ASSESSMENT OF GROUNDWATER QUALITY OF DEBIGANJ UPAZILLA IN PANCHAGARH FOR DRINKING, IRRIGATION AND INDUSTRIAL PURPOSES

Abstract

A research was conducted for studying the suitability of groundwater for drinking, irrigation and industrial uses. For this, a study was conducted to examine the ionic concentrations of some groundwater samples of Debiganj upazila, Panchagarh district of Bangladesh. Fifty water samples were collected from 29 hand tubewells, 18 shallow tubewells and 3 deep tubewells and analysed for p", EC, cations (Ca’*, Mg”*, Na‘, K*, Zn’*, Cu’*, Mn?" and Fe*"), anions (HCO3;, NO3, SO,”, PO,* and CI), TDS, SAR, SSP, RSC, Hr, permeability index, permeability salinity, Gibb’s ratio and Kelly’s ratio. The p" value (5.1 - 5.8) indicated that the waters were acidic in nature. According to TDS values, all samples were classed as ‘freshwater’. SAR and SSP of all the samples were under ‘excellent’ classes. Maximum samples were within ‘soft’ class regarding hardness with ‘suitable’ RSC. According to SAR and EC values, the water samples were classified as C2S1 and C1S1. Based on the contents Ca**, Mg”*, Na’, Zn’*, Fe**, Mn", SO,”, PO,* and CI’, all waters were within the ‘safe’ limit for drinking but some waters were unsuitable for industries. The relationship of p" vs EC, p" vs TDS and p" vs SAR indicated significant positive correlation while p" vs SSP, p" vs RSC and EC vs SAR combination revealed negative significant correlation. Among the major ionic constituents, the remarkable correlations existed between Ca vs Mg, Ca vs SO4, Mg vs Na. The concentrations of various dissolved ions varied widely in different sampling sites. These variations might reflect the difference in natural and anthropogenic activities related to the groundwater quality.