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Arabian Journal of Geosciences

ISSN 1866-7511
Volume 6
Number 1

Arab J Geosci (2013) 6:101-108
DOI 10.1007/s12517-011-0327-2
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
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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
quality of Kottur block, Thiruvarur district, Tamilnadu.
Groundwater samples from hand pumps and tube wells of
16 stations were analyzed during postmonsoon and pre-
monsoon (2008) with the help of standard methods of
APHA (1995). Dominance of cations are in the following
order Na>Ca>K>Mg and Cl>SO
4
>HCO
3
>NO
3
by anions
in both the seasons. The analytical results shows higher
concentration of total dissolved solids, electrical conduc-
tivity, sodium, chloride, and sulfate which indicate signs of
deterioration but values of pH, calcium, magnesium, and
nitrate are within permissible limit as per World Health
Organization standards. From the Piper trilinear diagram, it
is observed that the majority of groundwater samples are
Na-Cl and Ca-Mg-SO
4
facies clearly indicates seawater
incursion. In Wilcox diagram, most of the samples fall in
low to very high sodium hazard and low to very high
salinity hazard indicates moderately suitable for agricultural
activities. Kellys ratio and magnesium ratio indicates most
of the samples fall in suitable for irrigation purpose.
Keywords Groundwater chemistry
.
Piper trilinear
diagram
.
Wilcox diagram
.
Kelly ratio
.
Magnesium ratio
Introduction
Water is very vital for nature and can be a limiting resource
to men and other living beings. Without a well-functioning
water supply, it is difficult to imagine productive human
activity be it agriculture or livestock. The quality of water is
of almost the same importance to quantity in any water
supply planning. Water quality is influenced by natural and
anthropogenic effects including local climate, geology, and
irrigation practices. The chemical character of any ground-
water determines its quality and utilization. The quality is a
function of the physical, chemical, and biological parame-
ters, and could be subjective since it depends on a particular
intended use. Various workers in our country have carried
out extensive studies on water quality. In addition to the
rising demands of potable water in households, the shallow
aquifers have been the source of water for most irrigation
schemes in Keta and surrounding areas. Whereas irrigation
activities are very much encouraged as poverty reduction
strategies, the use of high salinity water has the tendency to
reduce soil and crop productivity in an area over time by
destroying soil permeability and reducing the osmotic
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
and the lack of strict regulation, groundwater salinization
continues to be a problem in some of the coastal areas
(Bannerman 1994; Jorgensen and Banoeng-Yakubo 2001;
Helstrup et al. 2007). On the other hand, this resource is the
only source of water for agricultural activities in view of the
erratic nature of rainfalls in recent times. The high salinities
of groundwater from some of the wells in the area and the
heavy reliance of the communities on groundwater for
T. Ramkumar
Department of Earth Sciences, Annamalai University,
Chidambaram, Tamilnadu, India
e-mail: tratrj@gmail.com
S. Venkatramanan (*)
:
I. Anithamary
:
S. M. S. Ibrahim
Research scholar, Department of Earth Sciences,
Annamalai University,
Chidambaram, Tamilnadu, India
e-mail: venkatramanansenapathi@gmail.com
Arab J Geosci (2013) 6:101108
DOI 10.1007/s12517-011-0327-2
Author's personal copy
irrigation necessitate an overall assessment of the quality of
the resource in the area for irrigation purposes (Yidana et al.
2010; Ramkumar et al. 2010; Venkatramanan et al. 2009).
Laluraj et al. (2005) have studied groundwater chemistry of
shallow aquifers in the coastal zones of Cochin and
concluded that groundwater present in the shallow aquifers
of some of the stations were poor in quality and beyond
potable limit as per the standard set by World Health
Organization and Bureau of Indian Standards. Rapid
increase in urbanization and industrialization leads into
deterioration in groundwater quality.
