J Indian Soc Remote Sens (March 2012) 40(1):155165 DOI 10.

1007/s12524-011-0116-0

SHORT NOTE

Suitability Analysis of Groundwater Quality for Domestic and Irrigation Usage in Yamuna Nagar District, India: A GIS Approach
Gulshan K. Sethi & Bhagwan S. Chaudhary & Sanjay K. Goyal & Praveen K. Thakur

Received: 2 June 2010 / Accepted: 25 April 2011 / Published online: 29 June 2011 # Indian Society of Remote Sensing 2011

Abstract The main source to fulfill the enormous needs of water both for domestic and agricultural purposes in the densely cultivated region of Yamuna Nagar district of Haryana (India) is the water under earth. Since enough quantity of good quality water has been readily available, the water quality concerns are often neglected. In the present study analysis of the geochemical characteristics of groundwater to assess its suitability for domestic and irrigation purposes has been done. Fifty-five samples were collected in the months of June (pre-monsoon) and October (post-monsoon) from the bore wells. These samples were analysed for various parameters and were compared with various national and international standards to determine the suitability of water for domestic and irrigation use. The thematic maps for hydrogen ion concentration (pH), total dissolved solids (TDS), total hardness (TH), electric conductivity
G. K. Sethi (*) M L N College, Yamuna Nagar 135 001, India e-mail: gk1600@gmail.com B. S. Chaudhary : S. K. Goyal Department of Geophysics, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra 136 119, India P. K. Thakur Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Dehradun 248 001, India

(EC), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), percent sodium (Na%) and residual sodium carbonate (RSC) were prepared in GIS environment. These maps were further classified as per given standards to study the spatial variations of quality parameters and their suitability for drinking and irrigation purposes. Investigations revealed that groundwater in general was hard for domestic use. However it was within the safe limits for drinking. Furthermore groundwater quality was well within the desirable to permissible limits for irrigation purpose. Keywords Groundwater quality . Irrigation . GIS . Yamuna Nagar . India

Introduction Groundwater is the main source of water that meets the agricultural, industrial and household requirements. Population growth, socioeconomic development, technological and climate changes has increased the demand for potable water manifolds in the past few years (Alcamo et al. 2007).One of the internationally accepted human rights is the access to safe drinking water which is the basic need for human health and development (WHO 2001). The general health and life expectancy of the people is reported to be adversely affected due to lack of the

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availability of clean drinking water in many developing countries of the world (Nash and McCall 1995). In irrigation, the poor water quality not only affects the crop yield but also affects the physical conditions of the soil (Ayers and Westcot 1994). Since the dependence on groundwater has increased tremendously in India due to vagaries of monsoon and scarcity of surface water in recent years, therefore groundwater quality needs to be monitored and managed. If water quality is not maintained, it is not just environment that will suffer; the commercial and recreational value of other water resources will also diminish. Hence there is always need for and concern over the protection and management of groundwater quality Conceptually water quality refers to the characteristics of a water supply that will influence its suitability for a specific use, i.e., how well the quality meets the needs of the user. Quality is defined by certain physical, chemical and biological characteristics. It is determined by the solutes and gases
Fig. 1 Study area and well location map

dissolved in the water as well as the matter suspended in and floating on the water (Todd and Mays 2005). Investigations have reported that groundwater is highly susceptible to pollution from natural and anthropogenic factors (Jain and Sharma 2000). In India, overexploitation of groundwater without commensurate recharge, indiscriminate use of chemicals in agriculture and residues of pollutants from pesticides and fertilizers percolating to ground in many parts of the country has resulted in deterioration of groundwater quality (Goyal et al. 2010). Moreover untreated effluents from industrial and domestic sectors have also polluted the groundwater (Palaniswami and Ramulu 1994). Therefore assessment of groundwater quality is necessary to determine its suitability for different uses. Goyal et al. (2010) classified the suitability of groundwater for domestic use on the basis of hydrogen ion concentration (pH), total dissolved solids (TDS) and total hardness (TH). Studies (Wilcox 1955; Lloyd and Heathcote 1985) have determined the suitability of irrigation water from

