Prospects of groundwater quality for irrigation in central tracts of Lalitpur region, Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract

The quality of selected bored well and dug well waters from the central tracts of the Lalitpur region in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India, was investigated for irrigation purposes.  The study area is situated within the latitudes 24° 35' N and 24° 43' N, and the longitudes 78° 20' 41" E and 78° 30' E in the basin of the Shahzad River, which is a tributary of the Betwa River. Granites and gneisses of Archaean age are exposed in various parts of the area.

The selected groundwater samples were analysed for major cations, anions, trace elements, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), sodium absorption ratio (SAR), residual sodium carbonate (RSC), permeability index (Pl), and sodium per cent (SP). The analysed data were plotted on Wilcox and U.S. salinity diagrams to evaluate chemical quality of groundwater for irrigation. The SAR values (ranging from 0.47 to 79) are within the permissible limits. A majority of samples (i.e., 57.5%) belong to C3-S, class whereas remaining samples (42.5%) fall in C2-S1 class. Plots of SP against EC indicate that a large number of samples (67.5%) fall within Excellent to Good type of water whereas remaining samples lie within Good to Permissible type. Hence the water can be used for all types of crop on soils of medium to high permeability.