In coastal environments, the influence of saltwater intru-
sion is often significant. The specific objectives of this study
are (1) the preliminary investigation and interpretation of the
groundwater quality of Kottur block (2) find out the suitability
of groundwater for irrigation and drinking purposes. This
insight hopefully would aid in ensuring better water resource
management in Kottur and its immediate environs. (3) This
study proposes using spatial mapping to identify areas that are
likely to be contaminated, and to use spatial variance of
collected data from the field to identify areas that are not
covered and lack information. With the help of GIS tools, this
approach has been used to assess the sodium and chloride
variation in Kottur block, India.
Description of the study area
The study area, Kottur block is situated in Tiruvarur district
of Tamilnadu (Fig. 1). The study area lies between latitude
10 4145 North and longitude 79 2500 East in the
survey of India toposheets number 58 N/7, N/10, and N/11.
The area receives an annual average rainfall of
1,327.11 mm. The maximum and minimum temperature
ranges between 28C and 34C in the months of January to
May, respectively.
Materials and methods
Groundwater samples from different hand pumps and tube
wells of 16 sampling points were analyzed during post and
premonsoon seasons during 2008. Samples were collected in
good quality polyethylene bottles of 1-l capacity. Sampling was
carried out without adding any preservatives in rinsed bottles
directly for avoiding any contamination and brought to the
laboratory. Monitoring was done during post and premonsoon
(February 2008September 2006). Only high pure (Analytical
IR Grade) chemicals and double-distilled water was used for
preparing solutions for analysis. Physical parameters like pH
Fig. 1 Study area and sampling location
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(eco-tester pH 1) and total dissolved solids (TDS tester 11)
were determined at the site with the help of field kit. The
samples collected were analyzed as per standard procedures
(APHA 1995). The results of the physicochemical parameters
of the samples are shown in Table 1.
Results and discussion
Major ion chemistry
The pH values of the groundwater varied from 7.6 to 8.4
(postmonsoon) with an average value 8.1, 7.7 (premonsoon) to
8.3 with an average value 8.0 which indicates that water is
alkaline in nature. These variations are slightly higher than the
permissible limit of drinking water standard. The general
increase of pH in a sedimentary terrain relates to weathering of
plagioclase feldspar in the sediments, aided by dissolved
atmospheric carbon dioxide resulting in the release of sodium
and calcium which progressively increases the pH and
alkalinity of the water. The electrical conductivity average
values were found between 2,992 (postmonsoon) and 2,894
(premonsoon) S/cm at 25C in the study area. The relatively
higher values of electrical conductivity in the study area can be
attributed to the higher amount of total dissolved salts in
groundwater and the source for that may be the salts from the
seawater This is similar to the observation of Tutmet et al.
(2006) who made modeling studies on electrical conductivity
of groundwater. The concentration of total dissolved solids
average ranged from 2,018 (postmonsoon) to 1,997 (premon-
soon) mg/l in the study area. Normally, total dissolved solids
in water may originate from natural sources and sewage
discharges. Calcium and magnesium ions present in the
coastal groundwater is particularly derived from leaching of
limestone, dolomites, gypsum, and anhydrites, whereas
calcium ions has the possibility to derive from cation
exchange process (Garrels 1976). Calcium concentration
ranged from 40 to 280 and 60 to 280 mg/l in postmonsoon
and premonsoon seasons, respectively. The sodium average
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
exchange and to the human activities. High concentration of
Na
+
in irrigated area are also the result of the repeated use of
water. The Na/Cl relationship has often been used to identify
the mechanism for acquiring salinity and saline incursion in
coastal regions. Bicarbonate ion varied from 122 to 274.5 and
91.5 to 268.4 mg/l in the groundwater samples during
postmonsoon and premonsoon seasons. Chloride concentra-
tion of groundwater samples in the study average ranged
between 611.4 (postmonsoon) and 639.5 (premonsoon) mg/l.
Relatively, higher Cl concentration in groundwater in the
coastal region is attributed to influence of seawater on the
coastal aquifer which was highly visible during premonsoon
due decline water table. Sulfate ion varied from 566 to
457 mg/l during the post and premonsoon seasons and nitrate
ion varied from 1.9 to 4.07 mg/l in the study area. During the
premonsoon season, most of the ion concentrations are high
compared to the postmonsoon season which may be due to
the dissolution of minerals (Navarro and Carnonal 2007;
Anithamary 2008). The conspicuous variation observed for
this parameter was mainly by the influence of agricultural
activity and by the influence of seawater into the shallow
aquifer system.
