Chemical Papers (2022) 76:6591–6605

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11696-022-02344-4

ORIGINAL PAPER

Groundwater quality assessment and its suitability for drinking

and agricultural purpose, Dindigul taluk, Tamilnadu, India
Premkumar Sundararaj1 · Sashik Kumar Madurai Chidambaram1 · Vivek Sivakumar2 · Logesh Natarajan3

Received: 23 March 2022 / Accepted: 22 June 2022 / Published online: 14 July 2022
© Institute of Chemistry, Slovak Academy of Sciences 2022

Abstract
Groundwater samples of Dindigul taluk in the interior part of Tamilnadu, India were evaluated for groundwater quality
and its suitability for drinking and irrigation purpose. Positive correlation of EC with most of the parameters suggests that
salinity plays a vital role in the enrichment of other parameters. Comparing with the post-monsoon the samples from the
pre-monsoon exhibit less quality but are suitable for drinking purposes except in north part of the study area. Almost all the
samples come under the standard values and are suitable for drinking as well as irrigation purpose. The average value of
TDS, Ca, Mg, Na, K, Cl, S ­ O4, ­CO3, ­HCO3, F, pH, EC, TH, SAR, RSC and Na% for pre-monsoon are 923.35, 56.35, 60.11,
179.47, 29.41, 257.59, 99.53, 0.79, 343.91, 0.77, 8.09, 1598.82, 388.24, 3.79, 0.15 and 41.98. Similarly for the post monsoon
the values are 664.94, 41.06, 44.45, 137.53, 10.24, 194.94, 53.88, 0.83, 271.21, 0.52, 8.06, 1175.29, 285.59, 3.42, 0.19 and
47.94 respectively. The TH and TDS values imply that the samples are hard to very hard type mostly during the pre-monsoon
period. About 41% and 59% of the pre-monsoon have hard and very hard water respectively. Similarly, 64% and remaining
36% in the post-monsoon show hard and very hard water respectively. The very hard hardness of groundwater is due to the
presence of alkaline earth such as calcium and magnesium. Northern area samples in the evaporation zone of Gibbs plot
suggest the contamination of groundwater through surface processes such as irrigation return flow and some other anthro-
pogenic impacts like domestic sewage disposal. Overall, the samples are suitable for irrigation purpose with an exception
that samples with medium salinity and high sodium content were not suitable for irrigation purposes in any type of soil.

Keywords Groundwater · Drinking purpose · Irrigation suitability · Dindigul

Introduction and soil (Wuana and Okieimen 2011). Groundwater quality

comprises the physical, chemical and biological characteris-
Groundwater has become the most important source of water tics. Naturally, groundwater contains mineral ions dissolved
used for domestic, industrial and agricultural purpose. The from the soil particles and rocks. According to Hem (1985),
rapid urbanization and industrialization impose a high pres- the quality of groundwater depends on the composition of
sure on the water resources including groundwater which recharged water, the rock with which it comes into contact,
often results in depletion/contamination (Okello et al. 2015). the residence time and reactions that take place within the
The quality of groundwater depends on the presence of vari- aquifer.
ous chemical constituents (dissolved ions) and their concen- Apart from the natural processes, anthropogenic activities
tration which are mostly derived from the surrounding rocks also play a vital role in the groundwater quality (Andrade
et al. 2008). In general, the presence of ions due to natural/
* Premkumar Sundararaj geogenic origin is good but the elevated concentrations of
spremmagu@gmail.com ions due to external anthropogenic activities which cause
major health-related issues (Chandrasekar et al. 2013; Roy
1
Department of Civil Engineering, University College et al. 2021). Based on UNESCO (2007) about 80% of the
of Engineering, 624622 Dindigul, India
diseases and deaths in the developing countries are related to
2
Department of Civil Engineering, Hindusthan College water contamination. The intensive use of natural resources
of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore, India
and production of wastes in modern society often cause
3
Department of Remote Sensing, Bharathidasan a threat to groundwater quality that has resulted in many
University, 620023 Tiruchirappalli, India

