Mohammad Masroor Zafar, Mohammed Aasif Sulaiman ,Divya and Kumar Gaurav
Abstract
Groundwater is one of the most prominent natural resources which is widely used for drinking and purpose worldwide. In the present study, samples from 25 dug well sites of Muzaffarpur district, were collected and subjected for the analysis of drinking and irrigational suitability of groundwater in the year 2020. The groundwater was predominantly alkaline in nature, with moderately hard to very hard water type. The groundwater of the study area was revealed fit for drinking purposes, based on the findings of weighted arithmetic water quality index (WAWQI) result. Six irrigation indices namely Sodium Absorption Ratio (SAR), Percentage Sodium (%Na), Residual Sodium Bicarbonate (RSBC), Potential Salinity (PS), Magnesium Ratio (MR), Kelly Ratio (KR) along with Wilcox and United States Salinity Diagram (USSL) were used to evaluate the suitability of groundwater for irrigation. All the sampling sites were categorised as excellent based on SAR and %Na values. RSBC values indicated all the sites as satisfactory whereas PS values designated them as âgood to poor.â MR rendered 28% of the sampling sites as unsuitable for irrigation while 100% of the samples were suitable based on KR values. Proper management and judicial use of groundwater is essential to safeguard this precious natural resource.