






























 
East Afr. J. Biophys. Comput. Sci., Vol. 2, Issue 1 

 
 

 

 

 
Groundwater quality evaluation and its suitability for domestic and irrigation use in 

the hard rock terrain of Olakkur block, Tamilnadu, India 
 

Vinodh. D1, Senthilkumar.S2, Gowtham.B1 , WegeneTalelign3and Jeevanandam M*3 

 

1Department of Geology, Presidency College(Autonomous),Chennai – 600 005, India 
2Department of Earth Sciences, Pondicherry University, Puducherry, India 
3Department of Geology, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Hawassa University, 
Hawassa, Ethiopia. 

 
 

KEYWORDS:  
Corrosion;  
Hydrogeochemical;  

Ollakur block;  

Irrigation quality; 

Groundwater quality 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 
 

 

 
 

 
 

 

  
   

  

  
  

 

INTRODUCTION 
In most parts of India ground water play a vital 
role and major source for drinking and 
agricultural purposes. The quality of 
groundwater is a function of physical and 
chemical parameters that are greatly influenced 
by anthropogenic activities and geological 
formations (Krishna Kumar et al., 2011). The 

chemistry of groundwater is not only related to 
lithology and rock water interaction but also 
reflects inputs from soil, atmosphere and 
pollutant sources such as saline intrusion, 
mining activities, industrial and domestic wastes 
(Babiker et al., 2007). Groundwater also gets 
polluted due to excessive irrigation practices 
(Sujatha and Reddy, 2003). Understanding 

Journal homepage : https://journals.hu.edu.et/hu-journals/index.php/eajbcs 
 Hawassa University

College of Natural & Computational Sciences

Year 2021

Volume xx No xx

 

34

East African Journal of Biophysical and Computational Sciences 

Research article

*Corresponding author: 
 Email: jeevam24@hu.edu.et 

ABSTRACT
Ground  water  is  the  main  source  of  water  for  agriculture  and  domestic  use  in  the  study
area.  This  study  was  aimed  to  evaluate  the  groundwater  quality  for  domestic  and
irrigational purposes. Groundwater samples were collected from twenty five  locations  in
both  pre-monsoon and post-monsoon months and examined  for various physico-chemical
parameters  such  as  pH,  total  dissolved  solids,  total  hardness,  calcium,  magnesium,
sodium,  potassium,  bicarbonate,  sulphate,  Nitrate  and  chloride.  To  assess  the  domestic
suitability  of  groundwater,  all  these  parameters  were  compared  with  the  standards  of
World Health Organization and Indian standards. Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR) and US
salinity diagram were used to evaluate the groundwater for irrigation suitability. At some
locations sodium and potassium values  were higher than the prescribed limits. The SAR
values  were  less  than  10.  Based  on  United  States  Salinity  Laboratory  Staff  (USSL)
diagram  the  dominant  categories  were  C2-S1,  C3-S1,  C2-S1,  C3-S1,  C3-S2  in  both  pre
and  post-monsoon.  Groundwater  samples  were  classified  as  Na-HCO3  and  Na-Cl  water
type  in  pre-monsoon  and  Ca-Na-HCO3  and  Na-Cl  types  in  post-monsoon.  The
geochemical  analysis  revealed  that  the  groundwater  samples  were  fit  for  domestic
purpose.  The  irrigation  quality  assessment  based  on  Sodium  Adsorption  ratio  and  US
Salinity diagram  suggested  that, most of the groundwater samples were fit for irrigational
activities except in certain locations where sodium and salinity values  were high. Based
on  Piper  water  classification,  mixing  process  and  evaporation  were  the  dominant
geochemical process in the study area.

mailto:jeevam24@hu.edu.et


East Afr. J. Biophys. Comput. Sci., Vol. 2, Issue 1 
 

 
 

geochemical evolution of groundwater in arid 
and semi-arid regions would be helpful for 
sustainable development, consumer protection 
from noxious substances/contaminants and 
proper management of water resources (Jalali, 
2009; Furi et al., 2011). Geographic Information 
system (GIS) is an effective tool for assessing 
and mapping groundwater quality and its 
utilization for irrigation and drinking needs 
(Srinivasamoorthy et al., 2011; Ravikumar et 
al., 2013). The geological formations and 
anthropogenic activities are greatly influenced 
the groundwater quality in the study area. 
Agriculture practice is the major economic 
activity in the study area. Surface water 
resources are very scarce and groundwater 
resources represent water source for drinking 
and agricultural purposes for the people living 
in this area. It is widely accepted that the 
utilizations of groundwater resources are closely 
associated with their geochemical properties 
(Abderamane, 2013; Krishna Kumar et al., 
2015). For effective and safe use of ground 
water for various agricultural and domestic uses, 
sufficient information should be available. 
However, there is no  such study in the area. 
Therefore, the present study was attempted with 

the objective of assessing the groundwater 
quality and its suitability for drinking and 
irrigation purpose.  

