Mapping and identification of potential groundwater development zones of an alluvial aquifer in parts of Ghaggar and Upper Yamuna basins in India.

Using an integrated analytical hierarchy process, remote sensing and geographic information system techniques, the current study aims to map and identify the potential groundwater zones of Kurukshetra District of Haryana, which is located in the Ghaggar and Upper Yamuna Basins in India. This is done in the context of a significant change in the use of groundwater pattern, with respect to its continuously increasing demand due to the growing population, expansion of area under irrigation and related economic factors. The amount and quality of groundwater are anticipated to be impacted by anthropogenic activities as well as natural factors such as geomorphology, soil type, lithology and rainfall variance owing to a changing climatic scenario. The potential index of groundwater for this study was calculated by using nine important factors, including geomorphology, rainfall, soil type, depth to groundwater level, lithology, land use land cover, normalized difference vegetation index, cumulative sand thickness and elevation. The integration of multiple thematic layers was accomplished using the overlay weighted method to generate a potential groundwater zonation map and the accuracy of the resulting map was validated against a groundwater resource potential map. Statistical measures demonstrate an 82% agreement between the two maps, indicating a high level of concurrence. Accordingly, three groundwater zones of good, average and bad potential have been identified in the study area. In the current study, a process that combines weighted ranking with spatial data transformation and harmonization has been developed to obtain information for accurate decision-making. The results accruing from this research have significant ramifications for creating regional sustainable groundwater management plans.

Deciphering pollution vulnerability zones of River Yamuna in relation to existing land use land cover in Panipat, Haryana, India.

Rivers are one of the major freshwater resources, which provide water for irrigation, domestic, recreational, environmental, and industrial purposes, but they are extremely vulnerable to pollution due to discharge of untreated waste. Establishing the baseline river water quality data is important, so that monitoring changes over time, assessing impacts of particular developmental projects and setting water quality standards for the protection of the river, can be undertaken. In the present study, water quality assessment was done for a segment of Yamuna River passing through Panipat district, Haryana, India. This study is an attempt to know the impact of wastewater generated due to urban and industrial activities taking place in Panipat city and nearby areas, on River Yamuna. Furthermore, vulnerability zone of River Yamuna was delineated using CCME-WQI, NSF-WQI, and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). The water quality samples were further evaluated for the agricultural and industrial purposes to determine whether the water can be used for irrigation and industrial requirements. The study also considered the existing land use land cover (LULC) on left and right banks of the River Yamuna and the wastewater carrying drain. River Yamuna travels nearly a distance of ≈ 44 Kms in and around Panipat district and the results of the study indicated that nearly 13 Km stretch of River is more vulnerable to pollution. Thus, it is suggested that wastewater discharge regulation, installation of effluent treatments plants, and maintenance of environmental flow are prerequisite to protect and restore the River Yamuna.

Evaluation of groundwater quality and human health risks from fluoride and nitrate in semi-arid region of northern India.

Groundwater quality in the alluvial plains of Punjab has special significance and needs great attention since it is the foremost source of drinking, irrigation and industrial uses. The present research work emphasizes the integrated hydrogeochemical and chemometric statistical approaches to appraise the geochemical processes and source apportionment of the groundwater in the alluvial plains of Jalandhar district, Punjab, India. The human health risk assessment was also performed to quantify the potential non-carcinogenic impacts of nitrate and fluoride on human health through ingestion of groundwater. For this purpose, 41 groundwater samples were collected from different groundwater abstraction units and analysed for pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, total hardness, total alkalinity and major ions (Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, HCO3-, CO32-, SO42-, NO3-, F-, Cl- and PO43-) using standard protocols. Drinking water quality index and Revelle index showed that groundwater samples fall under poor to unfit water class and salinization along the south-western portion of the study region shows poor water quality. The results of the hazard index (HIingestion) show 68% and 46.34% of the groundwater samples have HI > 1 for children and adults. The non-carcinogenic health risk assessment of nitrate (NO3-) and fluoride (F-) on the local population indicated that the children are more vulnerable through direct ingestion of drinking water than adults. Piper diagram and saturation index reveal that Ca2+-Mg2+-HCO3- is the dominant hydrochemical facies and oversaturated with calcite, dolomite and aragonite minerals in the groundwater. Gibbs diagrams, chloro-alkaline indices and scatter plots show that the hydrochemistry of the groundwater is mainly governed by aquifer material interaction such as weathering of silicate, carbonate rock, halite dissolution and cation exchange process. Chemometric statistical techniques revealed that the source identification of parameters such as Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, HCO3-, CO3- and F- is originated from geogenic factors, whereas NO3-, SO42-, Cl- and PO43- are from the anthropogenic origin. Therefore, urgent and efficient measures must be taken to combat groundwater pollution and reduce human health risk in the study area.

Pollution tolerance assessment of temperate woody vegetation growing along the National Highway-5 in Himachal Pradesh, India.

