Influence of anthropogenic contamination on groundwater chemistry in Mulbagal town, Kolar District, India

Rao, Sudhakar M and Asha, K and Shivachidambaram, S (2013) Influence of anthropogenic contamination on groundwater chemistry in Mulbagal town, Kolar District, India. In: GEOSCIENCES JOURNAL, 17 (1). pp. 97-106.

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Abstract

Geochemical studies are performed to examine the impact of leachate infiltration from on-site sewage disposal systems on the groundwater chemistry in Mulbagal town, Kolar District, Karnataka State, India. The leachate infiltration imposed nitrate concentrations ranging from 4 mg/L to 388 mg/L in the groundwater samples; it was observed that 79% of the samples exhibited nitrate concentrations in excess of drinking water permissible limit (45 mg/L). The average (of 43 measurements) E. coli levels in the groundwater samples corresponded to 189 MPN/100 mL and 55% of the samples tested exhibit pathogen contamination. Results also showed that the groundwater in the study area is characterized by acidic pH, large calcium + magnesium ion and Na/Cl ratios of < unity causing majority of the ground water samples to classify as Ca-Mg-Cl type and Na-Cl type. Saturation index (SI) computation using Visual MINTEQ program showed that the groundwater samples are under-saturated with respect to calcite. The theoretical SI values (of calcite) however suggested that the groundwater samples ought to be over-saturated with calcite. Under-saturation of the groundwater samples with calcite is attributed to increased dissolution of the mineral in the acidic environment of the groundwater.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	GEOSCIENCES JOURNAL
Publisher:	GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY KOREA
Additional Information:	Copyright for this article belongs to the GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY KOREA, SOUTH KOREA.
Keywords:	anthropogenic; chemistry; contamination; groundwater; sewage
Department/Centre:	Division of Mechanical Sciences > Centre for Sustainable Technologies (formerly ASTRA) Division of Mechanical Sciences > Civil Engineering
Date Deposited:	17 Apr 2013 05:48
Last Modified:	17 Apr 2013 05:48
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/46391

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