DETERMINATION OF THE EFFECT OF SURFACE-WATER IRRIGATION ON THE GROUNDWATER CHEMISTRY OF A HARD ROCK TERRAIN IN CENTRAL INDIA

The Bundelkhand area of central India consists of weathered granitic bedrock. The aim of the present study was to identify the effects of surface water irrigation on groundwater quality in shallow aquifers used for domestic supply. A set of 37, 58 and 17 samples were collected, respectively, from the non-irrigated area, the irrigated area and surface waters. Concentrations of major ions (including NO3-), PO4= and Fe++ were determined. A statistical comparison of the data groups was carried out assuming that the only difference between the two areas was in agricultural practice. It was discovered that, despite the better quality of the surface waters, the irrigated area groundwaters were higher in concentration than those of the non-irrigated area. The main causes for that appear to be evaporation/transpiration and fertilizer application, modified by calcite precipitation and ion exchange. The proposed approach is simple enough to be used routinely in monitoring.