries) on groundwater usage. The groundwater budgeting results show that the stage of groundwater development is 100.26%, thus the study area falls under the over-exploited category as per GEC 2015 norms. The groundwater quality indicates the elevated concentration of nitrate (>45 mg/L) in 41% samples of pre-monsoon season and 80% samples in the post-monsoon season. The elevated concentration of nitrate in groundwater samples of the post-monsoon season indicates the contamination due to the non-point sources like excessive use of fertilizers in horti-agriculture. The sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) values indicate that groundwater is suitable for irrigation. However, physico-chemical water quality results show that 74% samples of pre-monsoon and 85% samples of the post-monsoon season are found unsuitable for drinking as compared to acceptable limits of drinking water specification BIS 10500:2012.
The study area needs intervention measures both on the supply side and demand side to bring the development stage and water quality to safer limits. Long term mitigation strategies for the revival of the natural streams should also be adopted to increase water availability in the study area. Precision agriculture, promotion of organic farming, minimization of water use, soil amendments for soil moisture retention and prevention of the runoff must be included in the management practices to improve the health of the watershed and for the long term sustainability.
Groundwater (GW) contamination due to urbanization, industrialization and agriculture is a major environmental problem in India. The present case study aims to estimate the vulnerability of the aquifer with the help of GIS based DRASTIC method. A micro watershed, characterized by Granites and Gondwana Formation in the vicinity of Koradi, 15 km from Nagpur in Central India has been considered. The DRASTIC method accounts for hydrogeological parameters like depth to water, net recharge, aquifer media, soil media, impact of vadose zone and hydraulic conductivity. The DRASTIC index (DI) for GW vulnerability to pollution is calculated as the sum of the product of ratings and weights assigned to each of the parameter on the scale of 1 to 10 and 1 to 5 respectively. A Groundwater vulnerability map has been prepared using the Arc GIS software (Version 10.1) and it delineates the total study area into two vulnerable zones with vulnerability score ranging from 107 to 142 and indicates that 33% and 67% of the area lies in low and moderate vulnerability zones respectively. The vulnerability score as obtained is also verified with field data.
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