Groundwater quality in the alluvial aquifer system of northwest India: New evidence of the extent of anthropogenic and geogenic contamination

Science of the Total Environment

Volumn 599-600, Issue , 2017, Pages 1433-1444

  Lapworth, D J ^a   Krishan, G ^b   MacDonald, A M ^c   Rao, M S ^b  

^a BRITISH GEOLOGICAL SURVEY   (United Kingdom)

^b NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HYDROLOGY   (India)

^c THE LYELL CENTRE   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Anthropogenic; Contamination; Geogenic; Groundwater; Groundwater vulnerability; India

Indexed keywords

AGRICULTURE; AQUIFERS; CONTAMINATION; GROUNDWATER; GROUNDWATER GEOCHEMISTRY; GROUNDWATER RESOURCES; HYDROGEOLOGY; IMPURITIES; POTABLE WATER; TRACE ELEMENTS; URANIUM; URBAN GROWTH; WATER; WATER QUALITY;

ALLUVIAL AQUIFER SYSTEMS; ANTHROPOGENIC; ANTHROPOGENIC CONTAMINANTS; DENITRIFICATION POTENTIAL; ELEVATED CONCENTRATIONS; GEOGENIC; GROUNDWATER VULNERABILITY; INDIA;

GROUNDWATER POLLUTION;

ARSENIC; BICARBONATE; DRINKING WATER; FLUORIDE; GROUND WATER; LEAD; NITRATE; SELENIUM; URANIUM;

ANTHROPOGENIC EFFECT; AQUIFER; CONCENTRATION (COMPOSITION); GROUNDWATER POLLUTION; POLLUTANT TRANSPORT; POLLUTION INCIDENCE; TRACER; VULNERABILITY; WATER CHEMISTRY; WATER QUALITY;

AGRICULTURAL LAND; AQUIFER; ARTICLE; CONCENTRATION (PARAMETERS); DENITRIFICATION; HUMAN IMPACT (ENVIRONMENT); INDIA; OXIDATION; POLLUTION TRANSPORT; PRIORITY JOURNAL; PUMP; SAFETY; SALINITY; URBAN AREA; WATER CONTAMINATION; WATER QUALITY;

INDIA;

EID: 85019410926     PISSN: 00489697     EISSN: 18791026     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.04.223     Document Type: Article

References (88)