J Indian Soc Remote Sens (March 2012) 40(1):155165 Table 1 Pre-monsoon values of quality parameters (June 2006) Sr. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 Location Milak Jublian Haveli Sadhaura Saranwan Dhalaur Uttamwala Rulaheri Ramgarh Chamel Mazra Rampur Machrauli Fatehpur Munda Khera Azizpur Bilaspur Chagnauli Darpur Rampur Jattan Baniwala Fakir Majra Bhamnauli Bakarwala Naggal Patti Khizrabad Gulabgarh Budh Kalan Devdhar Chhachhrauli Harewa Lohriwala Kharwan Shazadpur Kaithwala Kail Jaroda Chaneti Mukarampur Kait Khurdi PabniKalan Balchhaper Talakaur Kherakalan Landhaura CO2 3 0.50 1.00 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.50 0.00 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 1.00 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 1.50 1.00 0.50 0.50 0.50 1.00 0.50 0.50 0.50 1.00 0.50 0.50 HCO 3 2.25 3.50 4.75 2.25 4.75 3.25 2.50 4.75 4.50 4.75 2.75 4.75 3.50 3.25 3.50 2.75 3.00 4.25 3.75 4.25 3.75 4.75 4.25 3.75 1.25 3.25 2.25 3.25 1.25 2.75 2.25 3.25 3.75 5.00 1.75 4.25 3.75 3.00 6.75 4.25 4.75 6.00 2.75 4.75 (Ca2+ + Mg2+) 3.10 4.10 5.70 2.70 4.50 3.70 3.10 5.00 4.00 5.50 4.90 8.80 4.00 3.20 3.90 3.00 4.80 4.20 4.90 4.50 4.80 4.80 5.20 5.10 2.60 4.50 3.10 3.90 2.60 4.20 3.70 3.70 5.30 5.60 2.60 5.40 5.80 5.80 8.30 2.90 5.20 8.60 3.90 4.90 Na+ 4.40 2.40 7.30 3.80 3.50 2.30 3.40 3.00 4.00 1.50 1.10 7.20 1.00 3.30 1.60 1.50 1.7 1.80 0.60 1.00 4.20 3.20 2.30 2.90 1.90 1.00 3.40 3.10 1.90 2.80 4.30 3.80 4.20 2.90 1.90 3.60 2.20 8.20 6.70 2.60 2.80 9.40 5.60 2.60 EC 750.00 650.00 1300.00 650.00 800.00 600.00 650.00 800.00 800.00 700.00 600.00 1600.00 500.00 650.00 550.00 450.00 650.00 600.00 550.00 550.00 900.00 800.00 750.00 800.00 450.00 550.00 650.00 700.00 450.00 700.00 800.00 750.00 950.00 850.00 450.00 900.00 800.00 1400.00 1500.00 550.00 800.00 1800.00 950.00 750.00 TDS 450.00 390.00 780.00 390.00 480.00 360.00 390.00 480.00 480.00 420.00 360.00 960.00 300.00 390.00 330.00 270.00 390.00 360.00 330.00 330.00 540.00 480.00 450.00 480.00 270.00 330.00 390.00 420.00 270.00 420.00 480.00 450.00 570.00 510.00 270.00 540.00 480.00 840.00 900.00 330.00 480.00 1080.00 570.00 450.00

157

pH 7.20 7.00 7.40 7.60 7.00 7.50 7.20 7.20 7.10 7.20 7.20 7.30 7.40 7.70 7.10 7.70 7.10 7.00 7.30 7.10 7.20 7.10 7.20 7.00 7.80 7.30 7.40 7.40 7.80 7.30 7.50 7.20 7.30 7.20 7.40 7.30 7.40 7.40 7.30 7.80 7.40 7.20 7.30 7.30

158 Table 1 (continued) Sr. No. 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 Location Mustfabad Mali Majra Hartan Chamrori Radaur Jathlana Madhobans Khurdban Kandroli Choli Jattan Ledi CO2 3 0.50 0.00 0.50 0.00 0.50 0.50 0.50 1.00 1.00 0.50 0.00 HCO 3 1.75 4.00 0.75 1.50 3.75 2.75 2.25 2.50 2.50 3.75 6.00