MATERIALS AND METHODS 

Study area 

The study area, Olakkur Block, is located 
between latitudes 12°10’00” and  12°25’00” N 
and longitudes 79◦30’00” and  79◦50’00” E, in 
Villupuram District (Figure 1) and covers an 
area of about 277.64 Sq.km. The study area falls 
in the following Survey of India topographic 
sheets 57P/11, 57P/12, 57P/15 and 57P/16. The 
area is bounded by the Kancheepuram district in 
the north Tiruvannamalai district in west, 
Marakanam block and Mailam block of 
Villupuram district in the east and south, 
respectively. Agriculture is the main activity 
where paddy is the principal crop, and crops 
such as sorghum, maize, ragi, pulses, chillies, 
groundnut, cotton and sugarcane are also 
cultivated. 

 
Geology and Geomorphology 

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East Afr. J. Biophys. Comput. Sci., Vol. 2, Issue 1 
 

 
 

The Charnockite of Archaean age covers most 
part of the study area (Figure 2). Hornblende 
biotite gneiss and pink migmatite is seen along 
north western part of the study area. The rock 
shows typical granular texture with Quartzo-
feldspathic composition. Conglomerate is 
exposed in north part near the Marakanam 
region. Thickness of weathering varies in 
different places and it depends on the 
mechanical and chemical action on the granitic 
rocks. Prominent vertical and oblique joints and 
fractures are observed from well inventories. 
The trend of the granitic gneiss is N60 °E and 
dipping towards S35°E which are noticed on the 
N-NE of Melmalayanur. The trend also varies 
from N35°E to N45°E on the northern and 
southern side of Gingee. This is due to the 
changes in tectonic disturbance, which also 
controls the movement of groundwater.  

Charnockite is seen in North-West  and South- 
East which extends up to Melmalayanur and NE 
till Gingee around Perumpugai village. It is 
composed of blue quartz, feldspar and 
hypersthene. In some part of the study area 
charnockiteacts as intrusive rock (Senthilkumar 
et al., 2014). The weathering thickness is 
moderate and the joints and fractures are 
limited. The Geo-morphological study area is 
based on the fact that the specific characteristics 
of each of the landform vary greatly in terms of 
shape, dimension, and thickness of the 
overburden material, permeability, porosity  etc, 
depending on the underlying rock type, 
structural control, climate and vegetative cover. 
Geomorphology of the area dominantly consists 
of the deep buried pediment, shallow buried 
pediments and pediments. 

 

Methodology 

Base boundary map was prepared using Survey 
of India topo-sheets of the study area, and data 
such as rainfall, geomorphology, geology and 
land use were collected from central and state 
government agencies. During field study, 
groundwater samples were collected from 25 
locations from both bore well and dug wells 
during pre-monsoon and post monsoon seasons 
in 2020. The samples were analysed for major 
ions by employing the standard water quality 
analysis procedures (APHA, 1995). Physical 
parameters such as pH and EC were measured 
using potable meters in the field. Major ions 
such as Ca, Mg were analyzed titrimetrically 
using Standard EDTA (0.2N) solution. Sodium 
(Na) and potassium (K) were estimated, using a 
Flame photometer (model CL354). Carbonate 
(CO3) and bicarbonates (HCO3) were analysed 
by standard HCl titration method and Sulphate 
(SO4) was analyzed, using a spectrophotometer 
(model SL27). The Corrosivity ratio of water 
was calculated by using the formula of Ryznar 
(1944) 

Corrosivity Ratio (CR) = 







 +

+

100
)/(

2

96
)/(2

5.35
)/(

33

4

lmgHCOCO

lmgSOlmgCl

 

Total Hardness denotes the concentration of 
Calcium and Magnesium in water and is usually 
expressed as the equivalents of CaCO3, 
calculated by the following formula 

Total Hardness (TH) = 2.497 Ca+4.115 Mg 
(Karanth, 1991). 

