Assortment of various groundwater sources through hydrochemical investigation in Rawalpindi district
Keywords:
Irrigation water, salinity, Sodium Adsorption Ratio, Residual Sodium Carbonate, Electrical ConductivityAbstract
Water plays a vital role in different physiological functions like maintenance of turgidity, nutrient uptake and metabolic processes in plants. The application of groundwater has been adopted for crop cultivation in many water-scarce areas. However, the quality of groundwater is deteriorating day by day due to urbanization and industrialization. . Therefore, a five-year (2015-2020) study was conducted to assess the fitness of groundwater being used for field application in different tehsils of Rawalpindi District. A total of 559 samples were collected in six tehsils of Rawalpindi, analyzed and categorized according to suitability criteria set by FAO (2013). Mean data showed that 70% of the total samples were fit, 9% marginally fit and 21% were found unfit for irrigation purposes. It was also recorded that a maximum (37%) of total unfit samples belonged to Gujar Khan tehsil whereas, the majority of samples of Taxila tehsil were fit compared to other Tehsils of Rawalpindi District. About 14.7% of water samples were recorded unfit due to Electrical Conductivity (EC), 5.9% due to Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR), 11.4% due to Residual Sodium Carbonate (RSC), 19.4% due to EC+RSC, 14% due to EC+SAR, 8% due to SAR+RSC, and 11.8% were unfit in terms of EC+RSC+SAR. Depending upon water quality, farmers were advised to use good quality water for crops. Suitable remedial measures for marginally fit/unfit water samples were suggested considering the salinity or sodicity of the samples.
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