N. Varadarajan and B.K.Purandara
Abstract
The chemical characteristics of groundwater in I alabrabha Sub-basin of Belgaum District, Karnataka have been studied during the pre-monsoon and post-monsoc n seasons to evaluate the suitability of water for domestic and irrigation purpose.Twenty one groundwater samples including open and bore wells were collected and analyzed for pH, EC,TDS, carbonate, bicarbonate, chloride, sulphate, hardness, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium and fluoride. It is observed that, the quality of groundwater in the upstream region of the sub basin is quite acceptable for both the uses, whereas in the downstream region various parameters exceeds the acceptable limits due to excessive irrigation by excess application of fertilizers and pesticides. In addition to this fluoride is observed in excess along the downstream region of the sub basin.The values of sodium adsorption ratio indicate that all the samples fall under the category of low sodium hazards. Also, an attempt has been made to classify the groundwater on the basis of Piper trilinear, Chadha's new diagram and U.S. Salinity Laboratory classifications.