International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT)
ISSN: 2278-0181
Vol. 4 Issue 11, November-2015
Assessing Ground Water Quality using GIS
Soumya Singha Dr. C. P Devatha
Dept. of Civil Engineering, Dept. of Civil Engineering,
Rungta College of Engineering and Technology, National Institute of Technology,
Raipur, India. Karnataka, Surathkal, Mangalore,India
Sudhakar Singha Prof. M. K. Verma
Dept. of Civil Engineering, Dept. of Civil Engineering,
Rungta Engineering College, National Institute of Technology,
Raipur, India Raipur, India.
Abstract- Groundwater is an important component of our GIS is used as an effective tool for developing solutions for
nation’s fresh water resources. It plays a key role in meeting water resources problems for assessing and mapping of ground
the water needs of various user-sectors in the nation. The water quality, understanding the natural environment and
natural resource cannot be optimally used and sustained unless managing water resources on a required scale, assessing
the quality of water is assessed. In the present study, the impact groundwater vulnerability to pollution.
of mining activities on groundwater quality around the Korba In developing countries like India around 80% of water borne
coalfields covering an area of 530 sq.km which lies between diseases is directly related to poor drinking water quality and
latitudes 22°15′ and 22°30′N and longitudes 82°15′E and unhygienic conditions. Assessment of water quality of drinking
82°15′E in the state of Chhattisgarh, India was carried out. For water supplies has always been paramount in the field of
the study, data collection includes maps, toposheets, water environmental quality management. A study on ground water
quality data, well locations, mining lease areas, village locations quality analysis was carried out for coonoor taluk in Nilgiris
etc. The above said data has been collected from various district. A study on Ground Water Quality mapping in Municipal
government departments of Chhattisgarh. After the data Corporation of Hyderabad using GIS techniques was done by S.S.
collection, base map has been prepared using ArcMap 9.3. The Asadi; et.al. (2007).
water quality database is analyzed and then used as attribute There is need for a definite strategy and guidelines which
database for the preparation of thematic maps showing would concentrate on specific part of a groundwater management,
distribution of various water quality parameters. Water means the protection of ground water from contamination.
Quality Index has been calculated for various parameters such
as pH, Turbidity, Total hardness(TH), Chloride, Total II. STUDY AREA
dissolved solids(TDS), Calcium, Nitrate, Iron, and Fluoride. Korba district is located in East- central part of
Water Quality Index map is also developed. The results Chhattisgarh, India covers an area of 7145.44 sq. km and is known
obtained are presented in the form of maps, used for better as the power capital of state. It lies between Latitude 22°01′50″ to
understanding of present water quality scenario of the study 23°01′20″ N and longitude 82°07′20″ to 83°07′50″E; and 304.8m
area. Analysis reveals that the groundwater of the region needs above mean sea level. Korba district is inhabited mainly by tribes
field specific treatment before put to use. including the protected tribe Korwas. The river Hasdeo-a tributary
of Mahanadi – enters and flow through the district. River Hasdeo is
Keywords: Arc GIS, Ground water quality, Mining the principal river of the district entering from Surguja district and
environment, WQI flowing through the rocky and wooded grounds of Matin Uprora
and plain of Champa. Its total length is 233 km with its tributaries
I. INTRODUCTION Gagechorai, Tan and Ahiran .The district is known for its coal
Groundwater is almost globally important for human being mines, Ferruginous Sandstone with shale and coal seams
consumption as well as for the support of habitat and for
maintaining the quality of base flow to rivers. Usually they are of
excellent quality. Being naturally filtered in their way through the
ground, they are generally clear, colourless, and free from
microbial contamination and require minimal treatment. A threat is
now posed by an ever-increasing number of soluble or dissolved
chemicals from urban, industrial activities and from modern
agricultural practices. The chemistry of groundwater reflects inputs
from the atmosphere, from soil and water-rock reactions, as well as
from pollutant sources such as mining, land clearance, agricultural
practices, and acid rainfall, domestic and industrial wastes. Once
the groundwater is polluted, its quality cannot be restored by
stopping the pollutants from the sources. GIS has emerged as a
powerful tool for storing, analyzing, and displaying spatial data and
using these data for decision making in several areas including
engineering and environmental fields.
