Appraisal of water quality and hydro-geochemistry of groundwater quality classification for drinking and irrigation

Declining in the groundwater quality and increasing in the anthropogenic activities at an alarmingrate in parts of the Karnataka, especially in Channagiri Taluk, Davangere district. A limited work hasbeen carried out on groundwater quality classification for drinking and irrigation in selectedlocations. In the current paper highlights the groundwater quality and compare its appropriateness fordrinking and irrigation purpose in Channagiri Taluk, Davangere region. Fifteen different groundwater samples selecting underground sources were collected and analyzed for almost all chiefcations, anions and other hydro-chemical variables. Analytical results of hydro-chemical analysisindicated majority of the samples above the permissible limits of the Indian standards. Variousirrigation water quality diagrams and variables such as sodium absorption ratio (SAR), sodiumpercentage (Na %), Residual sodium carbonate (RSC), Residual Sodium Bicarbonate (RSBC) andKelley’s ratio revealed that most of the water samples are suitable for irrigation. Langelier SaturationIndex (LSI) values suggest that the water is slightly corrosive and non-scale forming in nature. Piperplot indicates the chemical composition of water, mainly controlled by termination and mixing ofirrigation return flow. This work thus concludes that groundwater in the Channagiri Taluk,Davangere district is chemically unsuitable for domestic and agricultural uses. It is recommended tocarry out a continuous water quality monitoring program and development of effective managementpractices for utilization of water resources.