Abstract
In the Precambrian granitic terrain, the occurrence of a multi-aquifer system is common. This study has examined the inter-communications between the shallow and deep aquifers using the hydrochemical and isotopic methods. The obtained results indicate distinct hydrochemical characters of the groundwater from shallow (~ 100 m) and deep (~ 400 m) wells, signifying their independent and unconnected nature initially. Hydrochemistry of deep groundwater is approximately constant (either Ca–Na–Cl or Ca–Na–Cl–SO4 type of water) from January 2015 to June 2016. Repeated measurements of the 14C activity in these deep groundwater samples during this period show 35.41 ± 0.48 to 85.01 ± 0.8 pMC (residence time of ~ 3 to 8 ky BP). However, as a result of excess rainfall during 2016, hydrochemical facies of the deep groundwater changed initially to Na–Ca–SO4–Cl. Subsequently, they stabilised at Ca–Na–HCO3–Cl type with a significant reduction in Cl− and increased HCO3− and NO3− concentrations, while the 14C activity changed to 100 pMC (modern age). These changes are attributed to the ingression of fresh water into the deep aquifer after paleo-groundwater in the deep aquifer is depleted due to the over-exploitation of the limited potential aquifer during the drought. The over-exploitation of deep aquifer possibly improved the migration potential of fresh water to the deep aquifer and led to enhancing the groundwater recharge during the excess rainfall years. It brings a new perspective to the hydrogeological dynamics between shallow and deep aquifers. Further, it also suggests that, under climate-driven drought conditions, deep aquifers could act as an emergent groundwater resource to meet the water demands. A conceptual model has been proposed to explain the observed phenomenon of deep and shallow aquifer communication.
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs12665-022-10563-x/MediaObjects/12665_2022_10563_Fig1_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs12665-022-10563-x/MediaObjects/12665_2022_10563_Fig2_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs12665-022-10563-x/MediaObjects/12665_2022_10563_Fig3_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs12665-022-10563-x/MediaObjects/12665_2022_10563_Fig4_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs12665-022-10563-x/MediaObjects/12665_2022_10563_Fig5_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs12665-022-10563-x/MediaObjects/12665_2022_10563_Fig6_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs12665-022-10563-x/MediaObjects/12665_2022_10563_Fig7_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs12665-022-10563-x/MediaObjects/12665_2022_10563_Fig8_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs12665-022-10563-x/MediaObjects/12665_2022_10563_Fig9_HTML.png)
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ayraud V, Aquilina L, Labasque T, Pauwels H, Molenat J et al (2008) Compartmentalization of physical and chemical properties in hard-rock aquifers deduced from chemical and groundwater age analysis. Appl Geochem 23(9):2686–2707. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2008.06.001
Bahat D, Grossenbacher K, Karasaki K (1995). Investigation of Exfoliation Joints in Navajo Sandstone at the Zion National Park and in Granite at the Yosemite National Park by Tectonofractographic Techniques. Berkeley
Bahir M, Ouazar D, Goumih A, Ouhamdouch S (2019) Evolution of the chemical and isotopic composition of groundwater under a semi‑arid climate; the case of the Cenomano‑Turonian aquifer within the Essaouira basin (Morocco). Environ Earth Sci 78:353. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-019-8349-2
BIS (2012) Bureau of Indian Standards specification for drinking water. 2nd revision of IS: 10500:2012. Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi
Cartwrighta I, Currellb MJ, Cendónc DI, Meredith KT (2020) A review of the use of radiocarbon to estimate groundwater residence times in semi-arid and arid areas. J Hydrol 580:124247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2019.124247