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6592 Chemical Papers (2022) 76:6591–6605

incidents of groundwater contamination such contamination Materials and methods

can be evaluated statistically based on the concentration of
physic-chemical parameters and also the geochemistry data Study area description
(Walton 1970; Shuxian 2013).
Numerous studies have concentrated on the groundwa- The present study Dindigul taluk is located in the Dindigul
ter quality and its suitability for drinking and agricultural district in Tamilnadu, India between the 77°40′ E and 78°10′
purpose in the recent decades (e.g. Nagarajan et al. 2010; E and 10° 8′ N and 10° 32′ N coordinates (Fig. 1). The study
Shuxian 2013; Umamageswari et al. 2019; Roy et al. 2022; area has a tropical climate with temperature ranges from
Sivakumar et al. 2022). Nagarajan et al. (2010) studied the 22.5 to 34.3 °C and receives an annual rainfall of about 700
groundwater quality and its suitability in Thanjavur city, to 1600 mm on average. The groundwater acts as a major
India and identified that the groundwater quality in this source of drinking and irrigation water. Most of the area in
region is impaired by man-made activities. The elevated the study region falls under the agricultural land. Paddy, mil-
nitrate, chloride and sulfate concentrations strongly address lets, sugarcane, groundnut, cotton and pulses are the crops
the impact of both domestic and agricultural activities on that are grown in this taluk. The southern part of the study
groundwater quality (Lee et al. 2003). Studies also suggest area has the Sirumalai hill ranges and red, as well as black
that surface runoff from the agricultural fields is one of the cotton soil, are the major soil types found in this region.
main sources of nutrients and salinity in groundwater (Lee Geologically, the study area is high-grade gneissic terrain of
et al. 2003; Rajmohan and Elango 2005). The surface, as Archean to Proterozoic age. Also, the hard rock terrain com-
well as groundwater quality, induces environmental degrada- prises predominantly Charnockite and Khondalite groups.
tion over long period of time because of highly contaminated The terrain also exposes basic/ultrabasic and younger acid
effluent discharge accelerated by overexploitation of existing intrusive. Crystalline limestone and bauxite are the major
water resources (Carneiro et al. 2010). This detoriation of minerals in the Dindigul district.
groundwater quality affects its usage for drinking, agricul- There has been deterioration of groundwater quality due
ture and industrial activities (Brindha and Elango 2012). to exploitation, excessive agriculture and untreated as well
Other than this several researchers have evaluated the suita- as industrial effluents. Various tannery units were found in
bility of groundwater for irrigation using various parameters the study area which use a large amount of freshwater along
e.g. Na%, SAR, RSC and USSL classification (Subramani with various chemicals. And the effluent from those indus-
et al. 2005; Sujatha and Rajeswara Reddy 2003). tries tends to pollute both the surface and groundwater by
Various researchers (Nagarajan et al. 2010; Selvakumar discharging it into the rivers or other surface water bodies
et al. 2017; Kuttimani et al. 2017; Muthukumar et al. 2011; (Mondal and Singh 2010).
Jameel et al. 2004) have analyzed the quality of groundwater
in different parts of Tamilnadu. Particularly, geochemical
and groundwater studies in Dindigul districts (Magesh et al. Methodology
2012; Jesu et al. 2013; Hanipha and Hussain 2013; Umamag-
eswari et al. 2019) were also carried out in the study area. A total of 17 stations were selected for groundwater sam-
Even though several studies have been carried out in the pling based on field survey. The groundwater samples were
study area, a regular monitoring of groundwater is must in collected from the selected stations and the location coordi-
order to understand water quality deterioration and helps nates were marked using a handheld GPS. Figure 1 shows
to plan remedial actions to prevent future damage. Also, the locations of groundwater samples collected from bore
the geochemistry of groundwater and its appropriateness for and dug wells. The sampling was done during both the pre-
drinking and agricultural use has not been well studied in monsoon (March) and post-monsoon (October) of 2019 to
the current research region. The groundwater in the study identify whether there is any impact of monsoon on ground-
area serves as the major source for domestic and agricul- water quality in the study area. The samples were collected
ture purpose, so, an attempt has been made here to demon- in high-density polyethylene containers prewashed with 1:1
strate water/rock interaction and anthropogenic influences HCl and rinsed two to three times before sampling using the
on groundwater quality and its suitability for domestic and respective sampling water. All the containers were carefully
agricultural activities in Dindigul taluk, Tamilnadu, India. labeled and numbered while collection prior to transport.
The collected samples were stored at a low temperature of
4 °C and transported to the laboratory for further analysis of
physicochemical parameters as described by APHA (1998).
The Electrical Conductivity (EC), Total Dissolved Sol-
ids (TDS) and pH of the collected water samples were

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Chemical Papers (2022) 76:6591–6605 6593

