Assessment of Pre-and Post-Monsoon Groundwater Resource for Irrigation in Bhopalpatnam area, Bijapur District, Chhattisgarh, India
A study was conducted to determine the suitability of groundwater used for irrigation in and around the Bhopalpatnam area of Bijapur District, Chhattisgarh, during pre-and post-monsoon seasons of 2016. In this study, sixty two groundwater samples were collected different villages and analyzed for various hydrochemical parameters like pH, EC, Alkalinity, Hardness , TDS, Ca, Mg, Na, K, CO3, HCO3, Cl, SO4, NO3, PO4, Fe and F. Physico-chemical characterization of the samples revealed that groundwater from most of the sources was not fit for drinking owing to a high concentration of EC, HCO3, NO3, Fe and F. Irrigation indices such as Sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), Sodium percentage (Na %), Residual sodium carbonate (RSC), Permeability Index (PI), Kelly's Ratio (KR), Magnesium Hazard (MH) and EC were also calculated. The SAR values obtained for all the samples were plotted against EC values in the US Salinity Laboratory diagram and it was revealed that the most of the samples fall under water type C3-S1 indicating high salinity and low SAR. The analysis of the various parameters indicated the moderate suitability of groundwater for irrigation purpose. Keywords : Groundwater, Irrigation, SAR, %Na, KR, PI and MH.