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(Ca2+ + Mg2+) 3.10 5.40 1.60 1.60 5.50 2.80 3.30 5.90 4.80 4.00 5.50

Na+ 4.40 8.60 1.50 1.50 3.50 3.20 4.20 6.10 5.70 2.50 1.50

EC 750.00 1400.00 300.00 300.00 900.00 600.00 750.00 1200.00 1050.00 650.00 700.00

TDS 450.00 840.00 180.00 180.00 540.00 360.00 450.00 720.00 630.00 390.00 420.00

pH 8.20 7.30 8.50 8.30 7.80 7.90 8.10 8.20 7.70 7.30 7.10

Units of ionic concentration are in meq/l, EC in S/cm and TDS in mg/l

its residual sodium carbonate (RSC), electric conductivity (EC), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) and percent sodium (PS). In the past few years the Geographic Information System (GIS) has become an efficient and effective tool in solving problems where data varies in spatial extent. Therefore it is widely used for evaluation and assessment of water quality and developing solutions for water resources related problems (Chaudhary et al. 1996). Nearly 70% of the Yamuna Nagar district is used for agricultural purposes. Rice, wheat and sugarcane are main crops of the district. Due to limited availability of surface water, draft from the aquifers is more to meet the huge irrigation requirements. After green revolution, the use of chemicals and fertilizers has increased to enhance the yield of the crops. The pollutants of these pesticides leach through soil to reach the water table. Due to such conditions prevailing in the area, there is growing concern for the quality of groundwater thus making it necessary to evaluate its suitability for sustainable management of this precious resource. The present study has been carried out with the objective to assess the seasonal variations of the groundwater quality in pre and post monsoon periods and to compare its suitability for domestic and agricultural use confirming to the latest quality standards.

77 00 to 77 53E longitude and 29 55 to 30 31N latitude. The total geographical area of the district is approximately 1768 km2. Physiographically the district is divided into Shiwalik Hills, piedmont plain, dissected plain and Yamuna-Ghaggar alluvial plain. The hills are 320 to 900 m high and terminate in to undulating sub mountain tract. Piedmont and dissected rolling plains traversed by a large number of rainy streams lie at the foothills of the Shiwalik range and the Ghaggar- Yamuna alluvial plains spread in the south of dissected rolling plain. The general elevation in plains varies between 250320 m above mean sea level. The district has a sub-tropical monsoon climate. May and June are the hottest months while December and January are the coldest. The maximum temperature recorded during summers is about 44C and it is as low as 4C in winters. The district receives an approximate average rainfall of 1100 mm and more than 75% of which occurs during the monsoon period (JulySeptember). The important rivers/streams traversing the district are Yamuna, Chautang, Rakshi, Somb, Boli, and Sarasvati. The net cultivated area in 200607 was 1248 km2. About 98% of the area is irrigated by tube wells, putting high pressure on groundwater resources of the district (Statistical Abstract 2008).

Study Area Yamuna Nagar district (Fig. 1) is located in the North eastern part of Haryana state and is extended between

Material and Methods Topographical Maps of the area numbering53 F/2, 53 F/ 3, 53 F/4, 53 F/7, 53 F/8, 53 F/11, 53 F/12, 53 G/1 and