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East Afr. J. Biophys. Comput. Sci., Vol. 2, Issue 1 
 

 
 

The spatial analysis of various physico-chemical 
parameters was carried out using the 
ArcGIS®9.1 software. An inverse distance 
weighed (IDW) algorithm was used to 
interpolate data spatially and estimate values 
between measurements. This interpolation 
technique calculates a value for each grid node 
by examining surrounding data points that lie 
within a user-defined search radius (Burrough 
and McDonnell, 1998). All of the data points are 

used in the interpolation process and the node 
value is calculated by averaging the weighted 
sum of all the points. 

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 

Assessment of groundwater quality 

The spatial distribution of total dissolved solids 
(TDS), total hardness (TH) and corrosivity ratio 
for pre and post-monsoon is shown in Figure 3.

37



 
East Afr. J. Biophys. Comput. Sci., Vol. 2, Issue 1 

 
 

80 
 

 

The physico-chemical analysis of the 
groundwater samples for both seasons is 
presented in Table 1 & 2. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

38

Figure 3: TDS, TH and Corrosivity ration for pre-monsoon and post-monsoon  



 
East Afr. J. Biophys. Comput. Sci., Vol. 2, Issue 1 

 
 

81 
 

Table 1: Physico-chemical characteristics of groundwater in the study area Pre- monsoon 
Sample 

locations 
pH TDS Ca Mg Na K HCO3 Cl SO4 NO3 SAR 

1 7 756 31 18 153 18 393 126 27 1 6 
2 7.2 399 29 5 48.6 5.4 207 22 10 3 2 
3 7.2 1106 50 31 223.2 24.8 442 253 64 10 7 
4 7.3 1533 77 55 217 25 613 250 81 9 5 
5 6.8 1078 44 27 207 23 431 156 140 8 7 
6 7.4 417 21 18 58 6 167 69 35 2 3 
7 7.1 627 59 9 89 10 313 82 21 9 3 
8 6.9 910 20 38 150 17 437 119 40 4 5 
9 6.8 721 59 13 152 25 346 164 43 2 5 

10 7.2 1155 71 40 225 30 462 336 43 4 6 
11 7 483 48 8 60 10 242 46 42 2 2 
12 7 1428 45 68 335 15 571 465 26 6 8 
13 7.3 767 64 13 129 21 345 123 79 6 4 
14 6.7 357 22 4 61 7 171 41 25 2 4 
15 7.5 966 32 26 189 21 386 192 51 7 7 
16 7.3 900 77 8 176 20 360 211 59 4 6 
17 6.8 1229 99 33 224 24 491 260 148 5 6 
18 6.9 1778 118 49 366 41 711 446 166 3 8 
19 7.5 963 30 18 230 26 385 250 36 6 9 
20 6.9 1736 107 27 462 51 694 577 103 10 12 
21 7.4 350 25 6 67 7 140 76 27 5 3 
22 7.2 956 58 11 260 29 382 307 67 6 9 
23 7.3 595 44 13 87 10 238 100 35 6 3 
24 6.6 403 27 8 59 7 161 69 18 4 3 
25 6.9 606 48 10 183 20 297 58 53 7 4 

 

pH: The  pH value of groundwater samples 
ranging from 6.6-7.5 and 6.7-7.7 during pre and 
post-monsoon, respectively. WHO standards 
reveals that all the groundwater samples from 
the study area during both monsoons exceed the 

most desirable limit of 6.5 but under maximum 
allowable limit of 8.5. The pH values indicate 
slightly acidic nature in some locations which 
could be attributed to the weathering process of 
underlain geology.  

