Assessment of underground water quality for drinking and irrigation purpose on west side of the Ganga canal command area in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract

The present study focused on the hydrochemistry of underground water in some location of NCR region near west side of Ganga canal command area to assess the quality of underground water’s suitability for drinking and irrigation purpose. A total of 25 underground water samples of hand pump and tube wells were collected from Nagla order, Nanu, Pooth Khas, Bhola Jhal and Jani locations during April 2017 and analyzed for pH, Electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved salts (TDS), major cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+ and K+), major anions (CO32-, HCO3-, Cl-, NO3- and SO42-), Collin’s ratio, Kelly’s ratio, SAR and RSC. pH of the analyzed samples indicates alkaline nature of the water samples. Parameters like sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), residual sodium carbonate (RSC) and Kelly’s ratio were calculated and plotted to understand the quality of underground water for irrigation uses. The calculated parameters show that the majority of the underground water samples are suitable for drinking as well as irrigation purposes. However, high salinity values at few locations restrict the suitability of the water for drinking purposes.