Fig. 1  Study area location map showing sample locations

measured in situ immediately after the collection of sam- 1984). SAR is a measure of sodium hazard to crops and
ples using portable filed meters. The analysis of remaining is estimated by:
parameters Ca, Mg, Na, K, Cl, F, ­S O 4, and ­H CO3 were [ ]0.5
analyzed in the laboratory. The Ca and Mg were estimated SAR = Na∕ (Ca + Mg)∕2
using titrimetric method (APHA 1998). The flame pho-
tometer method is used for the determination of sodium where Na, Ca and Mg are in meq/l. The SAR in water used
(Na) and potassium (K) ions. The estimation of chloride for irrigation purpose has an significant relationship with the
(Cl) has done through titration (MOHR’s) method. The soils because the Na in water can displace the Ca and Mg in
UV-spectrophotometer was used to determine the concen- the soil leads to long-term damage to the soil by decreasing
trations of both fluoride and sulphate (APHA 1998). Bi- the infiltration and permeability.
carbonate was evaluated by comparing a known volume of Residual Sodium Carbonate (RSC) is used to indicate the
sample to a dilute sulfuric acid solution. To identify irriga- alkalinity hazard of water for soil and to identify the suit-
tion suitability of the collected samples, Sodium Absorp- ability of water for irrigation purpose (Eaton 1950). RSC is
tion Ratio (SAR), Residual Sodium Carbonate (RSC) and estimated by the following formula:
Sodium percentage (Na%) were also calculated. ( )
RSC = HCO3 + CO3 −(Ca + Mg)
Sodium Absorption Ratio (SAR) is a measure of the
suitability of water for use in agricultural purpose because where the concentrations are reported in meq/l. Lloyd and
the irrigation water containing high proportion of sodium Heathcote (1985) have classified the irrigation water into
will affect the soil permeability and texture making unsuit- three classes based on RSC as suitable (RSC < 1.25), mar-
able for seedling emergence (Todd 1980; Trivedy and Goel ginal (1.25–2.5) and not suitable (< 2.5).

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6594 Chemical Papers (2022) 76:6591–6605

The percentage of Na content is a common parameter to pH shows around 7.9–8.2 (Fig. 2a and a1) which is permit-
assess the suitability of groundwater for agricultural purpose ted for drinking purpose but slightly basic in nature. This
(Wilcox 1948). Na in combination with C ­ O3 leads to alka- nature of water may be due to the dissolution of carbon-
line soils, while in combination with Cl forms saline soils. ates predominantly in the ­HCO3 form (Adams et al. 2001).
Both the soils are not suitable for plant growth. Therefore, The value of electrical conductivity may be an approximate
Na% was assessed for the study area using the following index of the total content of dissolved substance (salt) in
equation: water and also depends on the temperature as well as the
type and concentration of ions present in the water (Hem
Na % = (Na × 100)∕(Ca + Mg + Na + K)
1985). The EC in the studied samples varied from 530 to
A maximum of 60% Na is allowed in groundwater for 3330 µS/cm during the pre-monsoon and 540 to 2320 µS/cm
agricultural purpose (Ramakrishna 1998). The results of during the post-monsoon (Fig. 2b and b1). Previous study
hydro-chemical analysis were compared with the WHO carried out by Umamageswari et al. 2019 has also well cor-
(2004) standards for the identification of groundwater suit- related with the present study in which they have obtained
ability for both drinking and irrigation purpose. EC value ranging between 679 and 3132 µS/cm. The EC can
be classified into three types as type I (EC < 1500 µS/cm;
Salt enrichment is low), type II (EC 1500–3000 µS/cm; Salt
Results and discussion enrichment is medium) and type III (EC > 3000 µS/cm; Salt
enrichment is high) (Sarath Prasanth et al. 2012). Based on
Groundwater chemistry for drinking purpose this classification, about 59% and 76% of samples from the
pre-monsoon and post-monsoon falls under type I indicat-
The physico-chemical parameters and its concentration in ing less dissolution of salts. The remaining samples from
the collected groundwater samples have been evaluated to the pre-monsoon classified under type II (29%) and type III
determine the suitability of groundwater for both drinking (12%). The elevated levels of EC were attributed to surface
and agricultural purpose. The nature of some major ions (Ca, contamination sources such as agricultural activities and
Mg, Na, K, Cl, F, ­SO4, ­NO3 and ­HCO3) and other impor- domestic wastewaters in the study region. During the post-
tant physico-chemical parameters such as pH, EC, TDS monsoon, no samples fall under the type III of EC show-
and total hardness were analyzed and discussed below. The ing less or medium dissolution due to increased recharge of
analytical results of all the analyzed parameters (n = 34) water from the monsoonal rains.
have been given in Table 1. The pH of water provides vital The TDS values are considered as important for deter-
information in many types of geochemical equilibrium or mining the usage of water because groundwater with high
solubility calculations (Hem 1985). According to BIS (1993) TDS values is not suitable for both irrigation and drinking
and WHO (2004) standards, the limit pH value for drink- purpose (Sarath Prasanth et al. 2012). According to Freeze
ing water is specified as 6.5 to 8.5. The obtained value of and Cherry (1979), water with TDS values < 1000 mg/l are
considered as freshwater type and those above the given