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East Afr. J. Biophys. Comput. Sci., Vol. 2, Issue 1 
 

 
 

 
Table 2: Physico-chemical characteristics of groundwater in the study area Post- monsoon 

Sample 
locations 

pH TDS Ca Mg Na K HCO3 Cl SO4 NO3 SAR 

1 7.4 602 32 15 71 8 313 31 12 2 3 
2 7.1 438 21 12 51 6 228 15 18 4 3 
3 7 1302 92 8 331 37 521 442 11 3 10 
4 7.1 1022 105 9 171 19 409 223 56 9 5 
5 7.1 763 47 12 159 18 305 161 67 8 6 
6 7.2 378 23 15 59 6 151 81 27 2 3 
7 6.8 550 42 5 89 10 275 73 9 8 4 
8 7.1 777 35 27 105 12 373 73 40 5 4 
9 7.4 637 55 17 99 11 306 123 24 2 3 
10 7.2 378 25 9 73 8 151 100 10 4 4 
11 6.7 441 35 10 71 8 221 61 35 2 3 
12 7.1 1358 50 22 377 42 543 461 31 5 12 
13 6.9 693 57 13 113 13 312 131 28 6 4 
14 6.7 315 25 7 39 4 151 38 12 3 2 
15 7.5 945 36 24 182 20 378 188 50 8 6 
16 6.7 1225 80 19 281 31 490 346 67 3 8 
17 6.8 925 49 21 195 22 381 215 64 4 7 
18 6.9 1372 119 36 286 32 549 413 103 3 7 
19 7.7 900 30 19 211 23 360 242 21 6 8 
20 7.4 1369 82 23 383 42 547 499 88 10 11 
21 7.4 350 25 6 67 7 140 76 27 5 3 
22 7.5 882 54 11 242 27 353 291 63 5 9 
23 7.4 546 39 12 80 9 218 91 32 5 3 
24 6.8 336 23 8 50 5 134 62 14 3 3 
25 7 546 22 4 40 4 68 44 48 6 2 

 

Total dissolved solids (TDS): Different 
geological regions influence the concentration 
of TDS due to differences in the solubility of 
minerals (WHO, 2004). As the residence time of 
groundwater in the geological formation 
increased, the TDS and major ion 
concentrations are also increased (Norris et al., 
1992). Based on WHO standards, the highest 
desirable limit for TDS is 500mg/l and 
maximum permissible limit is 1500 mg/l. In the 

study area, during pre-monsoon the  TDS values 
exceeds maximum permissible limit at locations 
6, 22 and 24. The remaining locations fall under 
the category of highest desirable limit at 
Locations 3, 8, 12, 16, 20 and 25 and maximum 
permissible limit at Locations 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 
11, 13, 14, 15, 17 18, 19, 21 and 23. During 
post-monsoon the groundwater quality has been 
changed as evidenced by the locations 6, 22 and 
24 which are changed in to maximum 

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East Afr. J. Biophys. Comput. Sci., Vol. 2, Issue 1 
 

 
 

permissible category from exceeding limit. The 
highest desirable limit category occurs at 
locations 3, 8, 12, 14, 16, 20 and 25 and 
maximum permissible limit category at 1, 2, 4, 
5, 6 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17 18, 19, 21, 22, 23 

and 24. The classification of groundwater, 
according to Davis and De Wiest (1966), based 
on TDS is given in Table 3. 
 

 
Table -3: Classification of groundwater based on TDS (Davis and De Wiest, 1966) 
TDS (mg/l) Water type Samples (pre-monsoon) Samples (post-monsoon) 

<500 Desirable for drinking 3, 8, 12, 16, 20,25 3, 8, 12, 14,16, 20, 25 
500-1000 Permissible for drinking 1, 2, 5, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15, 

18, 19, 23 
1, 2, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 
15, 19, 21, 23,  

<3000 Useful for irrigation 4, 6, 7, 14, 17, 21, 22, 24 4, 6, 17, 18, 22, 24 
>3000 Unfit for drinking and 

irrigation 
------ ------ 

 

Total Hardness (TH): The presence of 
carbonates and bicarbonates of calcium and 
magnesium, chlorides, nitrates and sulphates of 
calcium and magnesium cause total hardness in 
groundwater. According to Sawyer and 
McCarty (1967), based on TH, the groundwater 
is classified as soft (TH<75 mg/l), moderately 
hard (TH= 75-150 mg/l), hard (TH= 150-300 
mg/l) and very hard (>300 mg/l). Spatial 
distribution of total hardness for pre and post-
monsoon is shown in Figure 3. During pre-
monsoon no soft water occurred in the study 
area but moderate hard water was found at 
location no. 20. Hard water mainly occurred in 
west and some eastern part of the study area at 
locations 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 16, 23 and 
25. Very hard water occurred at locations 4, 6, 
7, 11, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22 and 24. In post- 
monsoon, the total hardness of the groundwater 
was remarkably changed. Except at locations 6 
and 22, which showed very hard water, all other 
groundwater samples were observed as hard 
water. The drinking water quality was evaluated 
by comparing with the specifications of TH, 

TDS and other parameters set forth by the 
World Health Organization and Indian standards 
(Table 4).  

