ORI GI NAL ARTI CLE

Application of GIS and hydrogeochemistry of groundwater

pollution status of Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu, India
S. Venkatramanan

S. Y. Chung

T. Ramkumar

G. Gnanachandrasamy

S. Vasudevan

S. Y. Lee
Received: 15 September 2013 / Accepted: 19 September 2014
Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014
Abstract This study evaluated groundwater quality of the
coastal aquifer in Nagapattinam district with intensive
agricultural activities in the southern part of India. Chemical
components such as pH, EC, TDS, major cations and anions
were used to identify seawater intrusion. Fifty-two ground-
water samples were collected fromdug and bore wells in this
region during summer and monsoon seasons, 2011. EC,
TDS, Na and Cl were higher in summer than in monsoon.
The correlation and two-way-joining cluster analyses clearly
show that groundwater quality is mainly controlled by sea-
water intrusion and other anthropogenic sources. Modied
HillPiper exhibits that most of the samples belong to water
contaminated with gypsum sector. The interpretation of
Gibbs plot represents the groundwater samples that fall in
evaporation and rock weathering zone, and other samples are
afliated to various anthropogenic activities. Based on
Na %, SAR, chloride, hardness and Wilcox classication,
the groundwater is moderately suitable for agriculture. This
region is vulnerable to seawater intrusion during summer due
to the severe pumping of groundwater. In groundwater
quality maps produced by inverse distance weighting of
ArcGIS, some good and medium patches could be used for
agriculture to a certain extent. The northern, southern and
central parts of the study area fell in poor quality regions
because of seawater intrusion and inltration of irrigation
water contaminated with pesticides and fertilizers.
Keywords Modied HillPiper Gibbs plot Wilcox
classication Correlation and two-way-joining cluster
analyses IDW
Introduction
Water is a nite resource, and it is becoming a scarce
commodity in many parts of the world. In water-stressed
countries, competition between agriculture, industry, and
domestic uses of limited water is a constraining factor for
economic development. These undesirable effects become
more serious, when climatic changes cause more deserti-
cation, greater erosion in watersheds, and sea level rise in
coastal areas. In many coastal towns or cities, the growth of
human settlements, together with the development of
agricultural, industrial and touristic activities, has led to the
overexploitation of the groundwater. Such overexploitation
induces a rise in the freshwatersaltwater interface and
thus, the degradation of groundwater quality (Amer 1995;
Rajmohan et al. 1997). This fact acts as the constant threat
against freshwater in coastal aquifers. Seawater intrusion
has become a worldwide alarm in coastal cities (Melloul
and Goldenberg 1998; Elampooranam et al. 1999; Ozler
2003; Terzic et al. 2008; Adepelumi et al. 2009). It is
S. Venkatramanan S. Y. Chung (&)
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Institute of
Environmental Geosciences, Pukyong National University,
599-1 Daeyeon-dong Nam-gu, Busan 608-737, Korea
e-mail: chungsy@pknu.ac.kr
S. Venkatramanan
e-mail: venkatramanansenapathi@gmail.com;
venkat@pknu.ac.kr
S. Venkatramanan T. Ramkumar G. Gnanachandrasamy
S. Vasudevan
Department of Earth Sciences, Annamalai University,
Annamalai Nagar 608-502, Tamil Nadu, India
T. Ramkumar
e-mail: tratrj@gmail.com
S. Y. Lee
HLW Disposal Research Center, Korea Atomic Energy Research
Institute, 989-111 Daedeok-daero, Yuseong-gu,
Daejeon 305-353, Korea
1 3
Environ Earth Sci
DOI 10.1007/s12665-014-3728-1
necessary to understand information on identication of
different groundwater aquifers, and the investigation of
chemical processes controlling groundwater quality (Mer-
cado 1985; Satpathy et al. 1987; Howard and Mullings
1996; Saxena et al. 2003; Jalali 2007; Singh et al. 2008,
2009; Tyagi et al. 2009; Mondal et al. 2010; El-Hames
et al. 2011; Kim et al. 2012; Venkatramanan et al. 2012,
2013; Gnanachandrasamy et al. 2012, 2014).