Table 1  Analytical results (minimum, maximum, average, standard deviation) of different parameters in the study area
Physico-chemical Pre-monsoon Post-monsoon
parameters
Minimum Maximum Average with Median Minimum Maximum Average with stand- Median
standard deviation ard deviation

pH 7.9 8.2 8.09 ± 0.11 8.1 8.0 8.2 8.06 ± 0.08 8

EC (µS/cm) 530 3330 1598.82 ± 936.7 1200 540 2320 1175.29 ± 608.85 1040
TDS (mg/l) 282 1943 923.35 ± 566.87 663 304 1390 664.94 ± 364.97 572
TH 170 750 388.24 ± 184.48 360 165 580 285.59 ± 124.27 255
Ca (mg/l) 12 116 56.35 ± 33.18 52 16 92 41.06 ± 18.55 36
Mg (mg/l) 20.66 116.64 60.11 ± 31.94 59.535 18.23 94.77 44.45 ± 23.07 38.88
Na (mg/l) 23 451 179.47 ± 145.88 138 48 304 137.53 ± 87.47 113
K (mg/l) 3 113 29.41 ± 40.57 8 1 60 10.24 ± 14.47 6
Cl (mg/l) 46 780 257.59 ± 231.06 138 50 496 194.94 ± 141.25 135
F (mg/l) 0.27 1.22 0.77 ± 0.29 0.79 0.14 1.04 0.52 ± 0.27 0.45
SO4 (mg/l) 21 259 99.53 ± 74.44 50 23 125 53.88 ± 32.86 38
HCO3 (mg/l) 158.46 597.8 343.91 ± 125.1 342.4 103.97 414.8 271.21 ± 99.85 274.5

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Fig. 2  Spatial distribution of pH, EC, TDS and TH during the pre and post-monsoon of 2019

values belong to brackish water type. Therefore, by con- brackish water type (Fig. 2c and c1). Based on Davis and
sidering this classification 59% (pre-monsoon) and 76% De Weist (1966), water with TDS values > 3000 mg/l are
(post-monsoon) are freshwater type and the rest falls under not even suitable for irrigation purpose. Thus, the analytical

