Hydrochemical and characteristics of groundwater

Groundwater is a vital source for drinking and irrigation purposes in the northern Telangana, South India. Therefore, detailed knowledge of the geochemical evolution of groundwater and assessing the water quality status for drinking and irrigation are very essential in the study area. In order to attend this objective, a total of 34 groundwater samples were collected and analyzed for the major cations (sodium, calcium, magnesium and potassium), anions (chloride, sulfate, bicarbonate, carbonate, nitrate, and fluoride), and physicochemical parameters (pH, total dissolved salts, total hardness, and electrical conductivity). The pH of groundwater in the study area ranged from 6.47 to 8.03 with a mean value of 7.09, indicates slightly alkaline in nature. Nitrate concentration in the groundwater varied from 0.4 to 80 mg/L, and about 20.58% of the groundwater contains excess nitrate in the study area, which is not suitable for drinking purposes. The fluoride content in the groundwater ranges from 0.06 to 4.33 mg/L and the average value is 1.13 mg/L with highest fluoride level recorded at Karegaon village (4.33 mg/L), lowest at Bederelli village (0.06 mg/L) and >2 to <3 mg/L in Basara RS.