The groundwater salinization in coastal areas causes very
serious problems such as quality deterioration, impact of
irrigation land, health issues, etc. Groundwater is the only
source for agricultural activities in some coastal areas. Thus,
the high salinities of groundwater and the heavy reliance of
the communities on groundwater for irrigation necessitate
the overall assessment of groundwater quality in irrigation
areas (Bannerman 1994; Jorgensen and Banoeng-Yakubo
2001; Helstrup et al. 2007; Chung et al. 2014). Keeping this
in view, the pollution status of groundwater in Nagapattinam
coastal district may be seriously impacted by seawater
intrusion together with irrigation efuents, salt pans, aqua-
culture farm and chemical industry. In this study, GIS and
statistical methods of correlation and two-way-joining
cluster analyses were used for the hydrogeochemical eval-
uation of groundwater contaminated by several kinds of
sources in Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu, India.
Methodology
Hydrogeological settings
The coastal district of Nagapattinam is located along the
east coast on the Bay of Bengal in India. It stretches from
River Coleroon in the north to the coastal village Point
Fig. 1 Study area with groundwater sampling locations of Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu, India
Environ Earth Sci
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Calimere in the south (Fig. 1). The district has a coastline
stretching for 190 km. Groundwater in this coastal region
is extracted from dug and bore wells, especially from the
sandy aquifers. The region has two shallow aquifers com-
prising sand, gravel and clay of the Pliocene and Quater-
nary periods. The aquifer is more clayey towards east and
southeastern part of the district except for the coastal
stretch where the beach sands occur. The depth of the
aquifers varies between 3 and 35 m and that of deep
aquifers between 80 and 100 m. The average annual rain-
fall is 451.48 mm in monsoon and 43.12 mm in summer.
The study area (Fig. 2) is underlain by Quaternary
sediments which increase towards the south of Coleroon
River. The Quaternary sediments of East Coast Formation
have been delineated as alluvial, narrow uvio-marine and
coastal deltaic plain deposits in Cauvery deltaic region.
The geomorphological features of the sediments exhibit
ood plain, ood basin, point bar, channel bar and palaeo-
channels in addition to the various proportions of sand, silt
and clay. However, marine coastal plains embrace beach,
tidal ats, salt marsh, mangrove swamps with sand and
clay deposits. The coastal track of the study area is
composed by the Cretaceous formations and consists of
faunal rich marine sedimentary rocks like limestone,
sandstone, clay and sandy beds. The entire area is a
peneplain with a gentle slope towards east and southeast.
The maximum elevation is about 21 m above mean sea
level in the west.
Anthropogenic sources
The main activities in the study area include industries of
petrochemicals and fertilizers, aquaculture farm and salt
manufactory. The northern part of the study area is mainly
occupied by municipal and industrial parts. In the southern
part of the study area consists of intensive active of
agriculture, salt manufactory and aquaculture eld. The
eastern part of the district is near to the coast, so that
groundwater condition is saline in nature. The freshwater
pocket in the sand dunes is used for drinking purposes in
eastern part. The discharge of untreated waste water from
aquaculture farms including chemicals used for prawn
ponds affects the shallow freshwater pockets. The western
part of the district is composed of agricultural elds. The
major agricultural activities are rice and bean farming.
Salt is produced on a wide scale in Nagapattinam, occu-
pying about 50 % of production in the state and 30 % of
production in the whole country (Dhinagaran 2008). The
climate, soil and abundant brine water are favorable for
salt production, and salt pans are the second land use in
this region. Within the span of 12 years, salt pan area has
greatly increased in agricultural areas, coastal areas with/
without vegetation, sand dunes, scrubs and mud-ats.
