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Advances in Environmental Research Volume 10, Number 1, March 2021 , pages 043-57 DOI: https://doi.org/10.12989/aer.2021.10.1.043 |
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Geochemical evaluation of groundwater quality of Peshawar Basin, Pakistan |
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Gulraiz Akhter, Bilal A. Mand and Munir H. Shah
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| Abstract | ||
| Evaluation of groundwater quality is vital due to its diverse use for several purposes. In the present study, groundwater quality and suitability from the Peshawar basin, Pakistan, were evaluated for drinking and irrigation purposes. The water samples were analysed for major cations (Ca, Mg, Na and K) and anions (chloride, bicarbonate and sulphate) along with other physicochemical parameters (pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, and total hardness). About 95% of the water samples were found to be within the WHO, US-EPA and Pak-EPA permissible levels for drinking purposes. Seventy percent (70$) of the water samples belonged to the hard water category. Irrigation water quality parameters, such as, chloride, residual sodium bicarbonate, sodium adsorption ratio, percent sodium, magnesium adsorption ratio, Kelly' s ration and permeability index were evaluated which demonstrated that the groundwater was highly to moderately suitable for irrigation. A correlation study was conducted to find out the mutual associations among the variables. Piper diagram indicated the overall chemical nature of the study area was calciummagnesium bicarbonate type. Cluster analysis revealed mutual apportionment of various parameters in the groundwater of the Peshawar basin, Pakistan. | ||
| Key Words | ||
| groundwater; cations; anions; drinking/irrigation water quality; Pakistan | ||
| Address | ||
| Gulraiz Akhter: Department of Earth Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan Bilal A. Mand: Department of Earth Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan Munir H. Shah: Department of Chemistry, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan | ||