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results suggest that all the samples are suitable for irrigation groundwater has lower concentrations than Na because of
purpose in both the seasons. Higher concentration of TDS the slower weathering rate of K-bearing rocks than those of
in the groundwater samples is due to the leaching of salts Na-bearing rocks. The concentration of K seldom reached
and also due to the domestic sewage. The total hardness 20 mg/l but its maximum permissible limit is 12 mg/l. The
(TH) values of groundwater samples imply 41% from the analytical concentration of K in the study area shows ele-
pre-monsoon and 59% from the post-monsoon were under vated concentrations in most of the locations. This may be
the BIS standards. Sawyer and McCarthy (1967) classi- due to the use of fertilizer in agriculture fields as well as the
fied the TH of groundwater into four categories such as discharge of domestic wastes (Saha et al. 2019).
soft (TH > 75 mg/l), moderately hard (75–150 mg/l), hard The Chloride (Cl) concentration of groundwater can be
(150–300 mg/l) and very hard (> 300 mg/l). Based on the attributed naturally due to the presence of chlorides from
above-said classification, no samples show soft and moder- rocks, evaporates and juvenile water or by the contamination
ately hard water. About 41% and 59% of the pre-monsoon of groundwater through industrial waste and domestic sew-
have hard and very hard water respectively. Similarly, 64% ages (Saha et al. 2019; Easwer et al. 2022). In general, the
and remaining 36% in the post-monsoon show hard and concentration of Cl in groundwater will be less than 30 mg/l
very hard water respectively (Fig. 2d and d1). The analyti- (Nag 2009). The Cl concentration in the studied samples
cal results indicate that the water in the study area is hard ranges from 46 to 780 mg/l in pre-monsoon and 50–496 mg/l
to very hard and this hardness of groundwater is due to the during the post-monsoon (Fig. 4a and a1). The higher value
presence of alkaline earth such as calcium and magnesium of chloride content in most of the groundwater samples is
(Sarath Prasanth et al. 2012). an indication of high salinity in the study area (Saha et al.
Among the cations, concentrations of Ca, Mg, Na and 2019). The elevated concentration of Cl in groundwater sam-
K (Fig. 3) show an average of 56.35, 60.11, 179.47 and ples also indicates the influence of surface contamination
29.41 mg/l during the pre-monsoon and 41.06, 44.45, 137.53 sources such as agricultural activities and domestic waste-
and 10.24 mg/l during the post-monsoon. The average con- waters in the study region. Table 2 shows the Statistical
centration of Ca comes under the desirable limit (75 mg/l) description of wells exceeding the permissible limit during
and the maximum concentration was under the maximum pre and post-monsoon.
permissible limit (200 mg/l) during both the monsoons. Mg The concentration of F in the study water shows values
with maximum concentration of 116.64 mg/l during the pre- between 0.27 and 1.22 mg/l during the pre-monsoon and
monsoon exceeds the maximum permissible limit (100 mg/l) 0.14–1.04 mg/l during the post-monsoon. This value ranges
suggested by BSI (1993). But comes under the maximum falls within the standard values mentioned by WHO (2004)
permissible limit (150 mg/l) of WHO (2004). The samples suggesting that the water is not in contact with fluoride-bear-
from the post-monsoon were under the maximum permis- ing minerals and is suitable for drinking purpose (Krishna-
sible limit of BSI (1993) at all the locations. The concentra- kumar et al. 2011).
tions of Ca and Mg in the groundwater were mostly derived The ­SO4 concentration during the pre-monsoon ranges
from leaching of carbonate minerals such as Calcite and from 21 to 259 mg/l suggesting that some of the samples
Dolomite (Magesh et al. 2012). The influence of monsoonal exceeds the maximum permissible limit suggested by
rains caused variation in Ca concentration between two peri- WHO (2004). During the post-monsoon, all the samples
ods. The elevated Ca content can cause ailments in humans (23–125 mg/l) come within the WHO suggested permis-
and it was also not useful for domestic uses as it causes sible limit (150 mg/l) with an average of 53.88 mg/l. The
scaling (Sarath Prasanth et al. 2012). Na the most important occurrence of ­SO4 in groundwater can be resulted from the
cation, it ranks sixth among the elements in the order of ele- oxidation of sulfur from the surrounding igneous rocks in the
ments in order of abundance in natural waters. In freshwater, region (Saha et al. 2019). The low concentration of S ­ O4 indi-
Na is generally present in lower concentrations than Ca and cates that the study area was less affected by anthropogenic
Mg. The concentration of Na varied from 23 to 451 mg/l sources especially industries (Mostafa et al. 2017). The
and 48 to 304 mg/l during the pre and post-monsoon respec- possible sources of Bicarbonate are the presence of organic
tively (Fig. 3c and c1). Meanwhile, Na concentration also matter in the aquifers and weathering of silicate minerals
well associated with previous study which ranges from 42 (Gastmans et al. 2010).
to 336 mg/l (Umamageswari et al. 2019). The maximum The correlation matrix is one of the important tests that
permissible limit of Na is 200 mg/l and it reveals that a few show the connections between two independent param-
samples in both the monsoon exceeding the permissible limit eters and the most familiar one is the Pearson correlation
of BIS. Groundwater with high Na content is not suitable for matrix (Bahar and Reza 2010). The correlation matrix for
agricultural purpose and also causes increased blood pres- the analyzed physico-chemical parameters of groundwater
sure in humans (Sarath Prasanth et al. 2012). Potassium, a samples from the Dindigul Taluk are shown in Tables 3 and
naturally occurring element in the earth’s crust as well as in 4. Both Tables 3 and 4 show that F is very less correlation

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Fig. 3  Spatial distribution of Ca, Mg, Na and K during the pre and post-monsoon of 2019

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Fig. 4  Spatial distribution of Cl, F, S

­ O4 and ­HCO3 during the pre and post-monsoon of 2019

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Table 2  Statistical description of wells exceeding the permissible limit during pre and post-monsoon
Parameter BIS Standard Pre-monsoon Post-monsoon
(IS 10500:
2012) No. of samples No. of samples Wells not suitable No. of samples No. of samples Wells not
within permis- exceeding per- for portable within permis- exceeding per- suitable for
sible limit missible limit sible limit missible limit portable

pH 6.5–8.5 17 – – 17 – –
EC (µS/cm) 600 2 15 1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9,10,11 1 16 1,2,3,4,5,6,7
,12,13,14,15,16 ,8,9,10,12,
13,14,15,1
6,17
TDS (mg/l) 2000 17 – – 17 – –
TH 600 14 3 13,15,16 17 –
Ca (mg/l) 200 17 – – 17 – –
Mg (mg/l) 100 14 3 – 17 – –
Na (mg/l) 200 10 7 2,8,12,13,14,15,16 13 4 2,13,14,16
K (mg/l) 12 10 7 2,11,12,13,14,15,16 15 2 2,14
Cl (mg/l) 1000 17 – – 17 – –
F (mg/l) 1.5 17 – – 17 – –
SO4 (mg/l) 400 17 – – 17 – –
HCO3 (mg/l) 400 14 3 2,12,15 14 4 2,8,14,16