When agricultural lands are converted into salt pans, the
fertility of the lands will be lost (Dhinagaran 2008). This
phenomenon has seriously deteriorated the groundwater
quality in this region.
Groundwater sampling
For evaluation of groundwater quality, 52 groundwater
samples were collected by dug and bore wells systemati-
cally along the coastal district of Nagapattinam, during
June 2011 (summer) and December 2011 (monsoon). The
precise locations of sampling points were marked by using
GPS (GARMAN 76CSx), and the exact longitudes and
latitudes of sampling points were imported in GIS plat-
form. Methods of collection and analysis of water samples
followed are essentially the same as given by (APHA
1995). Samples were collected in 1 L capacity polyethyl-
ene bottles. Prior to the collection, bottles were thoroughly
washed with diluted HNO
3
acid, and then with distilled
water in the laboratory before lling bottles with samples.
The pH of the groundwater samples was measured with a
eld kit. The collected samples were analyzed for various
physico-chemical parameters like electrical conductivity
(EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), Ca, Mg, K, HCO
3
, Cl
Fig. 2 Geology map of the Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu,
India
Environ Earth Sci
1 3
and SO
4
using with multi-parameter photometer (Hanna,
HI83099), and Na was measured by ame photometer
(ELCO-CL378). All concentrations are expressed in mil-
ligrams per liter (mg/L), except pH and EC.
Groundwater quality assessment
Hydrogeochemical evolution of groundwater can be
understood by plotting the major cations and anions in
modied HillPiper diagram. Gibbs plot was engaged to
understand and differentiate the inuences of waterrock
interaction, evaporation and precipitation in water chem-
istry (Gibbs 1970). Gibbs diagrams representing the ratios
of Na ? K/(Na ? K ? Ca) and Cl/(Cl ? HCO
3
) as a
function of TDS were used to evaluate the dissolved
chemical constituents. Classication of groundwater for
irrigation purpose is calculated from Na % (Eaton 1950)
such as:
Na % Na K = Ca Mg Na K 100
SAR is expressed as follows:
SAR Na=
p
Ca Mg=2
The corrosivity ratio proposed by Ryznes (1944) is:
CR Cl=35:3 SO
4
=96 f g=2 HCO
3
=100
All the concentrations are expressed in equivalent per
million (epm). Quality classication of groundwater sam-
ples and graphical representations of Gibbs plot, modied
HillPiper were produced by WATCLAST program
(Chidambaram et al. 2003). Wilcox classication diagram
was prepared by Aquachem (Ver. 4).
Groundwater quality map
Spatial maps of pH, EC, TDS, Na and Cl, and integrated
maps of groundwater quality were produced using the
inverse distance weighted (IDW) interpolation method of
ArcGIS (ver.9.3) software. IDW is an algorithm to inter-
polate data spatially or estimate values between measure-
ments. Estimates of IDW interpolation are the weighted
averaged values of surrounding sample points. Weights are
computed by the inverse of the distance from an observa-
tion to an estimate. The best results from IDW are obtained
when sample points are sufciently dense to represent the
local variation. If the sample points are sparse or very
uneven, the estimates may not adequately represent the
desired variations (Burrough and McDonnell 1998; Selvam
et al. 2014). Groundwater quality maps were generated
based on the WHO (2004) and BIS (2000) drinking water
standards.
Statistical analysis
Statistical analysis of groundwater samples was carried out
by Statistica software (ver.8). Pearsons correlation pro-
vided the direction and the strength of linear relationship
between the two variables. Two-way-joining cluster ana-
lysis was used for grouping objects of Q-mode and R-mode
of the same data to reorganize the rows and columns of the
data matrix. It was built with the combination of cases
(sample sites) and variables (chemical parameters) to make
the discrete patterns of clusters.