1. Abrol, Y.P., Sangwan, S., Dadhwal, V.K., Tiwari, M.K., Land-use land-cover in Indo-gangetic plains - history of changes, present concerns and future approaches. Abrol, Y.P., Sangwan, S., Tiwari, M.K., (eds.) Land Use—Historical Perspectives: Focus on Indo-Gangetic Plains, 2002, Allied Publishers, 1–28.
2. Aeschback-Hertig, W., Gleeson, T., Regional strategies for the accelerating global problem of groundwater depletion. Nat. Geosci. 5 (2012), 853–861.
3. Agrawal, G.D., Lunkad, S.K., Malkhed, T., Diffuse agricultural nitrate pollution of groundwaters in India. Water Sci. Technol. 39 (1999), 67–75.
4. Alcalá, F.J., Custodio, E., Using the Cl/Br ratio as a tracer to identify the origin of salinity in aquifers in Spain and Portugal. J. Hydrol. 359 (2008), 189–207.
5. Ali, U., Syed, J.H., Malik, R.N., Katsoyiannis, A., Li, J., Zhang, G., et al. Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in South Asian region: a review. Sci. Total Environ. 476-477 (2014), 705–717.
6. Asoka, A., Gleeson, T., Wada, Y., Mishra, V., Relative contribution of monsoon precipitation and pumping to changes in groundwater storage in India. Nat. Geosci., 2017.
7. Bajaj, M., Eiche, E., Neumann, T., Winter, J., Gallert, C., Hazardous concentrations of selenium in soil and groundwater in North-West India. J. Hazard. Mater. 189 (2011), 640–646.
8. Banning, A., Demmel, T., Rude, T.R., Wrobel, M., Groundwater uranium origin and fate control in a river valley aquifer. Environ. Sci. Technol. 47 (2013), 13941–13948.
9. Barnett, M.O., Jardine, P.M., Brooks, S.C., U (VI) adsorption to heterogeneous subsurface media: application of a surface complexation model. Environ. Sci. Technol. 36 (2002), 937–942.
10. Bonsor, H.C., MacDonald, A.M., Ahmed, K.M., Burgess, W.G., Basharat, M., Calow, R.C., et al. Hydrogeological typologies of the Indo-Gangetic basin alluvial aquifer, South Asia. Hydrogeol. J., 2017, 1–30.
11. Bowen, R., Hydrogeology of the Bist Doab and adjacent areas. Nord. Hydrol. 16 (1985), 33–44.
12. Brindha, K., Elango, L., Nair, R.N., Spatial and temporal variation of uranium in a shallow weathered rock aquifer in southern India. Journal of Earth System Science 120 (2011), 911–920.
13. CGWB, Ground Water Scenario, India. 2007, Central Ground Water Board, Ministry of Water Resources, New Delhi.
14. CGWB, Ground Water Scenario of India 2009–10. 2010, CGWB.
15. CGWB, CGWB-Dynamic Groundwater Resources of India. 2011, CGWB, Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India, Delhi, India, 243.
16. CGWB, Databse of borehole lithology, 2014 last accessed in June 2014.
17. Chakraborti, D., Bhaskar, D., Murrill, M., Examining India's groundwater quality management. Environ. Sci. Technol. 45 (2011), 27–33.
18. Chakraborti, D., Rahman, M.M., Chatterjee, A., Das, D., Das, B., Nayak, B., et al. Fate of over 480 million inhabitants living in arsenic and fluoride endemic Indian districts: magnitude, health, socio-economic effects and mitigation approaches. J. Trace Elem. Med. Biol. 38 (2016), 33–45.
19. Cheema, M.J., Immerzeel, W.W., Bastiaanssen, W.G., Spatial quantification of groundwater abstraction in the irrigated Indus basin. Ground Water 52 (2014), 25–36.
20. Davis, S.N., Fabryka-Martin, J.T., Wolfsberg, L.E., Variations of bromide in potable groundwater in the United States. Ground Water 42 (2004), 902–909.
21. Deverel, S.J., Fio, J.L., Groundwater flow and solute movement to drain laterals, western San Joaquin Valley, California: 1. Geochemical assessment. Water Resour. Res. 27 (1991), 2233–2246.
22. Dhillon, K.S., Dhillon, S.K., Quality of underground water and its contribution towards selenium enrichment of the soil–plant system for a seleniferous region of northwest India. J. Hydrol. 272 (2003), 120–130.
23. Dhillon, K.S., Dhillon, S.K., Selenium in groundwater and its contribution towards daily dietary Se intake under different hydrogeological zones of Punjab, India. J. Hydrol., 533, 2016.
24. DPHE/BGS, Kinniburgh, D., Smedley, P., (eds.) Arsenic Contamination of Groundwater in Bangladesh, 2001, British Geological Survey, Keyworth.