Fig.1. Location Map of Study Area
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International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT)
ISSN: 2278-0181
Vol. 4 Issue 11, November-2015
from Kamthi formation, Gondwana Super group are exposed in D. Determination of Water Quality Index: Determining water
Eastern part of district. Base map of study area is prepared and quality index is to convert complex or complicated water quality
shown in (Fig.1). data into information that is understandable and usable by public.
Thus WQI is useful and effective method which can be termed as
III. DATA AND METHODS an indicator of ground water quality.
A. Groundwater Quality Data: The ground water samples are In the study, WQI was calculated by using the Weighted
collected manually from bore wells, tube wells and dug wells Arithmetic Index Method as described by (Cude, 2001). In this
which were approximately equally distributed all over 77 villages method, the water quality components are multiplied by weighting
around mining region by PHE department. More than 145 samples factor and then aggregated by simple arithmetic mean. For
were collected and analysed during the period of 2012. The ground assessing the ground water quality in this study, first of all, the
water sampling locations are shown in (Fig. 2). Sterilized bottles quality rating scale (Qi) for each parameter was estimated by using
used for water sample collection are first thoroughly washed with the following eq ,
the water being sampled and rinsed for 5mins and then filled with
water. After collection of samples, the samples are preserved and Qi= {[(Vactual– Videal) / (Vstandard – Videal)] x 100} (1)
shifted to the laboratory for Department, Korba and CGWB
Raipur. In situ measurement was adopted to determine unstable Where,
parameters includes; PH, turbidity and TDS by portable Qi=Quality rating of ith parameter for total of n water quality
instruments. All the water quality parameters are expressed in mg/l parameters
except pH and turbidity. Each parameter was compared to Vactual = Actual value of water quality parameter obtained from
desirable standard limit of that parameter stipulated for drinking laboratory test
water as prescribed by BIS Standards(1991) and WHO(1983) for Videal= Ideal value of that same water quality parameter can be
drinking and public health purposes .The parameters which are obtained from standard table
analyzed during water analysis are pH, turbidity, chlorides, nitrate, Videal for pH = 7 and for other parameters it becomes zero.
fluoride, iron, calcium, total dissolved solids, and total hardness. Vstandard = Recommended BIS standard of water quality parameter
(BIS 10500., 1991) and shown in Table I.
B. Preparation of spatial database: In order to capture the
spatial variation of ground water quality in Korba district, spatial
Table I. Water Quality Parameter and their BIS
analysis with GIS was conducted. For the development of data
Standards
base, twenty toposheets (64-J-1, 64-J-2,64-J-3, 64-J-5, 64-J-6, 64-
J-7, 64-J-8, 64-J-9, 64-J-10, 64-J-11, 64-J-12, 64-J-14, 64-J-15, Parameter Standard
64-J-16, 64-N-2, 64-N-3, 64-N-4, 64-K-5, 64-K-9, 64-K-10) of
1:50000 scale covering the entire Korba district were geo- pH 8.5
referenced using four control points. Based on the location data, Turbidity 5
location map of study area, point feature showing the position of Chloride 250
77 wells are marked and map for the same has been generated.
Total Hardness(as Caco3) 300
Iron 0.3
Fluoride 1.0
Calcium 75
TDS 500
Nitrate 45
All parameters are in mg/L except pH(unitless) and turbidity (NTU).