Results and discussion
Hydrogeochemistry
Major ion concentrations for 52 samples of summer and
monsoon periods are present in Table 1. Quality classi-
cation of groundwater samples using WATCLAST pro-
gram results is given in Table 2. The pH value of water
samples varies from 7.4 to 8.2 in monsoon, and from 7.2 to
7.8 in summer. The slight alkalinity may be attributed to
Table 1 Descriptive statistics for physico-chemical parameters of
Nagapattinam district, Tamil Nadu, India
Parameters Mean Median Minimum Maximum Std.Dev
Summer
pH 7.5 7.5 7.2 7.8 0.1
EC 1,655 1,561 988 2,577 433
TDS 1,327 1,273 846 1,973 274
Ca 199 214 28.0 322 63.8
Mg 161 146 38.5 321 70.7
Na 240 251 115.8 375 65.0
K 53 44 18.9 325 44.7
HCO
3
200 209 107.5 325 51.6
SO
4
185 159 58.6 399 72.1
Cl 610 608 355 845 97.8
Monsoon
pH 7.7 7.7 7.40 8.2 0.16
EC 1,531 1,456 847 2,476 420
TDS 1,253 1,155 912 1,875 256
Ca 191 209 32.0 312 62.6
Mg 152 137 35.4 318 70.2
Na 231 247 109 359 63.7
K 47 38 14.3 312 42.8
HCO
3
190 197 97.3 326 53.2
SO
4
176 148 52.7 378 70.6
Cl 598 601 355 822 96.1
All the parameters in mg/L except pH and EC (lS/cm)
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the dissolved atmospheric carbon dioxide resulting in the
release of sodium and calcium, which progressively
increases pH and alkalinity of the groundwater. EC value
varies from 846.8 to 2,476.3 lS/cm, and TDS from 912 to
1,875 mg/L in monsoon, whereas EC varies from 987.6 to
2,576.6 lS/cm, and TDS from 946 to 1,973 mg/L in
summer. Higher concentration of EC and TDS were
observed during summer season because there was no
ushing out by rainwater. The increased value of TDS may
be resulted from the solubility of lime and gypsum which
were added during aquaculture and salt pan operations in
both seasons (Jain et al. 1997; Bilgehan and Berktay 2010;
Galip et al. 2010; Anithamary et al. 2012). Further, the
study area is located at a coastal region, and seawater
incursion is a main factor for the increase of TDS in
groundwater. This fact is supported by the increased con-
centrations of Na and Cl. The increase of Ca and Mg
concentrations during summer is due to waterrock
interaction (Ramkumar et al. 2013). With respect to anions,
Cl and SO
4
are dominant during summer, and Cl shows
more variation than SO
4
. The conspicuous variation of Cl
is originated from the agricultural activity, and also from
the inuence of seawater in the shallow coastal aquifer
system.
During summer, Na has very good correlations with Cl,
HCO
3
, EC and TDS. SO
4
shows good correlations with pH,
Mg, K and Cl. Ca does not have correlations with other
ions. In case of monsoon, there is a signicant correlation
between Na and HCO
3
, and between EC and TDS. SO
4
reveals a good correlation with pH, K and Mg. Mg has a
good correlation with HCO
3
. Ca and Cl did not show any
correlation with other ions. The correlation of all physico-
chemical parameters are given in Table 3. The matrix
records show that there is a good relationship between Na
and Cl in summer, and a poor correlation in monsoon.
Seawater incursion and irrigation wastes increased the
Table 2 Quality classication of groundwater samples using WATCLAST program
Category Grade Monsoon Summer Category Grade Monsoon Summer Category Monsoon Summer
Na % Wilcox (1955) USGS hardness TDS classication (USSL 1954)
Excellent 020 2 2 Soft \75 48 48 \200 0 0
Good 2040 40 37 Slightly Hard 75150 0 0 200500 0 0
Permissible 4060 12 11 Moderately
Hard
150300 1 2 5001,500 92 88
Doubtful 6080 0 1 Very Hard [300 51 50 1,5003,000 8 12
Unsuitable [80 46 49 IBE Schoeller (1965) Cation facies
Na % Eaton (1950) (Na ? k)rock ? Ca/
Mg g.w.