25. Edmunds, W.M., Savage, D., Geochemical characteristics of groundwater in granites and related crystalline rocks. Downing, R.A., Wilkinson, W.B., (eds.) Applied Groundwater Hydrology, 1991, Clarenden Press, Oxford, 266–282.
26. Edmunds, W.M., Shand, P., Hart, P., Ward, R.S., The natural (baseline) quality of groundwater: a UK pilot study. Sci. Total Environ. 310 (2003), 25–35.
27. Edmunds, W.M., Smedley, P., Fluoride in natural waters. Essentials of Medical Geology, 2013, Springer Netherlands, 311–336.
28. Fendorf, S., Michael, H.A., Van Geen, A., Spatial and temporal variations of groundwater arsenic in South and Southeast Asia. Science 328 (2010), 1123–1127.
29. Foster, S.S., Chilton, P.J., Groundwater: the processes and global significance of aquifer degradation. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. Ser. B Biol. Sci. 358 (2003), 1957–1972.
30. Gleeson, T., Befus, K.M., Jasechko, S., Luijendijk, E., Cardenas, M.B., The global volume and distribution of modern groundwater. Nat. Geosci. 9 (2015), 161–167.
31. Gupta, S., Himalayan drainage patterns and the origin of fluvial megafans in the Ganges foreland basin. Geology 25 (1997), 11–14.
32. Hinsby, K., Purtschert, R., Edmunds, W.M., Groundwater age and quality. Quevauiller, P., (eds.) Groundwater Science and Policy-An International Overview, 2008, 217–239.
33. 14C dating of deep groundwater in the Bengal Aquifer System, Bangladesh: implications for aquifer anisotropy, recharge sources and sustainability. J. Hydrol. 444–445 (2012), 209–220.
34. Hundal, H.S., Singh, K., Singh, D., Arsenic content in ground and canal waters of Punjab, North-West India. Environ. Monit. Assess. 154 (2009), 393–400.
35. IS, Indian Drinking Water Standards. IS 10500. 2012, 1–18.
36. Jain, A., Raven, K.P., Loeppert, R.H., Arsenite and arsenate adsorption on ferrihydrite: surface charge reduction and net OH-release stoichiometry. Environ. Sci. Technol. 33 (1999), 1179–1184.
37. Jaunat, J., Huneau, F., Dupuy, A., Celle-Jeanton, H., Vergnaud-Ayraud, V., Aquilina, L., et al. Hydrochemical data and groundwater dating to infer differential flowpaths through weathered profiles of a fractured aquifer. Appl. Geochem. 27 (2012), 2053–2067.
38. Katz, B.G., Eberts, S.M., Kauffman, L.J., Using Cl/Br ratios and other indicators to assess potential impacts on groundwater quality from septic systems: a review and examples from principal aquifers in the United States. J. Hydrol. 397 (2011), 151–166.
39. Katz, B.G., Griffin, D.W., Using chemical and microbiological indicators to track the impacts from the land application of treated municipal wastewater and other sources on groundwater quality in a karstic springs basin. Environ. Geol. 55 (2007), 801–821.
40. Khan, A.U., Report on the Qyaternary Geological and Geomorphological Mapping and Study of Fluvial Pocesses in Satluj River Basin in Parts of Ropar and Hosiarpur Districts Punjab Geologocal Survey of India (Lucknow, India). 1984.
41. Kumar, A., Rout, S., Narayanan, U., Mishra, M.K., Tripathi, R.M., Singh, J., et al. Geochemical modelling of uranium speciation in the subsurface aquatic environment of Punjab State in India. Journal of Geology and Mining Research 3 (2011), 137–146.
42. Kumar, M., Kumari, K., Ramanathan, A., Saxena, R., A comparative evaluation of groundwater suitability for irrigation and drinking purposes in two intensively cultivated districts of Punjab, India. Environ. Geol. 53 (2007), 553–574.
43. Kumar, R., Kumar, R., Mittal, S., Arora, M., Babu, J.N., Role of soil physicochemical characteristics on the present state of arsenic and its adsorption in alluvial soils of two agri-intensive region of Bathinda, Punjab, India. J. Soils Sediments 16 (2016), 605–620.
44. Lapworth, D.J., Gooddy, D.C., Butcher, A.S., Morris, B.L., Tracing groundwater flow and sources of organic carbon in sandstone aquifers using fluorescence properties of dissolved organic matter (DOM). Appl. Geochem. 23 (2008), 3384–3390.
45. Lapworth, D.J., Gopal, K., Rao, M.S., MacDonald, A.M., Intensive Groundwater Exploitation in the Punjab: An Evaluation of Resource and Quality Trends. British Geological Survey Open Report, 2014 (OR14068: 45).