Table 3  Pearson correlation pH EC TDS TH Ca Mg Na K Cl F SO4 HCO3

matrix (r) of analyzed physico-
chemical parameters during the pH 1
pre-monsoon
EC 0.35 1
TDS 0.35 0.996 1
TH 0.22 0.87 0.85 1
Ca 0.04 0.70 0.72 0.77 1
Mg 0.29 0.78 0.74 0.92 0.45 1
Na 0.39 0.96 0.95 0.71 0.52 0.67 1
K 0.06 0.30 0.38 0.15 0.50 − 0.12 0.22 1
Cl 0.38 0.96 0.95 0.83 0.61 0.78 0.96 0.12 1
F 0.42 − 0.02 − 0.05 − 0.09 − 0.15 − 0.03 0.06 − 0.40 0.13 1
SO4 0.39 0.94 0.94 0.74 0.55 0.69 0.94 0.27 0.94 0.14 1
HCO3 0.20 0.69 0.69 0.61 0.53 0.53 0.62 0.45 0.50 − 0.38 0.51 1

Significance level p < 0.05

(r < 0.3) with all the other parameters and negative correla- post-monsoon) indicates dissolution process of rock-forming
tion (r = − 0.3) with K. This shows that F is not associated minerals in water.
with the other elements. Also, EC shows very good correla- The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was carried
tion (r > 0.7) with all other parameters except pH, K and F out separately for the two monsoon periods to identify the
during both the pre and post-monsoon mentioning that EC underlying pattern between the measured hydro-chemical
is associated with the concentration of various ions. The parameters which helps in data interpretation. The fac-
Ca, Mg and Na show very good correlation (r > 0.6) with tor loadings for the pre-monsoon have four latent factors
EC, TDS and TH indicating that these physico-chemical explaining 74.56% of sampling variance (Table 5). Similarly,
parameters of groundwater are associated with the presence the PCA for the post-monsoon has three-factor loadings with
of alkaline earth such as sodium, calcium and magnesium. 86.86% of sampling variance (Table 5). The values that are
Very less correlation of pH with H ­ CO3 (r = 0.2 and 0.08) considered as important due to the higher correlation (val-
indicates that the role of carbonate is very low in controlling ues > 0.7) are marked in boldface type. The factor loadings
the pH during both the pre and post-monsoon. Very high of the pre-monsoon indicate positive and good correlation
correlation of TH and TDS (r > 0.8, pre-monsoon & r > 0.9, of EC (0.81) and K (0.83) with the first component (PC1)

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Table 4  Pearson correlation pH EC TDS TH Ca Mg Na K Cl F SO4 HCO3

matrix (r) of analyzed physico-
chemical parameters during the pH 1
post-monsoon
EC 0.26 1
TDS 0.26 1.00 1
TH 0.26 0.92 0.92 1
Ca 0.56 0.67 0.67 0.74 1
Mg 0.07 0.88 0.87 0.95 0.49 1
Na 0.24 0.97 0.97 0.82 0.58 0.79 1
K 0.05 0.68 0.70 0.53 0.36 0.52 0.65 1
Cl 0.27 0.96 0.96 0.88 0.63 0.84 0.95 0.56 1
F 0.12 0.20 0.16 0.14 0.11 0.13 0.28 − 0.39 0.29 1
SO4 0.30 0.96 0.97 0.86 0.72 0.77 0.93 0.78 0.91 − 0.003 1
HCO3 0.08 0.78 0.76 0.70 0.46 0.70 0.76 0.53 0.62 0.27 0.69 1

Significance level p < 0.05

Table 5  Loadings of Factor loadings (varimax normalized) of principal components (marked loadings are > 0.7)
physico-chemical parameters
on significant principal Pre-monsoon Post-monsoon
components of groundwater
samples PC1 PC2 PC3 PC4 Parameters PC1 PC2 PC3

0.67 − 0.47 − 0.03 − 0.04 TDS 1.00 − 0.06 − 0.03

0.13 0.45 − 0.42 − 0.45 Ca 0.70 0.05 0.55
0.01 − 0.65 − 0.18 0.50 Mg 0.88 0.02 − 0.26
0.47 0.72 − 0.25 0.27 Na 0.96 0.03 − 0.08
0.83 0.07 0.27 0.31 K 0.67 − 0.65 − 0.04
0.25 0.86 − 0.06 0.24 Cl 0.96 0.13 − 0.04
− 0.82 0.40 0.01 0.02 SO4 0.96 − 0.22 0.10
− 0.76 − 0.21 − 0.22 0.41 HCO3 0.77 − 0.04 − 0.20
0.03 0.33 0.63 0.27 F 0.21 0.89 − 0.16
− 0.18 0.14 0.73 − 0.14 pH 0.30 0.24 0.86
0.81 0.11 − 0.25 0.14 EC 1.00 − 0.02 − 0.04
− 0.78 0.32 − 0.18 0.24 TH 0.65 0.48 − 0.18
3.99 2.54 1.41 1.01 Eigen Values 7.61 1.58 1.23
33.22 21.16 11.77 8.41 % of variance 63.43 13.17 10.25