J Indian Soc Remote Sens (March 2012) 40(1):155165 Table 2 Post-monsoon values of quality parameters (October 2006) Sr. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 Location Milak Jublian Haveli Sadhaura Saranwan Dhalaur Uttamwala Rulaheri Ramgarh Chamel Mazra Rampur Machrauli Fatehpur Munda Khera Azizpur Bilaspur Chagnauli Darpur Rampur Jattan Baniwala Fakir Majra Bhamnauli Bakarwala Naggal Patti Khizrabad Gulabgarh Budh Kalan Devdhar Chhachhrauli Harewa Lohriwala Kharwan Shazadpur Kaithwala Kail Jaroda Chaneti Mukarampur Kait Khurdi PabniKalan Balchhaper Talakaur Kherakalan Landhaura CO2 3 0.50 0.00 0.50 1.00 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.50 0.00 0.50 0.50 0.50 1.50 0.00 0.00 1.00 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.50 0.00 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.50 1.00 1.00 0.50 1.00 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 1.00 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.00 HCO 3 4.25 2.00 4.25 3.50 4.25 2.25 2.75 5.00 3.25 4.00 4.25 5.25 5.25 3.25 4.00 3.00 3.00 3.25 2.75 4.50 3.75 4.50 3.75 3.75 4.75 3.50 3.75 4.50 4.00 3.75 5.00 3.25 4.75 4.25 3.25 4.25 2.75 3.75 4.25 5.00 4.25 6.25 3.75 3.00 (Ca2+ + Mg2+) 5.30 2.40 5.60 4.50 5.30 4.00 4.00 6.30 4.40 5.40 5.50 6.70 4.20 3.80 5.10 4.00 4.50 5.00 6.40 5.20 5.20 6.60 5.00 6.40 5.00 5.00 4.20 5.90 6.20 4.60 5.80 5.00 6.20 6.00 4.20 4.80 4.00 5.60 4.60 5.00 7.40 7.60 4.40 3.30 Na+ 2.70 0.60 2.40 3.00 1.70 3.00 1.50 1.70 3.60 1.60 1.00 9.30 1.30 3.70 0.90 1.50 3.00 1.50 0.60 1.80 1.30 2.40 2.00 1.60 1.50 1.50 4.30 2.10 2.30 2.40 6.70 3.00 4.80 4.00 4.80 4.70 2.50 3.90 5.40 2.50 1.10 8.40 5.6 3.20 EC 800.00 300.00 800.00 750.00 700.00 700.00 550.00 800.00 800.00 700.00 650.00 1600.00 550.00 750.00 600.00 550.00 750.00 650.00 700.00 700.00 650.00 900.00 700.00 800.00 650.00 650.00 850.00 800.00 850.00 700.00 1250.00 800.00 1100.00 1000.00 900.00 950.00 650.00 950.00 1000.00 750.00 850.00 1600.00 1000.00 650.00 TDS 480.00 180.00 480.00 450.00 420.00 420.00 330.00 480.00 480.00 420.00 390.00 960.00 330.00 450.00 360.00 330.00 450.00 390.00 420.00 420.00 390.00 540.00 420.00 480.00 390.00 390.00 510.00 480.00 510.00 420.00 750.00 480.00 660.00 600.00 540.00 570.00 390.00 570.00 600.00 450.00 510.00 960.00 600.00 390.00

159

pH 7.40 8.10 7.50 8.00 7.50 7.40 7.50 7.40 7.50 7.40 7.50 7.60 7.60 7.80 7.50 7.80 7.90 7.50 7.60 7.70 7.50 7.40 7.70 7.40 7.30 7.30 7.20 7.70 7.30 7.40 7.20 7.40 7.30 7.40 7.40 7.40 7.70 7.60 7.40 7.60 7.50 7.20 7.20 7.10

160 Table 2 (continued) Sr. No. 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 Location Mustfabad Mali Majra Hartan Chamrori Radaur Jathlana Madhobans Khurdban Kandroli Choli Jattan Ledi CO2 3 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00 0.50 0.50 0.5 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 HCO 3 4.25 6.25 6.00 3.50 4.75 3.25 3.75 7.75 3.75 4.25 6.75

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(Ca2+ + Mg2+) 7.00 8.00 5.80 5.00 5.30 4.20 5.00 8.60 3.90 3.90 5.80

