Abstract
Groundwater is a critical resource in Deoria district, as it is the main source of drinking water and irrigation. The aquifer has deteriorated to a high degree, during the last two to three decades, in quality and quantity due to high population growth and environmental pollution. More than 90% of the population get their drinking water from subsurface waters. Fifteen wells were sampled in June 2006 to probe the hydrogeochemical components that influence the water quality. The results show that groundwater have EC, TDS, Na+, Mg2+, HCO −3 and TH higher than the WHO, 1997 maximum desirable limits. A hydrogeochemical numerical model for carbonate minerals was constructed using the PHREEQC package. The regression analysis shows that there are three groups of elements which are significantly and positively correlated. The main hydrochemical facies of the aquifer (Ca + Mg–HCO3) represents 33.33% of the total wells. The geochemical modeling demonstrated that the reactions responsible for the hydrochemical evolution in the area fall into three categories: (1) dissolution of salts, (2) precipitation of dolomite, (3) ion exchange. Solubility of dolomite, calcite, aragonite and gypsum were assessed in terms of the saturation index. The thermodynamic prerequisites for dolomite supersaturation reactions are satisfied by subsurface waters, since they are supersaturated with respect to dolomite, undersaturated (or in equilibrium) with respect to calcite, and undersaturated with respect to gypsum. The Ca2+ versus SO 2−4 and Mg2+ versus SO 2−4 trends are also compatible with homologous trends resulting from dolomite supersaturation.
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Acknowledgments
The financial assistance from Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, New Delhi is highly acknowledged (Project No—SR/54/ES-21/Ganga Plain/P3). We thank the Head, Centre of Advanced Study in Geology, University of Lucknow for providing the working facilities. Thanks are also expressed to the Central Ground Water Board and Ground Water Directorate for providing the necessary data and USGS for providing PHREEQC software.
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Bhardwaj, V., Singh, D.S. & Singh, A.K. Hydrogeochemistry of groundwater and anthropogenic control over dolomitization reactions in alluvial sediments of the Deoria district: Ganga plain, India. Environ Earth Sci 59, 1099–1109 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-009-0100-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-009-0100-y