Calcium and magnesium: Calcium and 
magnesium are abundantly occurred elements in 
natural waters in the form of bicarbonates, 
sulfate and chloride. Ca concentrations were 
varying from 21 to 118 mg/l in pre-monsoon 
and 21 to 119 mg/l in post-monsoon. The 
desirable limit of calcium concentration for 
drinking water as per the standards of WHO 
(2004) is 75 mg/l. During pre-monsoon and 
post-monsoon, 84% of the groundwater samples 
were under desirable limit. Only 16 % of the 
groundwater samples have crossed the desirable 
limit. The higher concentration of Ca could 
cause abdominal ailments in humans and 
encrustation and scaling in pipes. Magnesium 
content varied from 4 to 68 mg/l in pre-
monsoon and 4 to 36 mg/l in post-monsoon. 
According to WHO standards, the desirable 
limit for Mg is 50 mg/l which shows that 92% 
and 100% groundwater samples from the study 

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East Afr. J. Biophys. Comput. Sci., Vol. 2, Issue 1 
 

 
 

area fell under the desirable category during pre-monsoon and post-monsoon respectively. 

Table -4: Parameter range WHO (2004) and ISI (2009) standards for drinking purpose 
S.No Water 

quality 
parameters 

WHO Standards (2004) Indian standard (ISI 
10500,2009) 

 

Pre-
monsoon 
range in the 
study area 

Post-
monsoon 
range in the 
study area Most 

desirable 
limit 

Max. 
allowable 
limit 

Highest 
desirable 

Max. 
permissible 

1 pH 6.5 8.5 6.5-8.5 No relaxation 6.6-7.5 6.7-7.7 
2 TDS 500 1500 500 2000 350-1778 315-1372 
3 TH (as 

CaCO3) 
100 500 200 600 71-495 71-445 

4 Ca 75 200 75 200 21-118 21-119 
5 Mg 50 150 30 No relaxation 4-68 4-36 
6 Na - 200 - 200 48-462 39-383 
7 K - 12 - - 5-51 4-42 
8 SO4 200 400 200 400 18-166 9-103 
9 Cl 200 600 250 1000 22-577 15-499 
10 NO3 40 50 45 No relaxation 1-10 2-10 
 
Sodium and potassium (Na and K): The 
concentration of Na in the study area varied 
from 48 to 462 mg/l in pre-monsoon and 39 to 
383 mg/l in post-monsoon. According to  WHO 
standards (200 mg/l) 40% and 28 % of the 
groundwater samples  exceeded  the maximum 
allowable limit during pre and post-monsoon 
respectively. Water with high sodium content 
can be easily absorbed by soil which in turn 
determines the irrigation soil quality. High 
sodium concentration in the soils leads to 
development of an alkaline soil which results in 
alkaline hazard. The maximum allowable limit 
for K is 12 mg/l as per WHO standard but in 
pre-monsoon 68% of the groundwater samples 
exceeded the limit and during post-monsoon 
only 48 % of the samples exceeded the limit. 
The high concentration of K could be attributed 
to the dissolution of potash feldspar associated 
with charnockite in the study area. 

Bicarbonate (HCO3): The value of bicarbonate 
was observed from 140 to 711 mg/l and 68 to 
549 mg/l during pre and post-monsoon 
respectively. Mineral dissolution plays the key 
role for higher concentration of HCO3 in 
groundwater (Stumm and Morgan, 1996)  

Sulphate (SO4): The sources, residence time 
and different geochemical process influence the 
concentration of SO4. Dissolution or weathering 
of gypsum and anhydrite minerals is the 
important geochemical process responsible for 
high concentration of SO4 in groundwater. The 
SO4 concentration in groundwater samples from 
the study area varied from 18 to 166 mg/l and 9 
to 103 mg/l during pre and post-monsoon 
respectively. As per WHO standards, all 
groundwater samples were well within desirable 
limit of 200 mg/l in both the seasons.  