CGWB (2011) Ground water scenario in major cities of India, Report of Central Ground Water Board, Ministry of water resources, India, p 239
CGWB (2016) Groundwater year Book 2025–16, Telangana State. Report of Central Ground Water Board, Ministry of water resources, India, p 90
Chandra S, Nagaiah E, Reddy DV, Rao AV, Ahmed S (2012) Exploring deep potential aquifer in water-scarce crystalline rocks. J Earth Syst Sci 121(6):1455–1468
Chandra S, Auken E, Maurya PK, Ahmed SA, Verma SK (2019) Large scale map** of fractures and groundwater pathways in crystalline hardrock by AEM. Sci Rep 9:398. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-36153-1
Collins SL, Loveless SE, Muddu S, Buvaneshwari S (2020) Groundwater connectivity of a sheared gneiss aquifer in the Cauvery River basin, India. Hydrogeol J 28:1371–1388. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-020-02140-y
Cook PG (2000) A guide to regional groundwater flow in fractured rock aquifers. Seaview Press, Henley Beach, p 108
Cook PG, Love AJ, Robinson NI, Simmons CT (2005) Groundwater ages in fractured rock aquifers. J Hydrol 308:284–301
Craig H (1961) Isotopic variation in meteoric water. Science 133:1702–1703
de Graaf IEM, Gleeson T, van Beek LPH, Sutanudjaja EH, Bierkens MFP (2019) Environmental flow limits to global groundwater pum**. Nature 574:90–94
Dewandel B, Lachassagne P, Wyns R, Maréchal JC, Krishnamurthy NS (2006) A generalised 3-D geological and hydrogeological conceptual model of granite aquifers controlled by single or multiphase weathering. J Hydrol 330(1–2):260–284
Durand V, Léonardi V, de Marsily G, Lachassagne P (2017) Quantification of the specific yield in a two-layer hard-rock aquifer model. J Hydrolol 551:328–339
Gleeson T, Novakowski K, Kurt Kyser T (2009) Extremely rapid and localized recharge to a fractured rock aquifer. J Hydrol 376:496–509
Guihéneuf N, Boisson A, Bour O, Dewandel B, Perrin J, Dausse A (2014) Groundwater flow in weathered crystalline rocks: impact of piezometric variations and depth-dependent fracture connectivity. J Hydrol 511:320–324
Gupta SK, Polach H (1985) Radiocarbon dating practices at ANU. Radiocarbon lab Res School of Pac. Studies, Australian National University, Canberra, p 176
He J, Ma J, Zhang P, Tian L, Zhu G, Edmunds WM (2012) Groundwater recharge environments and hydrogeochemical evolution in the Jiuquan Basin, Northwest China. Appl Geochem 27:866–878
Holzhausen GR (1977) Sheet structure in rock and some related problems in rock mechanics. Stanford
IAEA (2013) Isotope methods for dating old groundwater, IAEA STI/PUB/1587. https://www.iaea.org/publications/8880/isotope-methods-for-dating-old-groundwater
Jahns RH (1943) Sheet structure in granites: its origin and use as a measure of glacial erosion in New England. J Geol 51:71–98
Kumar B, Rai SP, Kumar US, Verma SK, Garg P, Kumar SV, Pande NG (2010) Isotopic characteristics of Indian precipitation. Water Resour Res 46(12)
Lachassagne P, Wyns R, Dewandel B (2011) The fracture permeability of hard rock aquifers is due neither to tectonics nor to unloading but to weathering processes. Terra Nova 23(3):145–161. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3121.2011.00998.x
Liang-Feng Han LF, Leonard I, Wassenaar LI (2021) Principles and uncertainties of14C age estimations for groundwater transport and resource evaluation. Isot Environ Health Stud 57:111–141. https://doi.org/10.1080/10256016.2020.1857378
Maheshwari K, Senthil Kumar P, Mysaiah D, Ratnamala K, Sri Hari Rao M, Seshunarayana T (2013) Ground penetrating radar for groundwater exploration in granitic terrains: a case study from Hyderabad. J Geol Soc India 81:781–790
Martel SJ (2017) Progress in understanding sheeting joints over the past two centuries. J Struct Geol 94:68–86
Matthes FE (1930) Geologic history of the Yosemite Valley
