Appraisal of the Quality Parameters of the Groundwater used for Domestic and Irrigation Purposes in the Hard Rock Aquifer System of the Vasishta sub- basin of the Vellar River, Tamil Nadu

This article presents an appraisal of the quality of groundwater in the hard Received in revised form: 15.07.2021 rock aquifer system of the Vasishta sub basin, of the Vellar River Basin. Seventy nine representative groundwater samples were collected from dug and bore wells which are intensively used for domestic and irrigational purposes. The physical parameters viz. PH, EC and TDS were estimated in the field using a portable multiparameter meter. The groundwater samples were transported to the laboratory for measuring major ionic concentrations viz, Ca, Mg, Na, K, CO3, HCO3, Cl, SO4, F and NO3. The hydrochemical data were graphically projected and spatial temporal thematic maps generated with reference to the World Health Organization (WHO) and Bureau of Indian (BIS) Standards. The peoples living in the sub basin engage in agricultural activities where the groundwater availability is sufficient. The groundwater is a major source for meeting their basic needs, such as for domestic, irrigational and industrial purposes. Good correlation is exhibited between EC and TDS Cl, SO4.Cl exhibits good correlation with Mg and Ca (0.817), (0.751) indicating leaching of secondary salts. TDS and EC showed strong correlation with Cl, SO4. Clustering groundwater samples based on their similarity is known as Q-mode type clustering method. Spatial and temporal maps of the water quality index reveal that the majority of the groundwater samples fall under the categories excellent to good.