Na+ 9.00 8.00 5.20 4.50 5.70 3.30 5.00 5.40 3.60 4.60 6.70

EC 1600.00 1600.00 1100.00 950.00 1100.00 750.00 1000.00 1400.00 750.00 850.00 1250.00

TDS 960.00 960.00 660.00 570.00 660.00 450.00 600.00 840.00 450.00 510.00 750.00

pH 7.30 7.20 7.30 7.40 7.60 8.00 7.50 7.40 7.90 7.40 7.60

Units of ionic concentration are in meq/l, EC in S/cm and TDS in mg/l

53 G/5 on 1:50,000 scale were collected from Survey of India, Dehradun. These maps were used for base map preparation and boundary demarcation of the study area. The pre and post monsoon groundwater quality data for 55 wells (Tables 1 and 2) of Yamuna Nagar district was obtained from Groundwater Cell, Department of Agriculture, Ambala to evaluate seasonal variations. Other collateral data related to quality standards (national and international) were collected from published literature. The quality parameters, sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), total hardness (TH), residual sodium carbonate (RSC) and percent sodium (PS or Na%) were calculated from ionic concentrations (meq/l) of Na+, HCO , CO2 and (Ca2+ + Mg2+) using 3 3 the following standard equations. TH Ca2 Mg2 50 SAR Na Ca2 Mg2 =21=2 Na K 100 Mg2 Na K 1 2

(BIS) recommendations. Further, groundwater quality for irrigation was derived in terms of Electric conductivity (EC), SAR, RSC and Na% by applying United State Salinity Laboratory (USSL 1954) and European Economic Community (EEC in Lloyd and Heathcote 1985) criteria. Preparation of Thematic Maps for Water Quality Parameters The boundary map of Yamuna Nagar district was prepared from topographical maps by digitizing in ERDAS 9.1 software. A well location map (Fig. 1) for 55 observation sites was also digitized and quality data was attached with this well location point map in the form of an attribute table. The point map was then opened in Arc GIS 9 software and IDW point interpolation technique was used to obtain spatial distribution maps for different quality parameters. The generated maps were further classified into various suitability zones for domestic and agricultural purpose by applying the limiting conditions of suitability prescribed by national and international standards (BIS 1998, USSL 1954, EEC 1985). Areas of different quality zones were then calculated.

PS

Ca2

RSC CO2 HCO Ca2 Mg2 3 3

Results and Discussions Tables 1 and 2 list the various quality parameters for pre and post monsoon period of the year 2006 respectively. The computed values and statistical parameters of

The suitability of groundwater for domestic use was determined on the basis of pH, TDS and TH by comparing them with Bureau of Indian Standards

J Indian Soc Remote Sens (March 2012) 40(1):155165 Table 3 Summary of Statistical parameters of groundwater quality (2006) Parameter Pre-monsoon Minimum pH TDS TH EC SAR Units of RSC are in meq/l, EC in S/cm, TH and TDS in mg/l and PS in% PS RSC 7 180 80 300 0.38 11.00 3.55 Maximum 8.5 1080 440 1800 5.23 61.00 1.85 Mean 7.4 470 221 782 2.3 41.55 0.4 S.D. 0.34 184 74 306 1.12 12.55 0.9 Post-monsoon Minimum 7.1 180 120 300 0.38 9.00 3.15 Maximum 8.1 960 430 1600 5.08 58.00 1.55 Mean 7.49 520 262 868 2.1 36.9 0.65

161

S.D. 0.22 168 59 280 1.2 13.45 0.9

groundwater quality for pre and post monsoon of the study area for year 2006 are listed in Table 3. Evaluation of Groundwater Quality for Domestic Use The chemical analysis results obtained were compared with the drinking water standards of BIS 1998 to arrive at conclusions. Hydrogen ion concentration was measured in terms of pH values. Although pH usually has no direct impact on health of consumers, it is one of the most important operational water quality parameters. pH in the study area was found to vary between 7.0 to 8.5 and 7.1 to 8.1 in the pre and post monsoon respectively in the year 2006. As per BIS standards the suitable range of pH for domestic use is 6.5 to 8.5 which reveals that whole district of Yamuna Nagar had hydrogen ion concentration in the desirable range.
Fig. 2 Spatial distribution of TDS in Yamuna Nagar District during 2006

TDS refers to any minerals, salts, metals, cations and anions dissolved in water. It is reported that TDS levels less than 600 mg/l is considered to be good and concentration greater than 1000 mg/l decreases the palatability of the drinking water (WHO 2008). Values of TDS in the study area varied between 180 to 1080 and 180 to 960 with an average value of 470 mg/l and 520 mg/l in the pre and post- monsoon duration respectively. Spatial distribution map of TDS (Fig. 2) shows that whole study area had desirable to permissible concentration of TDS in groundwater both in pre- and post-monsoon period. Increased average value of TDS after precipitation indicates leaching and more dissolution of salts. Hardness is a very important property of water from its domestic application point of view (Goyal et al. 2010). The acceptable limit for TH as per BIS