Then after calculating the quality rating scale (Qi), the Relative
weight (Wi) was estimated by a value inversely proportional to the
recommended standard (Si) for the corresponding parameterusing
the following equation;
Wi= 1/Si (2)
Where, Wi = Relative weight of nth parameter
Si= Standard permissible value of nth parameter
Fig. 2.Ground Water Sampling Locations
At last, the overall WQI was determined by aggregating the quality
rating with the relative weight linearly by using the following
C. Preparation of Non Spatial Database: The study is carried expression;
out with the help of two major components: village boundary map
and field data. The samples were tested using standard procedures WQI=∑ QiWi / ∑ Wi (3)
in the laboratory and analysed. The ground WQI value for each
village was calculated. The ground water quality data thus obtained In this study the WQI was considered for human
forms the attribute database for the present study. consumption and for drinking purpose. The maximum ground WQI
for the drinking water was considered as 100score. Based on the
WQI values, the ground water quality is rated as excellent, good,
poor, very poor and unfit or unsuitable for drinking and is shown in
table II.
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International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT)
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Vol. 4 Issue 11, November-2015
Table II. Water Quality Index Levels 4. Total Hardness: Hardness in water is caused due to presence of
carbonates and bicarbonates of calcium and magnesium, chlorides,
Water Quality Index Description nitrates and sulphates of calcium and magnesium. High
0-50 EXCELLENT
concentration of total hardness is found in some villages like
Ranjana, Kasaipali, Dewgaon, Binjhari, Bhilaibazar, Barbaspur,
51-100 GOOD Kudurmal and Kurudih are above permissible limit. Most of the
101-200 POOR villages are within the desirable limit. Softening of water may be
required to impart palatability to water. Spatial distribution of
201-300 VERY POOR
Total Hardness is shown in (Fig. 7).
>300 UNFIT FOR DRINKING(UFD)
5. Iron: Most of the villages are found to be above permissible
limit i.e. >1.00 mg/l. But villages like Tiwarta, Amagaon,
E. Generation of Maps: The spatial and non spatial (attribute) Saraisingar, Padnia, Japeli, Pandripani, Godhi, Bendarkona,
data bases generated were integrated for the generation of the Gerwa, Taghmahar, Balgikhar, Kharmora and Gajra have very
high iron content more than 1.5.Iron must be removed for avoiding
spatial distribution maps of all water quality parameters including
rusting in distribution pipes. Spatial distribution of Iron is shown in
WQI map. The water quality data (non spatial data) is linked to the (Fig. 8).
sampling location (spatial data) to generate various thematic maps.
The flow chart explaining methodology is given in (Fig.3). 6. Fluoride: The natural pollutant of water is the most common
form of fluorine that is the Fluoride. Ground water usually contains
IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION fluoride dissolved by geological formation (K.Sundara Kumar
A. Groundwater Quality Variation: Ground water quality maps et.al.2010). Kudurmal, Barbaspur, Kudri, Naktikhar, Risdi,
are important and helpful in assessing the usability of water for Dewgaon, Malgaon, Chainpur, and Padnia are the villages whose
various purposes mainly for drinking. The variations of fluoride concentration is more than the permissible limit i.e. > 1.5
physicochemical characteristics along with WQI of ground water mg/l. Excess concentration of fluoride may lead to diseases like
in the different villages surrounding mining region were presented dental fluorosis and skeletal fluorosis. Spatial distribution of
.The quality of ground water shows variations from place to place Fluoride is shown in (Fig. 9).
and time to time. Means even at same location the ground water
quality deviates from seasons to seasons. It is dependent upon both 7. Calcium: The formation of calcium in water is mainly due to the
surface and sub subsurface characteristics. The quality of ground presence of minerals like limestone, dolomite, gypsum, and
water changes because of many reasons such as due to presence of gypsiferrous. The permissible limit of calcium as per BIS is 75-200
landfills, open dumps, use of fertilizers, disposal of industrial mg/l. High concentration of calcium was found in some villages.
wastes, due to mining activities, no underground drainage system, Spatial distribution of Calcium is shown in (Fig .10).