46. Lapworth, D.J., MacDonald, A.M., Krishan, G., Rao, M.S., Gooddy, D.C., Darling, W.G., Groundwater recharge and age-depth profiles of intensively exploited groundwater resources in northwest India. Geophys. Res. Lett. 42 (2015), 7554–7562.
47. MacDonald, A.M., Bonsor, H.C., Ahmed, K.M., Burgess, W.G., Basharat, M., Calow, R.C., et al. Groundwater quality and depletion in the Indo-Gangetic Basin mapped from in situ observations. Nat. Geosci. 9 (2016), 762–766.
48. MacDonald, A.M., Bonsor, H.C., Dochartaigh, B.É.Ó., Taylor, R.G., Quantitative maps of groundwater resources in Africa. Environ. Res. Lett., 7, 2012, 024009.
49. Masscheleyn, P.H., Delaune, R.D., Patrick, W.H., Effect of redox potential and pH on arsenic speciation and solubility in a contaminated soil. Environ. Sci. Technol. 25 (1991), 1414–1419.
50. McArthur, J.M., Sikdar, P.K., Hoque, M.A., Ghosal, U., Waste-water impacts on groundwater: Cl/Br ratios and implications for arsenic pollution of groundwater in the Bengal Basin and Red River Basin, Vietnam. Sci. Total Environ. 437 (2012), 390–402.
51. McCray, J.E., Kirkland, S.L., Siegrist, R.L., Thyne, G.D., Model parameters for simulating fate and transport of on-site wastewater nutrients. Ground Water 43 (2005), 628–639.
52. Michael, H.A., Voss, C.I., Estimation of regional-scale groundwater flow properties in the Bengal Basin of India and Bangladesh. Hydrogeol. J. 17 (2009), 1329–1346.
53. Misra, A.K., Mishra, A., Study of quaternary aquifers in Ganga Plain, India: focus on groundwater salinity, fluoride and fluorosis. J. Hazard. Mater. 144 (2007), 438–448.
54. Morris, B.L., Darling, W.G., Gooddy, D.C., Litvak, R.G., Neumann, I., Nemaltseva, E.J., et al. Assessing the extent of induced leakage to an urban aquifer using environmental tracers: an example from Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia. Hydrogeol. J., 14(1–2), 2006.
55. Morris, B.L., Lawrence, A.R., Chilton, P.J.C., Adams, B., Calow, R.C., Klinck, B.A., Groundwater and Its Susceptibility to Degradation: A Global Assessment of the Problem and Options for Management. Vol. 3, 2003, United Nations Environment Programme, 126.
56. Mukherjee, A.N., Kuroda, Y., Productivity growth in Indian agriculture: is there evidence of convergence across states?. Agric. Econ. 29 (2003), 43–53.
57. Navarro, A., Carbonell, M., Evaluation of groundwater contamination beneath an urban environment: the Besos river basin (Barcelona, Spain). J. Environ. Manag. 85 (2007), 259–269.
58. Nickson, R.T., McArthur, J.M., Burgess, W.G., Ahmed, K.M., Ravenscroft, P., Rahmann, M., Arsenic poisoning of Bangladesh groundwater. Nature, 395, 1998, 338.
59. O Dochartaigh, B.E., MacDonald, A.M., Darling, W.G., Hughes, A.G., Li, J.X., Shi, L.A., Determining groundwater degradation from irrigation in desert-marginal northern China. Hydrogeol. J. 18 (2010), 1939–1952.
60. WHO, Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality. 2011.
61. Panno, S.V., Hackley, K.C., Hwang, H.H., Greenberg, S.E., Krapac, I.G., Landsberger, S., et al. Characterization and identification of Na-Cl sources in ground water. Ground Water 44 (2006), 176–187.
62. Rahman, A., A GIS based DRASTIC model for assessing groundwater vulnerability in shallow aquifer in Aligarh, India. Appl. Geogr. 28 (2008), 32–53.
63. Raju, N.J., Ram, P., Gossel, W., Evaluation of groundwater vulnerability in the lower Varuna catchment area, Uttar Pradesh, India using AVI concept. J. Geol. Soc. India 83 (2014), 273–278.
64. Rao, M.S., Krishan, G., Kumar, C.P., Purushothaman, P., Kumar, S., Observing changes in groundwater resource using hydro-chemical and isotopic parameters: a case study from Bist Doab, Punjab. Environ. Earth Sci., 76, 2017.
65. Rao, M.S., Purushothaman, P., Krishan, G., Rawat, Y.S., Kumar, C.P., Hydrochemical and isotopic investigation of groundwater regime in Jalandhar and Kapurthala districts, Punjab, India. Int. J. Earth Sci. Eng. 7 (2014), 6–15.
66. Ravenscroft, P., Burgess, W.G., Ahmed, K.M., Burren, M., Perrin, J., Arsenic in groundwater of the Bengal Basin, Bangladesh: distribution, field relations, and hydrogeological setting. Hydrogeol. J. 13 (2004), 727–751.