162 Fig. 3 Spatial distribution of TH in Yamuna Nagar District during 2006

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norms is 300 mg/l which may be extended upto 600 mg/l. The spatial and temporal variation of groundwater hardness is mapped in Fig. 3. Analysis reveals that water in the study area was hard in general and average hardness increased from 221 mg/ l to 262 mg/l after monsoon. An increase in postmonsoon indicates some leaching of agricultural fertilizers and chemicals with rainwater to the
Table 4 Criteria for classification of standard irrigation water

groundwater. This may also be attributed to weathering of rocks which increases in rainy season. Evaluation of Groundwater for Agricultural Use EC, SAR, PS and RSC are the physicochemical parameters on the basis of which suitability of groundwater for irrigation was ascertained in the

Criteria EEC Classification in Lloyd and Heathcote(1985) USSL Classification after Richards (1954)

Parameter RSC(meq/l)

Value range <1.25 1.252.5 >2.5

Suitability for Irrigation Suitable Marginal Unsuitable Excellent Good Doubtful Unsuitable Excellent Good Permissible Doubtful Bad Excellent Good Permissible Doubtful Unsuitable

SAR

<10 1018 1826 > 26

Wilcox Classification

PS%

< 20 2040 4060 6080 > 80

USSL Classification after Richards (1954)

EC(S/cm)

< 250 250750 7502250 22504000 > 4000

J Indian Soc Remote Sens (March 2012) 40(1):155165 Fig. 4 Spatial distribution of EC in Yamuna Nagar District during 2006

163

study area of Yamuna Nagar by comparing these with USSL, EEC standards (Table 4). EC in the area ranged from 300 to 1800 S/cm during pre-monsoon and it varied between 300 and 1600 S/cm in the post-monsoon period. Figure 4 shows that whole study area had good to moderate range of EC values which is suitable for agricultural purpose. High standard deviation of EC in the study area suggests local variations in point sources.
Fig. 5 Spatial distribution of PS in Yamuna Nagar District during 2006

The sodium or alkaline hazard for irrigation water was classified in terms of SAR. High sodium ions in water affect the permeability of soil and causes infiltration problems. The reason for this is that sodium present in the soil in exchangeable form replaces calcium and magnesium adsorbed on the soil clays and causes dispersion of soil particles. This affects the soil to lose its property of easy cultivability, permeability and granule structure (Todd and

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Mays 2005). From the study it was found that whole area, both in pre and post monsoon period had SAR value below 10 with average values of 2.3 and 2.1 respectively in the study area. This indicates that sodium hazards of the groundwater for soils and crops were negligible. Sodium hazards are also measured in terms of another index known as Percent Sodium or Na% to evaluate water suitability for agricultural use (Wilcox 1948). Na% varied from 11 to 61% and 9 to 58% during pre and post- monsoon respectively in study area. The Spatial distribution map is shown in Fig. 5. It was revealed from the analysis that more than 99% of the total area had groundwater with percent sodium in good to permissible range and it decreased after precipitation. (Table 3) In addition to SAR and Na% the sodium hazard also increases if the water contains a high concentration of carbonate and bicarbonate ions. The quality of water is diminished when the total carbonate level exceeds the sum of calcium and magnesium. In water, having high concentration of bicarbonates, there is tendency for calcium and magnesium to precipitate as the water in the soil becomes more concentrated. As a result, the relative proportion of sodium in the water increases in the form of sodium carbonate (Eaton 1950). According to Lloyd and Heathcote (1985), an RSC< 1.25 meq/l is suitable for irrigation, a value between 1.25 to 2.5 meq/l is of marginal quality, the value ranging between 2.5 and 3.0 meq/l is not suitable and a value more than 3.0 meq/l is bad for irrigation. The minimum, maximum and average values of RSC were 3.55, 1.85 and 0.40 meq/l for premonsoon and 3.15, 1.55 and 0.65 meq/l for the post monsoon period respectively. Almost the whole study area had RSC values in suitable range. Less than 1% of the area had RSC values >1.25 i.e. in marginally suitable range for irrigation, in both pre and post monsoon period .The decrease in the average value indicates the improvement in quality due to dilution of total carbonates.

