Characterization of the groundwater quality in Udham Singh Nagar of Kumaun Himalaya, Uttarakhand

摘要

The Udham Singh Nagar district is affluent in fertile land and water resources and even favoured for industrial advancement, resulting in a rapid increase of industrialization and urban growth, which are the inevitable causes of groundwater contamination. In recent years the increased rate of urbanization and Integrated Industrial Estate (HE) in Pantnagar, Kashipur and Sitarganj area (of the district) have increased the demand for groundwater. Proper groundwater resource planning and monitoring on a regional scale are required to cope with the pace of rapid urbanization and industrialization along with dire irrigation needs. To suffice this strategy, the spatial distribution of water quality shall determine the sustainable approach to be implemented in an area. This research aims to assess the hydrochemical quality of the groundwater in Udham Singh Nagar district (areal extent 3055 Km~2), Uttarakhand. The groundwater samples collected from the aquifer have shown anomalous values of Total Hardness (TH), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Magnesium (Mg~(2+)), Iron (Fe), and Lead (Pb~(2+)) on undergoing major elemental analysis, which confirms degradation in the groundwater quality. Moreover, the Piper Trilinear Diagram (PTD) has identified groundwater's hydrochemical facies and characterization. Based on the interpretation of TDS, most groundwater samples < 500 mg/L of dissolved solids, making it desirable for drinking. Therefore, this phenomenon attributes to suitable drinking water present in the aquifer of Udham Singh Nagar district, Uttarakhand.