Assessment of Groundwater Quality for Irrigation in Lakhan Majra Block in Rohtak District of Haryana.

Abstract

In order to assess groundwater quality and its suitability for irrigation for sustainable crop production, 88 groundwater samples of Lakhan Majra block of Rohtak District, Haryana were collected and evaluated. The samples were analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity (EC), anions (CO32-, HCO3 -, Cl- and SO42-) and cations (Ca2+, Mg 2+, Na+ and K+). In addition to these water quality indices, Sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) and residual sodium carbonate (RSC) were also computed. The study revealed that the EC and pH of water samples varied from 0.10 to 3.80 dS m-1 and 7.4 to 8.5 with a mean value of 1.03 dS m-1 and 7.9, respectively. The relative abundance of major ions for most of the water samples were Na+ > Mg2+> Ca2+ > K+ for cations and Cl- > SO4 -> HCO3O32- for anions. SAR and RSC varied from 5.53 to 39.75 (mmol L-1)½ and nil to 11.00 meq L-1 with an average value of 14.73 (mmol L-1) ½ and 3.65 meq L-1, respectively. Based on EC, RSC and SAR values all the samples were grouped into four major categories viz., good, marginal, poor and very poor. The study revealed that nearly 22.7 percent area of the block is under marginal quality of groundwater, while 27.3 per cent area is in poor to very poor quality of groundwater which is unsuitable for irrigation purpose. Thus, groundwater should be used after mixing canal water for sustainable crop production and reduce environmental pollution.