for drinking and other domestic purposes. EC, SAR, Na% and RSC values indicate that groundwater was well within the desirable to permissible limits to be used for irrigation purposes in the whole district. Sodium hazards were negligible and groundwater quality was further improved after monsoon period for agricultural use which may be attributed to dilution by recharge. Mapping spatial extent of various quality parameters in GIS was found to be effective and efficient. Thematic maps generated in the study will be helpful to planners and policy makers especially of public health and irrigation departments, for sustainable water management in a holistic way.
Acknowledgments The authors are grateful to Groundwater Cell, Ambala, Government of Haryana for providing the required data for groundwater quality. Training imparted on GIS by Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Dehradun is also acknowledged.

References
Alcamo, J., Florke, M., & Marker, M. (2007). Future long-term changes in global water resources driven by socioeconomic and climatic changes. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 52(2), 247275. Ayers, R. S., & Westcot, D. W. (1994). Water quality for agriculture. Irrigation and Drainage Paper: 29, Rev.1, 1 130, FAO, Rome. BIS (1998) Characteristics for Drinking Water, IS: 10500, New Delhi Chaudhary, B. S., Kumar, M., Roy, A. K., & Ruhal, D. S. (1996). Applications of RS and GIS in groundwater investigations in Sohna Block, Gurgaon District, Haryana, India. International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 31(B-6), 1823. Eaton, F. M. (1950). Significance of carbonates in irrigation water. Soil Science, 69, 123133. doi:10.1097/00010694195002000-00004. Goyal, S. K., Chaudhary, B. S., Singh O., Sethi, G. K., & Thakur, P. K. (2010) GIS Based Spatial Distribution Mapping and Suitability Evaluation of Groundwater Quality for Domestic and Agricultural Purpose in Kaithal Distirct, Haryana State, India. Environmental Earth Science. In press, doi:101007/s12665-010-0472-z. Jain, C. K., & Sharma, M. K. (2000). Regression analysis of groundwater quality of Sagar District, Madhya Pradesh. Indian Journal of Environmental Health, 42(4), 159168. Lloyd, J. W., & Heathcote, J. A. (1985). Natural inorganic hydrochemistry in relation to groundwater: An introduction. Oxford, New York: Clarendon Press, Oxford University Press. Nash, H., & McCall, G. J. H. (eds.) (1995). Groundwater Quality, 17th Special Report. London: Chapman and Hall.

Conclusions It is concluded that groundwater in general was found to be hard for domestic use. However, it was within the safe limits of drinking and no health based concerns were perceived in the use of groundwater

J Indian Soc Remote Sens (March 2012) 40(1):155165 Palaniswami, C., & Ramulu, U. S. (1994). Effects of continuous irrigation with paper factory effluent on soil properties. Journal of the Indian Society of Soil Science, 42, 139140. Statistical abstract. (2008). State statistical abstract. Chandigarh, India: Government of Haryana Publication. Todd, D. K., & Mays, L. W. (2005). Groundwater hydrology (3rd ed.). New York: Wiley. U.S. Salinity Laboratory (USSL) (1954). Diagnosis and improvement of saline and alkali soils; USDA Handbook No. 60. pp. 160 Richards LA (ed) (1954)

165 WHO (2001). Water health and human rights, world water day http://www.worldwaterday.org/wwday/2001/thematic/ hmnrights.html WHO (2008). Guidelines for drinking water quality incorporating Ist and 2nd addenda Vol.1 Recommendations, (3rd edit) http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/ gdwq3rev/en. Wilcox, L. V. (1948). The quality of water for irrigation use, USDA Technical Bulletin No 962, pp. 140. Wilcox, L. V. (1955). Classification and use of irrigation waters, USDA Circular No 969, pp. 19.