Spatial distribution pattern
The spatial distribution pattern of electric conductivity and
total dissolved solids during the study period is shown in
Figs. 2a, b and 3a, b. The exception is during the
Table 1 Comparisons of the water quality parameters of groundwater of the study area
Sample
no
Water quality
parameter in mg/l
WHO standard
mg/l (World Health
Organization 1984)
Indian drinking water
standard mg/l (Bureau
of Indian Standards 1991)
Concentration in study area mg/l
Postmonsoon Premonsoon
MinMax Average MinMax Average
1 pH 6.58.5 6.58.5 7.68.4 8.1 7.78.3 8.0
2 TDS 5001,500 5002,000 1,1423,379.1 2,019 1,039.23,886.5 1,997.2
3 Ec (s/cm) 1,6804,983.4 2,993 1,5175,676.1 2,894.4
4 Calcium (Ca) 200 75200 40280 148.1 60280 147
5 Magnesium (Mg) 150 20156 81.6 32132 79.39
6 Sodium (Na) 200 130.9620.7 349 132.8620.3 353.7
7 Potassium (K) 13.2189.7 56.09 12123.5 40.4
8 Bicarbonate (HCO
3
) 122274.5 175.7 91.5268.4 142.4
9 Sulfate (SO
4
) 250 200400 201.2649 446.4 292.3610 457
10 Chloride (Cl) 250600 2501,000 1951,223 611.4 194.91,772.5 639.5
11 Nitrate (NO
3
) 50 45100 0.511.49 0.85 1.064.07 2.02
Arab J Geosci (2013) 6:101108 103
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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)
104 Arab J Geosci (2013) 6:101108
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postmonsoon season when a higher concentration of TDS
and higher electrical conductivity (EC) were observed in
the northeast direction. This spatial pattern clearly indicates
that large values of TDS and EC in groundwater correspond
to the influence of seawater in some coastal wells. This
phenomenon is widely observed throughout the world in
freshwater aquifers lying close to the sea coast. In
premonsoon season, EC and TDS were observed in the
southern part of the study area indicating the influence of
agricultural activity. The spatial distribution pattern of
sodium during the postmonsoon season (Fig. 4a, b) shows
a higher concentration on the north and south sides. These
well lie near the coastal area, and seawater influences the
distribution pattern. The spatial distribution of chloride
during the study period is shown in Fig. 5a, b and is similar
to the spatial distribution of sodium. During the postmon-
soon season, higher concentrations of chloride are observed
on the northeastern coastal side. During the premonsoon
seasons, high levels of chloride are observed on the
southwest side. On the southern and northern sides, the
spatial distribution of sodium and chloride is determined by
seawater intrusion; irrigation return flow from agricultural
activity also plays a significant role in determining the
sodium and chloride content.
Hydrogeochemical nature
Hydrogeochemical facies are distinct zones that possess cation
and anion concentration categories (Freeze and Cherry 1979).
The interpretation of distinct facies from the 0% to 10% and
90% to 100% domains on the diamond-shaped cation and
anion graph is more helpful than using equal 25% increment.
This is useful to understand the total chemical character of
water samples in terms of cationanion pairs. The percentage-
reacting values at the three cation groups Ca, Mg, and (Na + K)
are plotted as a single point in the left triangular field and the
three anion groups(HCO
3
+CO
3
), SO
4
, and Cl similar on the
right triangular field. Piper (1953) classification is used to
express similarity and dissimilarity in the chemistry of different
water samples based on the dominant cations and anions.
Major cations and anions such as Ca
2+
, Mg
2+
, Na
+
, K
+
,
HCO
3

, SO
4
2
, and Cl

in meq/l were plotted in Pipers

trilinear diagram to evaluate the hydrochemistry of ground-
water of Kottur City with the help of Aquachem 4.1
software (Fig. 6a, b). The plot shows that most of the
groundwater samples fall in the field of NaCl facies. The
remaining samples fall in Ca Mg SO
4
facies, it clearly
indicates the presence of seawater incursion and hard water
in the study area.