Industrialization and globalization have resulted in pollution of all the three ecosystems, including soil, water, and air. Among these, air pollution has generated much interest, since it has a major influence on the transboundary dispersion of pollutants globally. Air pollution tolerance index (APTI) value represents tolerance level of plants which help in selecting the most suitable plant species for plantation in/around affected areas. This parameter in conjunction with Anticipated Performance Index (API) can provide a logical solution for green belt development by considering biological and socio-economic aspect of the species and help in reducing the levels of pollutants. The present study was conducted in Himachal Pradesh, constituting a very vital part of the Indian Himalayan Region. In the present study, APTI and API values of six commonly growing temperate and sub-temperate plant species viz., Quercus leucotrichophora, Rubus ellipticus, Debregeasia saeneb, Hypericum oblongifolium, Punica granatum, and Grevillea robusta, were evaluated along the National Highway-5 in Himachal Pradesh. The highest value of APTI was observed for Grevillea robusta (12.89), followed by Punica granatum (10.87), Debregeasia saeneb (10.50), Hypericum oblongifolium (10.43), Rubus ellipticus (10.18), and Quercus leucotrichophora (9.68). Upon assessment of API, it was observed that Grevillea robusta (62.50%) was the highest scoring plant species in trees, while Rubus ellipticus and Debregeasia saeneb were the highest scoring shrub species (56.25% each) and thus can be recommended for green belt development and attenuation of air pollution in the region. Punica granatum can be suggested for plantation among the native species.

Groundwater hydrogeochemistry and non-carcinogenic health risk assessment in major river basins of Punjab, India.

The Indian Punjab state is drained by the four rivers, along with a well-connected network of canals, and is now dealing with a slew of water quality issues and problems. In this study, basin-wise hydrogeochemical modelling of 323 groundwater samples and identification of NO3- and F- enrichment pathways in aquifer systems of Punjab were studied using different plots and multivariate statistics. To evaluate the groundwater quality and human health risks, an entropy-based water quality index and Monte Carlo simulation were used, respectively. Spatial distribution of NO3- indicated that its very high values were prominent in parts of southwestern Punjab falling under LSRB, along with few pockets in eastern and northeastern Punjab falling under MSRB and GRB. High NO3- values (> 45.0 mg/L) were found in 15.0% of Ravi River Basin (RRB) groundwater samples, 22.86% of Beas River Basin (BRB), 23.52% of Middle Sutlej River Basin (MSRB), 36.9% of Lower Sutlej River Basin (LSRB), and 21.31% of Ghaggar River Basin (GRB). The spatial distribution of NO3- revealed elevated concentrations (> 100 mg/L) in the southwestern part of Punjab, particularly in LSRB and localized pockets in the eastern and northeastern areas of Punjab within MSRB and GRB. High F- concentration (> 1.5 mg/L) was observed in 15.12% and 21.31% groundwater samples of LSRB and GRB, respectively. Spatially southern parts falling under LSRB and GRB reflected high F- content (> 1.5 mg/L) in groundwater. In LSRB, evaporative and anthropogenic processes influence the groundwater quality. The results of interionic relationships and statistical analysis revealed that NO3- has anthropogenic origin and that is being aggravated by leaching, the evaporation processes, animal excreta, septic tanks and irrigation return flows in LSRB and GRB, while F- is geogenic in nature. Hazard index (HI) values in 14.63%, 22.2%, 24.6%, 49.58%, and 34.42% samples for adults and 21.95%, 27.7%, 42.0%, 72.3%, and 52.46% samples for children were higher than unity in RRB, BRB, MSRB, LSRB, and GRB, respectively. The basin-wise demarcation of various groundwater quality parameter and assessment of human health risk would be of significance for the management of water resources.

Deterministic and probabilistic health risk assessment techniques to evaluate non-carcinogenic human health risk (NHHR) due to fluoride and nitrate in groundwater of Panipat, Haryana, India.

Human interferences have caused groundwater contamination in alluvial aquifers which subsequently affects the health of exposed population. In the present study, 74 groundwater samples from the semi-arid region of Panipat district, falling under Yamuna sub-basin, India was evaluated to know the potential non-carcinogenic human health risk in local adult and child population. The major objective of the present study was to know the non-carcinogenic human health risk due to intake of fluoride and nitrate contaminated water, using two different approaches: deterministic and probabilistic (Monte Carlo simulation). The values of hazard quotient (HQ) determined by deterministic as well as probabilistic approach were nearly identical. The hazard index (HI) value of 40.8% samples was above the unity in case of adults while 69.7% samples indicated HI value greater than unity for children thus indicating children are more prone to non-carcinogenic health risk than the adult population. Sensitivity analysis was performed to identify the influence of the non-carcinogenic human health risk predictor variables for the prediction of risk and concentration factor (CF) was the most influential variable. Multivariate statistical techniques were employed to know the positive and negative relationship of fluoride and nitrate with other parameters. Results of principal component analysis/factor analysis (PCA/FA) indicated that the concentration of fluoride is controlled by the presence of calcium due to their negative correlation in groundwater samples. The hierarchical agglomerative cluster analysis (HCA) also supported the outcome of PCA/FA and both indicated anthropogenic sources of fluoride and nitrate in groundwater.

Data on fluoride contamination in potable water in alluvial plains of district Panipat, Haryana, India.

This data set reveals the fluoride concentration level of an alluvial aquifer of Panipat district Haryana India. The whole district of Panipat relies on groundwater for its agricultural, industrial and domestic purposes. Fluoride concentration in the study area varied from 0.5 mg/L to 5.95 mg/L with an average of 1.6 mg/L. 42.9% of the groundwater samples have shown higher fluoride concentration in groundwater than the permissible level prescribed by World Health Organisation and Bureau of Indian Standards. The spatial distribution map of fluoride has interestingly shown contrast between western and eastern parts of the region. Higher fluoride concentration (1.00-5.95 mg/L) in groundwater is witnessed in western half whereas the eastern half had comparatively lower concentration of fluoride ranging from 0.5 mg/L to 3.0 mg/L with maximum area having concentrations up to 1.5 mg/L. Major part 52.23% of Panipat district has shown high fluoride concentration in groundwater than the permissible level. It is further suggested that prolonged intake of groundwater with fluoride concentration higher than the permissible levels may cause dental or skeletal fluorosis in the locals.