Groundwater Quality Assessment in the Southwestern Peri-urban Guwahati City

Abstract

The southwestern peri-urban Guwahati City is a potential site for future urban development. The current study aims to assess the groundwater quality of the area for human consumption. Important parameters such as pH, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, iron, sulphate, chloride, TDS, and total hardness are analyzed for both pre-and post-monsoon season. The water samples are collected from household tubewell in a well-distributed regular interval. The results are visualized in a GIS environment using the IDW interpolation technique. The results show the parameters are within the permissible limit as per the Bureau of Indian Standards except for iron which is found dominant and beyond permissible limit in 18 out of 19 surveyed locations. The Water Quality Index was calculated using the formula given by Brown et al. 1975, showing that 93.6 % of the area is very poor to unsuitable for drinking due to the presence of high iron concentrations. The Piper trilinear diagram shows most of the sample falls under the Ca-Mg-bicarbonate type. The study shows 18 out of 19 surveyed locations need iron treatment before human consumption.