Fig. 4 a Spatial distribution of sodium (postmonsoon), b spatial distribution of sodium (premonsoon)
Arab J Geosci (2013) 6:101108 105
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Kelleys ratio
The level of sodium measured against calcium and magne-
siumis known as Kelleys (1997) ratio index. Kelleys ratio is
used to find whether the groundwater is suitable for irrigation
or not. All concentration values are expressed in equivalents
per million. Kellys ratio is calculated as follows:
Kelly_s ratio Na Ca Mg =
In the study area, majority of the samples in all seasons
found to be suitable for irrigations with respect to Kelleys ratio.
Magnesium ratio
Magnesium ratio is the excess amount of magnesium over
calcium and magnesium amount. Magnesium present in
water would adversely affect soil quality, rendering it
alkaline; thus, resulting in decreased crop yields for
magnesium ratio with more than 50% can poison the water.
All concentrations are epm. Magnesium ratio is calculated
as follows:
Magnesium ratio Mg 100 Ca Mg =
During postmonsoon, it varied from 16.25 to 61.8 with
mean of 47.1 and Premonsoon, it varied from 26.10 to
66.42. Based on magnesium ratio, the most of the samples
found to be unfit for irrigations with respect to magnesium
ratio (Table 2).
Wilcox classification
Wilcox (1955) classification, the groundwaters in the study
area are ranging between good to permissible for irrigation
uses. The primary effect of high EC reduces the osmotic
activity of plants and thus interferes with the absorption of
water and nutrients from the soil.
Throughout the study period, Wilcox classification
indicates that groundwater is low to very high sodium
hazard and low to very high salinity hazard, and was
observed to be moderately suitable for agricultural activities
(Fig. 7a, b)
Conclusion
Interpretation of hydrogeochemical analysis reveals that the
groundwater of study area is slightly saline and alkaline in
nature. In postmonsoon, the higher concentration of ions was
observed in northeast side indicates saline water incursion near
the coastal area. During premonsoon, the higher concentration
was observed in southern part indicates irrigation return flow
Fig. 5 a Spatial distribution of chloride (postmonsoon), b spatial distribution of chloride (premonsoon)
106 Arab J Geosci (2013) 6:101108
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into the coastal aquifer. The trilinear diagram shows that most
of the groundwater samples fall in the field of Na-Cl and Ca-
Mg-SO
4
facies. Kellys ratio indicates that most of the
samples fall in suitable category and unfit zone in Mg ratio.
The Wilcox diagram illustrates that most of the groundwater
Fig. 6 a Distribution of the water samples on Piper diagram
(postmonsoon). b Distribution of the water samples on Piper diagram
(premonsoon)
Table 2 Hydrogeochemical facies of groundwater samples
Sample no Kellys ratio Magnesium ratio Concentration in epm
Range Category Range Category Postmonsoon Premonsoon
MinMax Average MinMax Average
1 <1.0 Suitable <50 Suitable 0.335.35 1.66 0.392.45 1.18
2 >1.0 Unsuitable >50 Unsuitable 16.261.8 47.1 26.1066.42 47.01
Fig. 7 a Wilcox classification according to EC and SAR values
(postmonsoon). b Wilcox classification according to EC and SAR
values (premonsoon)
Arab J Geosci (2013) 6:101108 107
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samples fall in the field of C3S1, indicating low to very high
sodium hazard and low to very high salinity hazard which can
be used for irrigation on almost all type of soil with little
danger of exchangeable sodium. The result obtained indicates
that there is a greater thread of seawater incursion to the
coastal groundwater aquifer system. Hence, the study has
helped to improve understanding of hydrogeochemical char-
acteristics of the area for effective management and proper
utilization of groundwater resources for better living con-
ditions of the people. A continuous monitoring program of the
water quality will avoid further deterioration of the water
quality in the coastal region.
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