continuous burning of MSW(Municipal solid waste) etc. The
variations of physicochemical parameters (water quality) were 8. TDS: Concentration of mineral compositions dissolved in water
discussed below. is known to be the dissolved solids. High concentration of TDS can
be removed by reverse osmosis, electro dialysis, exchange and
1. pH: pH is one of the most vital operational water quality solar distillation process. Subsurface water containing TDS value
parameters with the optimum pH required within the range from more than 1000 mg/l is termed as brackish water. Villages like
6.5 -8.5. The maximum permissible limit for in drinking water as Binjhari, Batari, Tiwarta, Sirbida, Kudri, Barbaspur, Kandaikhar,
given by BIS is 8.5.The value of pH in the ground water data Semipali, Gajra, Jamnimuda, Kasaipali, Kurudih and Bhiaibajar
collected varied from the range 5.05 to 8.00.Most of the villages have TDS content more than desirable limit and within permissible
around mining region are having pH less than 6.5 which may cause limit (500-2000 mg/l). Spatial distribution of TDS is shown in (Fig.
tuberculation in water supply systems. This shows that ground 11).
water of study area is mainly acidic. Spatial distribution of pH
concentrations are shown in (Fig. 4). 9. Nitrate: The main source of nitrate in water is from atmosphere
legumes, plant debris and animal excreta (WHO, 1983). Presence
2. Turbidity: The concentrations of turbidity are not within the of Nitrate content in water, more than 100mg/l is bitter to taste and
cause physiological distress in human bin. Water in shallow wells
range for most of the villages. Most of the villages have high turbid
containing more than 45 mg/L causes methemoglobinemia and is
waters ranging from 10-80 NTU. Out of 77 villages, 27 villages are
called as blue baby syndrome in humans. Higher Nitrate content is
well within the range 0-10 NTU. Hence special care is
found mainly due to over application of fertilizer, inadequate
compulsorily needed while disinfecting the water before supplying
manure management practices, sewage effluent, septic tank, open
to the public. Spatial distribution of Turbidity is shown in (Fig. 5).
dump sites of solid wastes etc. Higher level of Nitrate ions was not
3. Chloride: Chloride is present at varying concentration in natural found in the study area (more than 100 mg/l). Spatial distribution
waters depending upon the geochemical conditions. Chloride of Nitrate is shown in (Fig. 12).
concentrations may occur due to industrial waste, sewage disposal,
leaching of saline residues in the soil. Presence of high 10. Water Quality Index: WQI indicates the quality of water with
concentration of chloride produces salty taste in drinking water. reference to an index number which reflects the overall status of
Chloride concentrations can be removed by electrolysis and reverse GWQ for drinking purposes. The overall view of WQI of the
osmosis process. Water quality data collected indicates that present study area show higher WQI. The main reasons for the
chloride concentration ranges from 0 mg/l to 130 mg/l which is present situation may be due to presence of mining areas, misused
within desirable limit. spatial distribution of Chloride are shown in ponds, open dumping of solid wastes, improper use of fertilizers.
(Fig. 6). Spatial distribution of WQI is shown in (Fig .13).The integration of
various thematic layers i.e. all the nine parameters in GIS reveal
that whether the water is fit or unfit for drinking is shown in (Fig .
14).
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International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT)
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Vol. 4 Issue 11, November-2015
Fig. 4. Spatial distribution of pH Fig. 7. Spatial distribution of TH
Fig. 5. Spatial distribution of turbidity Fig. 8. Spatial distribution of iron
Fig. 9. Spatial distribution of fluoride
Fig. 6. Spatial distribution of chloride
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Fig. 12. Spatial distribution of nitrate
Fig. 10. Spatial distribution of calcium.
Fig. 11. Spatial distribution of TDS
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Fig. 13. Spatial distribution of WQI
Fig.14. Bar chart of WQI
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