Assessment of hydrogeochemistry of shallow aquifer using corrosion indices and geospatial techniques in the regions of Brahmaputra River Basin, India

Abstract

Abstract Present study was conducted on groundwater hydrogeochemistry in the Majuli River Island of the Brahmaputra River, India. Forty three groundwater samples were collected from shallow aquifers from different sites in the Majuli river basin, and analysed for various physico-chemical water quality parameters. Study showed that nearly 27.0 and 79.10, 88.43 and 74.41% of groundwater samples had higher nitrate, total hardness, iron and manganese content, respectively than the acceptable limits of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for drinking water. The water quality index revealed that 72.0% samples were not suitable for human drinking purpose. For analysing the corrosiveness and scaling potential of groundwater, indices namely, Langelier saturation index (LSI), Ryznar stability (RSI), Puckorius scaling (PSI), Larson skold indexes (LaI) and Chloride sulphate mass ratio (CSMR) were computed. The Ryznar index value of 70.0% collected groundwater samples were found to be more than 7.0 depicting significant corrosion towards the groundwater. Similarly, 90.69% samples had the PSI value > 6.5, representing tendency for corrosion. The CSMR value of 95.34% samples were > 0.5 in the study area. These indices also revealed that majority of groundwater samples of the Majuli River Island were corrosive in nature due to its non-alkaline characteristic and high iron content in the groundwater. The groundwater of the Majuli River Island may cause detrimental impacts on the domestic and industrial water quality and water distribution systems.