Chloride (Cl): The chloride content in 
groundwater might be originated from different 

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East Afr. J. Biophys. Comput. Sci., Vol. 2, Issue 1 
 

 
 

sources such as intrusion of salt water, 
weathering, leaching of various rock types, 
domestic and industrial waste discharges 
(Karanth, 1987). In the study area, the 
concentration of chloride ranged between 22 
and 577 mg/l and 15-499 mg/l in which 40% 
and 36% of total water samples exceeded the  
most desirable limit of 200 mg/l set by WHO 
during pre and post-monsoon respectively.  The 
excess of chloride in the water is usually taken 
as an index of pollution and considered as tracer 
for groundwater contamination (Loizidou and 
Kapetanios,1993). 

Nitrate (NO3): According to WHO, nitrate 
concentration in groundwater samples from the 
study area was within the prescribed limit of 50 
mg/l in both the seasons. The values vary from 1 
to 10 mg/l and 2-10 mg/l during pre and post-
monsoon respectively. Nitrate concentration in 
the study area could be attributed to discharges 
of sewage effluents and agriculture chemicals.   

Corrosivity ratio: Corrosion is basically an 
electrolytic process, which severely attacks and 
corrodes the metal surfaces. The rate at which 
corrosion proceeds depends upon a variety of 
chemical equilibrium reactions as well as upon 
certain physical factors like the temperature, 
pressure and velocity of flow (Ayers and 
Westcot, 1985). If the corrosivity ratio is less 
than 1, then the metal pipes can be used for 

transporting water, whereas PVC pipes must be 
used in areas where corrosivity ratio is more 
than 1. Out of total water samplestested, only 
few locations at 5, 9, 12, 14, 17, 21, 22, 23 and 
24 were exceeded the limit of 1 in pre-monsoon. 
During post-monsoon the corrosivity ratio of the 
groundwater samples was more than 1 at 
locations 4, 5, 13, 14, 17, 18, 22, 23 and 24.    

Piper’s Trilinear Plot: The major cations and 
anions are plotted on Piper diagram (Piper, 
1944) to assess the geochemical evolution of 
groundwater. This diagram is used to study the 
differences and similarities in the composition 
of groundwater and for classification of water 
types. The hydrochemical facies for the 
groundwater samples from the study area is 
shown in Figure 4. During pre-monsoon two 
major facies types are present which are Ca-Na-
HCO3 water type and Na-Cl water type. These 
water types suggest that the groundwater 
chemistry was controlled by a mixing process 
and evaporation process. In post monsoon also 
the major water types are Ca-Na-HCO3 and Na-
Cl types. A few samples however were mixed 
Ca-Mg-Cl type suggesting that same 
geochemical process was controlling the 
groundwater chemistry.  
 

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East Afr. J. Biophys. Comput. Sci., Vol. 2, Issue 1 

 
 

86 
 

 
 

Figure- 4: US salinity and Piper plot for pre-monsoon and post-monsoon 

Suitability of groundwater for irrigation 

Sodium adsorption ratio (SAR): SAR ratio is 
a measure of alkali or sodium hazard to crops. 
More Na concentration in irrigation water can 
reduce permeability and free flow of air and 
water. This is due to exchange process by Na 
ions adsorbed by the clay particle replacing the 
Mg and Ca ions (Saleh et al., 1999; Yidana, 

2010). The Sodium adsorption ratio is expressed 
as  

 

where all ionic concentrations are expressed in 
meq/L. 

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East Afr. J. Biophys. Comput. Sci., Vol. 2, Issue 1 
 

 
 

The SAR value varied from 2 to 12 (Table 1 and 
2) in both pre-monsoon and post-monsoon. 
Table 5a and 5b illustrates SAR classification of 
groundwater samples from the study area for 
both the season. During pre-monsoon 96% of 
groundwater samples were suitable for all types 
of crops and soil except for those crops sensitive 
to sodium. The remaining 4% of the ground 

water sample was suitable for coarse textured or 
organic soil with permeability. During post-
monsoon 92% of the groundwater samples were 
suitable for all types of crops and soils except 
for those crops which were sensitive to sodium, 
and 8 % were suitable for coarse textured or 
organic soil with permeability.  
 

