Study of Groundwater Quality for Drinking Purposes in Parts of Upper Dhudhna Basin of Maharashtra

Groundwater is a reliable source for drinking water and for irrigation purpose in semiarid areas of country. Composition of groundwater is generally influenced by geogenic activity and anthropogenic activities which includes population, urbanization, industrialization, dissolving of chemical from agricultural farms etc. Hence groundwater quality in aquifers gets affected which give rise to health problems. Hence it is essential to evaluate and monitor ground water quality to reduce health problems and protect drinking water quality for sustainability. Groundwater samples from thirty-five wells were collected from Uppar Dudhna river basin (GP-9 watershed) of Aurangabad district to study its groundwater geochemistry and to evaluate its suitability for drinking uses. The water samples were analyzed to determine various physic-chemical parameters like pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, total hardness, alkalinity, chloride, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, fluoride and nitrate. Groundwater suitability has been evaluated through processed-based hydro geochemical signatures and is compared with the BIS (2012) concerning drinking uses shows that majority of groundwater samples are suitable for drinking purposes. The groundwater chemistry is primarily controlled by rock-water interaction.