The Bold Values indicate the Strong correlation between the two Parameter

and have 33.21% of sampling variance. The PC2/Factor 2 is the only element showing loading > 0.5 with this component.
determined with high positive loadings of Na (0.72) and Cl This can be related to changes in the hydro-geochemical
(0.85) Unlike PC1 the EC and K are positively but very less conditions in the aquifer caused by the influx of pollution
correlated. During the post-monsoon, more parameters were (Dragon 2006).
well loaded in the first component such as TDS (0.99), Mg In order to identify the chemical characteristics of
(0.87), Na (0.96), Cl (0.96), S
­ O4 (0.96), H
­ CO3 (0.77) and EC groundwater, the analytical values were plotted in Piper tri-
(0.99). The elevated concentrations of these parameters can linear diagram (Piper 1944) using AquaChem software. This
be related to the influence of anthropogenic pollution in the diagram shows the similarities and differences among the
study area (Dragon 2006). The PC3 reflects the local vari- water samples as those with similar qualities will have the
ability of hydro-geochemical conditions of water-bearing tendency to fall into the same group (Ramesh et al. 2014).
sediments (Dragon 2006). With respect to this in both the The Piper diagram consists of three distinct fields; two tri-
pre-monsoon and post-monsoon pH (0.72 and 0.86) is well angular fields (major cations and anions are plotted) and
loaded in PC3. The pre-monsoon data were loaded with four one diamond-shaped field (groundwater characteristics).
components, unlike the post-monsoon. Here in PC4, Mg is The diamond-shaped field of piper is further divided into

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Chemical Papers (2022) 76:6591–6605 6601

Fig. 5  Piper tri-linear diagram showing the chemical characteristics of groundwater samples

six classes for the identification of the salt combinations of evaporation dominance on groundwater chemistry in the
water (Sarath Prasanth et al. 2012). In the study area, the salt study area. It is used to identify the relationship between the
combinations of aquifers are dominated by C ­ aHCO3, Nacl, water composition and aquifer characteristics (Magesh et al.
mixed ­CaNaHCO3 and mixed CaMgCl facies type (Fig. 5). 2012). Figure 6 displays the relationship between ground-
The presence of mixed CaMgCl water type suggests that water and aquifer lithology in the study area. The gener-
the groundwater in this region was influenced by the disso- ated Gibbs plot for cation (TDS plotted against (Na + K)/
lution of carbonate-bearing minerals as well as the disposal (Na + k + Ca)) show that the samples from both the pre and
of domestic sewage water in certain locations (Carneiro post-monsoon were plotted over the rock-water interaction
et al. 2010). However, most of the samples clustered over zone. Similarly, the plot for anion (TDS plotted against Cl/
the CaMgCl and NaCl water type suggesting the mixing of (Cl + ­HCO3)) displays that almost all the samples were plot-
high salinity water, especially from the surface contamina- ted in the rock-water interaction zone with few samples at
tion. The dominance of Na type and Cl type water also sug- the evaporation zone during the pre-monsoon.
gests that the groundwater is experiencing salinity issues This observation suggests that dissolution of carbon-
especially for both drinking and irrigation purposes (Magesh ate and silicate minerals are the dominant controlling fac-
et al. 2012). Few samples also plotted over the ­CaNaHCO3 tor of groundwater chemistry in the study area. Further,
and ­CaHCO3 water types, expressing mineral dissolution few samples from the pre-monsoon fall in the evaporation
and freshwater recharge over some locations. zone suggest the contamination of groundwater through
In addition to Piper diagram, Gibbs plots (Gibbs 1970) surface processes such as irrigation return flow and some
were also used to gain better insight into hydrochemical other anthropogenic impacts like domestic sewage disposal
processes such as precipitation, rock-water interaction and (Umamageswari et al. 2019).