Table- 5a: Suitability of water for irrigation with different value of SAR-Pre- monsoon 
SAR  Suitability of Irrigation Samples 
1-10 Suitable for all types of crops and soil except for those crops 

sensitive to sodium 
96% 

10-18 Suitable for coarsed textured or organic soil with permeability 4% 
18-26 Harmful for almost all soil -- 
>26 Unsuitable for irrigation -- 
 
Table- 5b: Suitability of water for irrigation with different value of SAR-Post- monsoon 
SAR  Suitability of Irrigation Samples 
1-10 Suitable for all types of crops and soil except for those crops 

sensitive to sodium 
92% 

10-18 Suitable for coarse textured or organic soil with permeability 8% 
18-26 Harmful for almost all soil -- 
>26 Unsuitable for irrigation -- 
 

US Salinity Diagram (1995): The analytical 
data was interpreted using USSL diagram to 
assess the groundwater quality for irrigation 
purpose. Figure 4 shows 60% samples were in 
C2-S1 and C3-S1 categories suggesting that the 
water can be used for irrigation activity in pre-
monsoon. The remaining 40 % were in C3-S2 
and C4-S2 indicating that groundwater is 
suitable for irrigational use with limited risk due 
to exchangeable sodium. In post-monsoon 56% 
of the samples belonged  to C2-S1 and C3-S1 
categories and 36 % samples were in C3-S2 
category suggesting that the water can be used 
for irrigational purpose. The remaining 8% 
samples fell  in C3-S3 category which shows 

high salinity and sodium hazard suggesting that 
water is not suitable for irrigation purpose.  

CONCLUSIONS 

The geology and geomorphology of the study 
area comprises of Charnockite of Archaean age 
and buried pediments respectively. In the 
present study, interpretation of geochemical 
analysis of groundwater samples revealed that, 
TH and TDS values were found to be suitable 
for drinking purposes. Based on TH values very 
hard water occurred at locations 4, 6, 7, 11, 14, 
15, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22 and 24. Total dissolved 
solids in groundwater were less than 2000 mg/l 
in both the seasons. In some locations the 
sodium and potassium concentrations were 

45



East Afr. J. Biophys. Comput. Sci., Vol. 2, Issue 1 
 

 
 

higher than the prescribed limit Corrosivity ratio 
of the groundwater samples was more than 1 at 
some sampling points suggesting that PVC pipe 
must be used in those areas. Except for a very 
few locations SAR valuewas less than 10 
signifying the suitability of groundwater for 
irrigation purpose. Based on USSL diagram, the 
dominant categories were C2-S1, C3-S1, C2-S1, 
C3-S1, C3-S2 in both pre and post-monsoon, 
suggesting that the groundwater is suitable for 
irrigational activities excepting a few locations 
which fall under the C3-S3 category indicating 
high sodium hazard. According to Piper 
diagram most of the samples were classified as 
Na-HCO3 water type and Na-Cl water type in 
pre-monsoon and Ca-Na-HCO3 and Na-Cl types 
in post-monsoon. The interpretation of these 
water types suggests that, mixing and 
evaporation processes are the two dominant 
geochemical processes in the study area. 

Acknowledgements 

The authors are grateful to the Head of the 
Department of Geology, Presidency College, 
Chennai, Tamilnadu, India for all the facilities 
provided to continue the research work. 

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47


	Cover V2.pdf (p.1)
	Cover.pdf (p.1-2)
	Slide Number 1


	blank page.pdf (p.2)
	Table of contents Vo 2.pdf (p.3-5)
	all articles vol 2.pdf (p.6-81)
	Volume 2 Issue 1_ 6 articles_4_3.pdf (p.6-91)
	4_Captive fish_Anna
	RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
	References

	3_Reproductive Disorder
	6_Diet bredth_Prof. Nat
	8_Ground water_Jeeva
	Base boundary map was prepared using Survey of India topo-sheets of the study area, and data such as rainfall, geomorphology, geology and land use were collected from central and state government agencies. During field study, groundwater samples were ...

	10_Ethnoveterinary Following comments
	Dagne et al_ Challenging students’ performance through Practical Skills Assessment.pdf (p.73-82)


	Guideline to Authors_ EAJBCs.pdf (p.82-90)
	Back cover.pdf (p.91)
	INTRODUCTION
	EXTENSION OF THE MODIFIED MODEL INTO AN OPTIMAL CONTROL
	Optimal protection and hospitalization using modified model
	Existence of an optimal control
	The Hamiltonian and optimality system

	Numerical simulations of optimal control problem
	Optimal control comparisons and strategies

	CONCLUSION
	INTRODUCTION
	INTRODUCTION

