Hydro chemical Assessment of Ground Water in North-Eastern Region of India: A Case Study of Western Suburb of Jorhat Town of Assam, India

In the current study, the quality of ground water (GW) from an area of western part of Jorhat district of Assam (India) was assessed in order to ensure the safety of its use in irrigation and drinking purposes. The physico-chemical parameters of the collected GW samples were evaluated and compared the data with the Indian Standards (IS) for drinking purposes. The investigation was mainly emphasised on the evaluation of Water Quality Index (WQI) and different parameters for the quality measurement of water for drinking and irrigation purposes, respectively. Correlations among the physico-chemical parameters were evaluated through statistical analysis. The physico-chemical parameters revealed that almost all the parameters except iron were within the permissible limit. Arsenic was found to be present in few water samples in both seasons (pre and post monsoon). In both the seasons, the WQI of the majority of collected water samples were observed to be falling under the poor category for drinking. Almost all the collected water samples were found to be fit for irrigation purposes. However, based on sodium percentage (Na %), Kelly’s ratio (KR), and Magnesium ratio (MR), few of the water samples are classified to be doubtful and inappropriate for irrigation.