67. Rivett, M.O., Buss, S.R., Morgan, P., Smith, J.W., Bemment, C.D., Nitrate attenuation in groundwater: a review of biogeochemical controlling processes. Water Res. 42 (2008), 4215–4232.
68. Rivett, M.O., Ellis, P.A., Mackay, R., Urban groundwater baseflow influence upon inorganic river-water quality: the River Tame headwaters catchment in the City of Birmingham, UK. J. Hydrol. 400 (2011), 206–222.
69. Scanlon, B.R., Jolly, I., Sophocleous, M., Zhang, L., Global impacts of conversions from natural to agricultural ecosystems on water resources: quantity versus quality. Water Resour. Res., 43, 2007 (n/a–n/a).
70. Schnug, E., Lottermoser, B.G., Fertilizer-derived uranium and its threat to human health. Environ. Sci. Technol. 47 (2013), 2433–2434.
71. Seitzinger, S., Harrison, J.A., Böhlke, J.K., Bouwman, A.F., Lowrance, R., Peterson, B., et al. Denitrification across landscapes and waterscapes: a synthesis. Ecol. Appl. 16 (2006), 2064–2090.
72. Shamsudduha, M., Taylor, R.G., Ahmed, K.M., Zahid, A., The impact of intensive groundwater abstraction on recharge to a shallow regional aquifer system: evidence from Bangladesh. Hydrogeol. J. 19 (2011), 901–916.
73. Shamsudduha, M., Taylor, R.G., Chandler, R.E., A generalized regression model of arsenic variations in the shallow groundwater of Bangladesh. Water Resour. Res. 51 (2015), 685–703.
74. Sharma, C., Mahajan, A., Garg, U.K., Assessment of arsenic in drinking water samples in south-western districts of Punjab-India. Desalin. Water Treat. 51 (2013), 5701–5709.
75. Singh, I.B., Late quaternary history of the Ganga plain. Geological Society of India 64 (2004), 431–454.
76. Singh, C.K., Shashtri, S., Mukherjee, S., Integrating multivariate statistical analysis with GIS for geochemical assessment of groundwater quality in Shiwaliks of Punjab. India. Environ. Earth Sci. 62 (2010), 1387–1405.
77. Smedley, P.L., Kinniburgh, D.G., A review of the source, behaviour and distribution of arsenic in natural waters. Appl. Geochem. 17 (2002), 517–568.
78. Smedley, P.L., Zhang, M., Zhang, G., Luo, Z., Mobilisation of arsenic and other trace elements in fluviolacustrine aquifers of the Huhhot Basin, Inner Mongolia. Appl. Geochem. 18 (2003), 1453–1477.
79. Somasundaram, M.V., Ravindran, G., Tellam, J.H., Ground-water pollution of the Madras Urban Aquifer, India. Groundwater 31 (1993), 4–11.
80. Suthar, S., Bishnoi, P., Singh, S., Mutiyar, P.K., Nema, A.K., Patil, N.S., Nitrate contamination in groundwater of some rural areas of Rajasthan, India. J. Hazard. Mater. 171 (2009), 189–199.
81. Tariq, M.I., Afzal, S., Hussain, I., Pesticides in shallow groundwater of Bahawalnagar, Muzafargarh, D.G. Khan and Rajan Pur districts of Punjab, Pakistan. Environ. Int. 30 (2004), 471–479.
82. Tiwari, V.M., Wahr, J., Swenson, S., Dwindling groundwater resources in northern India, from satellite gravity observations. Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, 2009.
83. van Dijk, W.M., Densmore, A.L., Sinha, R., Gupta, S., Mason, P.J., Singh, A., et al. Geomorphic Controls on Aquifer Geometry in Northwestern India. American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting. 2014 (abstract EP13B-3512).
84. Van Geen, A., Zheng, Y., Goodbred, S., Horneman, A., Aziz, Z., Cheng, Z., et al. Flushing history as a hydrogeological control on the regional distribution of arsenic in shallow groundwater of the Bengal Basin. Environ. Sci. Technol. 42 (2008), 2283–2288.
85. Vengosh, A., Pankratov, I., Chloride/bromide and chloride/fluoride ratios of domestic sewage effluents and associated contaminated ground water. Ground Water 36 (1998), 815–824.
86. Visser, A., Dubus, I., Broers, H.P., Brouyere, S., Korcz, M., Orban, P., et al. Comparison of methods for the detection and extrapolation of trends in groundwater quality. J. Environ. Monit. 11 (2009), 2030–2043.
87. Weres, O., Bowman, H.R., Goldstein, A., Smith, E.C., Tsao, L., Harnden, W., The effect of nitrate and organic matter upon mobility of selenium in groundwater and in a water treatment process. Water Air Soil Pollut. 49 (1990), 251–272.
88. Wright, W.G., Oxidation and mobilization of selenium by nitrate in irrigation drainage. J. Environ. Qual. 28 (1999), 1182–1187.