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6602 Chemical Papers (2022) 76:6591–6605

Fig. 6  Mechanisms controlling groundwater chemistry–Gibbs plots

C1 250 C2 750 C3 100 Pre-monsoon

25
Sodium Hazard Post-monsoon
S1 - Low
90
20 S2 - Medium
S3 - High 80
S4 - Very High Permissible to
Doubtful
15 70
Salinity Hazard
SAR

C1 - Low 60
S4 C2 - Medium
10
Na %

C3 - High
50
Excellent to Good

Unsuitable
S3
Good to Permissible

Doubtful to Unsuitable

5
S2 pre 40
S1 post
0 30
100 EC 10000
20

Fig. 7  USSL classification of groundwater samples 10

0
0 1000 2000 3000 4000
Irrigation suitability EC (µS/cm)

In this study area, agriculture solely depends on the ground- Fig. 8  Irrigational suitability of groundwater in the study area–Wil-
water due to frequent failure of monsoon. Therefore, irriga- cox diagram
tion suitability of groundwater for Dindigul taluk is carried
out for the pre and post-monsoons of 2019 using EC, SAR, the groundwater is classified into four groups for irrigation
RSC and Na%. Concentrations of EC and Na are very impor- purposes such as low (EC < 250 µS/cm), medium (250–750
tant in classifying the groundwater for irrigation purpose µS/cm), high (750–2250 µS/cm) and very high (2250–5000
because the increased soluble salt proportions will affect µS/cm).
the suitability of groundwater for irrigation (Nagarajan et al. The calculated values of SAR in the study area vary
2010). According to Richards (1954), with reference to EC between 0.68 and 9.6 (pre-monsoon) and 1.332 to 6.35

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Chemical Papers (2022) 76:6591–6605 6603

(post-monsoon). The SAR values of both the seasons were The principal component analysis provides confidence
found within the range of excellent category (< 10; low in identifying different hydrochemical processes. The factor
sodium) which is suitable for irrigation purpose. This reveals loadings for the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon have four
that the groundwater samples in the study area have low latent factors explaining 74.56% and 86.86% of sampling
sodium content thus suitable for irrigation in all type of soil variance respectively. The piper plot for the analyzed sam-
(Sarath Prasanth et al. 2012). The USSL (1954) plot indi- ples gives an impression that the domestic sewage pollution,
cates that 23.53% of samples falls in the C1S1 (low salin- as well as agricultural pollutants taking place in certain loca-
ity–low sodium) and 50% of samples fall under the C2S1 tions, causes deterioration of groundwater quality especially
(medium salinity- low sodium) category (Fig. 7). These by increasing the salinity. The Gibbs plot suggests rock-
categories show that the water is suitable for irrigation. water interaction as the dominant process and is followed by
Remaining 23.53% and 2.94% comes within C2S2 (medium evaporation. This observation is related to the dissolution of
salinity-medium sodium) and C2S3 (medium salinity–high carbonate and silicate minerals controlling the groundwater
sodium) category. Here, C2S2 is suitable for irrigation but quality of the region. Likewise, the irrigation suitability in
not for all types of soils and the samples in C2S3 seems the study area was also carried out for the same groundwater
unsuitable for irrigation purpose. samples by using the SAR, RSC and Na% values. During
The RSC values suggest that all the samples are suitable pre-monsoon, the average value of SAR, RSC and Na% was
for irrigation purpose based on the classifications of Lloyd 3.79, 0.15 and 41.98 respectively. In post-monsoon, the aver-
and Heathcote (1985). According to the RSC values, 94% age value of SAR, RSC and Na% was 3.42, 0.19 and 47.94
of samples are suitable and the remaining 6% samples are respectively. The values recommend that the groundwater
marginal. Percentage of Na calculated for the groundwater was suitable for irrigation purpose irrespective of the sea-
for both the seasons was plotted against EC in the Wilcox sons but somewhere its quality is getting deteriorated due
diagram (Fig. 8). to man-made activities. Overall, the samples are suitable
From this diagram it is identified that one sample from for irrigation purpose with an exception that samples with
the pre-monsoon and 5 samples from post-monsoon were medium salinity and high sodium content were not suitable
excellent to good; 5 (pre-monsoon) and 6 (post-monsoon) for irrigation purpose in any type of soil; this research will
samples were good to permissible; 3 samples from each help researchers and policymakers better improvement of
pre-monsoon and post-monsoon were permissible to doubt- the study region.
ful; 4 samples from pre-monsoon and 3 samples from post-
monsoon were doubtful to unsuitable and two pre-monsoon Supplementary Information The online version contains supplemen-
tary material available at https://d​ oi.o​ rg/1​ 0.1​ 007/s​ 11696-0​ 22-0​ 2344-4.
samples are unsuitable. Overall, the groundwater region
is suitable for irrigation except in a few locations showing Funding Not applicable.
minimal enrichment of sodium and salinity.
Availability of data and materials All data generated or analyzed during
this study are included in this published article.
Conclusion
Declarations
The present study was carried out to determine the geochem-
ical processes responsible for the quality deterioration of Conflict of interest The authors declare no conflict interest.
groundwater in the Dindigul taluk of Tamilnadu, India using Ethical approval Not applicable.
17 groundwater samples. The general analysis of physic-
chemical parameters of the groundwater implies that pH in
the study area is slightly basic in nature with hard to very
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