Evaluation of Ground Water Quality Index of Piedmont Plain of Jalgaon District Using Geo-Informatics Technology

Water quality indicates suitability of water for a specific purpose. The quality of water is based on physical, chemical and biological characteristics of water. In the present study, evaluation of groundwater quality of the piedmont plain of Jalgaon district, Maharashtra has carried out for its applicability with respect to domestic purpose. The present investigation revealed that, Water Quality Index of groundwater in the study area ranges from 35.64 to 93.12. The minimum value has been recorded 35.64 at Puri village while maximum 93.12 has been recorded at Nimgavhan village. The analysis results of WQI indicated that, 78% of ground water samples falls in good quality whereas 22% showed excellent quality the result indicates that, groundwater of the piedmont plain of Jalgaon district is fit for drinking purpose after treatment for excess dissolved salts. The physico-chemical analysis shows that 69% samples are very hard water due to presence of Ca, Mg, Na, and other metallic ions. As per the spatial distribution study, the WQI increasing trends were observed from central part towards eastern as well as western part of piedmont plain area of the Jalgaon district. The higher values of WQI were observed due to presence of higher amount of Fluorides, Alkalinity, TDS, Hardness, Bicarbonates, Calcium, EC and Sulphate in the ground water of the study region.