SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF GROUNDWATER QUALITY IN THE TSUNAMI AFFECTED COASTAL AREAS OF TAMILNADU, INDIA

摘要

Groundwater is a precious resource lying beneath the earth's surface. More than 50% of Indian population depends on groundwater for drinking water supplies. Problems due to groundwater pollution have been amplified due to urbanization, industrialization, solid and hazardous waste disposal, fertilizers, chemicals, and natural calamities such as cyclones, earthquakes and tsunami etc. In India, recent tsunami has affected most of the coastal regions of Tamilnadu. Therefore, it is very important to study the effect of tsunami on coastal water quality and to implement necessary water management strategies for sustainable development. The study area is the coastal region of Sirkazhi taluk, Nagapattinam district, Tamilnadu, India. The water quality in this coastal region has been affected significantly by December 26,2004 tsunami, and this study has attempted to find out the source, degree, extent and nature of the groundwater pollution in the study area. Historical data on groundwater quality of observation wells of the study area were collected from the year 1970 to 2000. Groundwater samples after tsunami were collected from the study area and analysed for water quality parameters. Various maps were prepared using ILWIS-GIS package. It was observed that the major pollution is due to conductivity, sodium and chloride. Results show that there is significant degradation in the water quality due to tsunami in the study area. A micro level study is to be carried out to manage efficiently the groundwater quality of the study area for sustainable development.