Assessment of Groundwater Quality and its Suitability for Irrigation Purpose from Velpula area of Kadapa District, Andhra Pradesh, India

Abstract

Hydrogeochemical study of groundwater was carried out from the Velpula area of Kadapa District, Andhra Pradesh to ascertain the suitability of groundwater for irrigation purpose. Total. 14 groundwater samples were collected and were analyzed for various physical and chemical parameters such as pH, EC, TDS, Ca, Mg, Na, K, CO₃ and HCO₃ by standard methods. The mean concentration of cations is in the order Ca>Na> Mg> K, while for anions it is HCO₃> CO₃..To ascertain the suitability of groundwater for irrigation purposes, hydrochemical parameters of the study area have been evaluated for their chemical composition. The quality of groundwater for irrigation has been evaluated by various chemical parameters such as Sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), Sodium percentage (%Na), Residual sodium carbonate (RSC), Kelley Ratio (KR), Residual sodium bicarbonate (RSBC), and Magnesium adsorption ratio (MAR) and this study indicates that water of the study area is suitable for irrigation purposes. But ten samples restrict its utility with respect to MAR, and one sample is non suitable based on RSSBC. From US salinity diagram, it is evident that the water samples belong to category of C₂S₁ and C₃S₁ indicates the medium to high salinity, and low alkali hazard. This groundwater source can be used to irrigate all types of soils. From Wilcox diagram, it is observed that groundwater of the study area is excellent to good and good to permissible quality for irrigation purpose. Based on Wilcox plot, out of 14 groundwater samples, seven samples fall in the zone of excellent to good category and seven samples fall in good to permissible category. Overall the groundwater quality of the study area is suitable for irrigational purpose.