Ofterdinger U, MacDonald AM, Comte J-C, Young ME (2019) Groundwater in fractured bedrock environments: managing catchment and subsurface resources—an introduction. Geol Soc Lond Spec Publ 479:1–9. https://doi.org/10.1144/SP479-2018-170
Piper AM (1944) A graphic procedure in the geochemical interpretation of water analyses. Am Geophys Union Trans 25:914–923
Ray RK, Mukherjee R (2008) Hydrochemical evaluation of groundwater in the phreatic aquifers of Chhattisgarh. J Geol Soc India 72:405–414
Reddy DV, Nagabhushanam P, Sukhija BS, Reddy AGS (2009) Understanding hydrological processes in a highly stressed granitic aquifer in southern India. Hydrol Process 23:1282–1294
Reddy DV, Nagabhushanam P, Peters E (2010) Village environs as a source of nitrate contamination in groundwater: a case study in basaltic geoenvironment in central India. Environ Monit Assess 174:481–492
Reddy DV, Nagabhushanam P, Madhav T, Chandrakala P, Reddy AGS (2015) Characterisation of groundwater contaminant sources in the coastal sand dune aquifer, Prakasham District, A.P, India. Environ Earth Sci 74:3453–3466
Roy A, Keesari T, Pant D, Rai G, Sinha UK, Mohokar H, Iaryal A, Sharma DA (2021) Unraveling 30 Ka recharge history of an intensively exploited multi-tier aquifer system in North West India through isotopic tracers—implications on deep groundwater sustainability. Sci Total Environ. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151401
Singhal BBS, Gupta RP (1999) Fractures and discontinuities. In: Applied hydrogeology of fractured rocks. Springer, Dordrecht
Sreedevi PD, Ahmed S, Reddy DV (2017) Mechanism of fluoride and nitrate enrichment in hard-rock aquifers in Gooty Mandal, South India. Environ Process 4:625–644. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40710-017-0254-7
Stuiver M, Pollach HA (1977) Discussion reporting of 14C data. Radiocarbon 19(3):355–363
Sukhija BS, Reddy DV, Nagabhushanam P, Bhattacharya SK, Jani RA, Kumar D (2006) Characterisation of recharge processes and groundwater flow mechanisms in weathered-fractured granites of Hyderabad (India) using isotopes. Hydrogeol J 14:663–674
Takahashi HA, Nakamura T, Tsukamoto H, Kazahaya K, Handa H, Hirota A (2013) Radiocarbon dating of groundwater in granite fractures in Abukuma Province, Northeast Japan. Radiocarbon 55(2):894–904. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033822200058057
Vrba J, Verhagen BT (2011) Groundwater emergency situations: a methodological guide. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization 7, Paris
Wakode HB, Baier K, Jha R, Azzam R (2014) Analysis of urban growth using Landsat TM/ETM data and GIS—a case study of Hyderabad, India. Arab J Geosci 7:109–121
WHO (2008) Guidelines for drinking-water quality—incorporating the first addendum to Third Edition. Recommendations, vol 1, p 595. Geneva. http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/GDWPRecomdrev1and2.pdf
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the Director, CSIR-National Geophysical Research Institute, for kind support and encouragement to carry out this work. The authors profoundly thank the technical staff of the 14C laboratory for their help in the sample collection and processing. Special thanks to Dr B.S. Sukhija, Ex-scientist G, CSIR-NGRI, for his discussions and advice. We also thank Dr P. Mudanure, Director, State Groundwater Department, Telangana, for providing the groundwater levels close to the study area. We are highly thankful to the two anonymous reviewers, whose comments helped improve the MS. The CSIR-NGRI library number for this MS is NGRI/Lib/2020/Pub-124.
Funding
The authors have not disclosed any funding.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors have not disclosed any competing interests.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Reddy, D.V., Kumar, D., Bhukya, K.K. et al. Exploitation of deep aquifer in granitic terrain and its implications on recharge using isotopes and hydrochemistry. Environ Earth Sci 81, 454 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-022-10563-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-022-10563-x