Groundwater quality assessment in Kapurthala district of central plain zone of Punjab using hydrochemical characteristics

Groundwater is one of the most important resources for human life, determination of groundwater quality is important to observe the suitability of water for a particular use. A study was undertaken to evaluate the quality of groundwater in Kapurthala district and 200 samples from all five blocks of district were collected during pre monsoon season and analysed for hydrochemical behaviour. The mean pH and EC values of water samples were 7.16 and 825.7μmhos/cm. Among different cations, the order of dominance of different cations was Na⁺< Ca²⁺< Mg²⁺ and average content of these cations was 4.43, 2.46 and 1.71 meq/l, respectively. The mean anions content of Kapurthala was 4.73, 4.10, and 0.31 meq/l for bicarbonate, chloride and carbonates, respectively. All the samples of the district were suitable in terms of SAR, whereas 2.5 percent samples were found to be unfit for irrigation in terms of salinity hazard (EC). In the district, 17.7 per cent water samples were unsuitable for irrigation on the basis of residual sodium carbonate (RSC). By considering the criterion of EC and RSC, 75.5 per cent were fit and 24.5 per cent were considered as marginal for irrigation purposes.