Assessment of Pre-and Post-Monsoon Groundwater Resource for Irrigation in Bhopalpatnam area, Bijapur District, Chhattisgarh, India

Abstract

A  study  was  conducted  to  determine  the  suitability  of  groundwater  used  for  irrigation  in  and  around  the Bhopalpatnam  area  of  Bijapur District, Chhattisgarh,  during pre-and post-monsoon seasons of 2016. In this study, sixty two groundwater samples were collected different villages and analyzed for various hydrochemical parameters like pH, EC, Alkalinity, Hardness , TDS, Ca, Mg, Na, K, CO₃, HCO₃, Cl, SO₄, NO₃, PO₄, Fe and F. Physico-chemical characterization of the samples revealed that groundwater from  most  of  the  sources  was  not  fit  for  drinking owing  to  a  high  concentration  of  EC, HCO₃, NO₃, Fe and F. Irrigation indices such as Sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), Sodium percentage (Na %), Residual sodium carbonate (RSC), Permeability Index (PI), Kelly's Ratio (KR), Magnesium Hazard (MH) and EC were also calculated. The SAR values obtained for all the samples were plotted against EC values in the US Salinity Laboratory diagram and it was revealed that the most of the samples fall under water type C3-S1 indicating high salinity and low SAR. The  analysis  of  the  various  parameters  indicated  the  moderate  suitability  of groundwater for irrigation purpose.

Keywords : Groundwater, Irrigation, SAR, %Na, KR, PI and MH.