95 47 CaMg facies 100 100
Safe \60 70 50 (Na ? k)g.w. ? Ca/Mg
rock
5 4 CaNa facies 0 0
Unsafe [60 30 50 Schoeller classication (1967) NaCa facies 0 0
S.A.R. Richards (1954) Type I 24 22 Na facies 0 0
Excellent 010 29 34 Type II 75 76 Anion facies
Good 67 14 Type III 1 2 HCO
3
facies 0 0
Fair 1826 4 3 Type IV 0 0 HCO
3
ClSO
4
facies
0 0
Poor [26 0 49 Corrosivity ratio (1990) ClSO
4
HCO
3
Facies
0 0
EC Wilcox (1955) Safe \1 0 0 Cl facies 100 100
Excellent \250 0 0 Unsafe [1 100 100 Hardness classication (Handa 1964)
Good 250750 0 0 Chloride classication (Stuyfzand 1989) Permanent hardness (NCH)
Permissible 7502,250 93 97 Extremely fresh 0 0 A1 0 0
Doubtful 2,2505,000 7 3 Very fresh 0 0 A2 94 97
Unsuitable [5,000 0 0 Fresh 0 0 A3 6 3
Fresh Brackish 16 17 Temporary hardness (CH)
Brackish 36 34 B1 0 0
Brackish-salt 0 1 B2 0 0
Salt 0 0 B3 0 0
Hyperhaline 48 48
Environ Earth Sci
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ionic concentration of the groundwater, and made it more
saline. It is further noted that the association of HCO
3
with
Na, indicates that dissolution of the precipitated salts was
prominent during both seasons.
Two-way-joining cluster analyses of all chemical
parameters are shown for summer and monsoon seasons in
Fig. 3a, b. Summer exhibits pH and K in cluster 1, EC and
TDS in cluster 2, Ca, Mg, SO
4
, Na, and HCO
3
in cluster 3,
Cl in cluster 4. EC and TDS have high scores in stations 1,
6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 18, 24, 25, 27, 33 and 48 repre-
senting from the surrounding irrigation elds. In case of
monsoon, two-way-joining cluster discrete pattern shows a
similar shape like summer. Cluster 1 includes pH and K of
important parameters in all stations. Cluster 2 consists of
EC and TDS, which are signicantly high in stations 6, 9,
13, 15, 17, 24, 27, 31, 33 and 39. Cluster 3 exhibits Ca, Mg,
Table 3 Correlation coefcient
matrix (p > 0.05) of
groundwater parameters in
Nagapattinam district of Tamil
Nadu, India
pH EC TDS Ca Mg Na K HCO
3
SO
4
Cl
Summer
pH 1.00
EC 1.00
TDS 0.94 1.00
Ca 1.00
Mg 1.00
Na 1.00
K 0.53 1.00
HCO
3
0.71 1.00
SO
4
0.51 0.55 1.00
Cl 0.88 0.53 1.00
Monsoon
pH 1.00
EC 1.00
TDS 0.84 1.00
Ca 1.00
Mg 1.00
Na 1.00
K 1.00
HCO
3
0.51 0.70 1.00
SO
4
0.56 0.55 0.50 1.00
Cl 1.00
2400
2000
1600
1200
800
400
pH K EC TDS Ca Mg SO
4
Na HCO
3
Cl
Parameters
52
30
22
21
51
50
49
40
20
41
12
31
24
48
43
17
33
9
25
15
6
37
36
46
45
47
44
29
19
39
16
4
32
34
10
35
28
3
42
26
38
5
23
2
27
18
11
7
14
8
13
1
S
t
a
t
i
o
n
s
Linkage distance
Summer
2400
2000
1600
1200
800
400
pH K EC TDS Ca Mg SO
4
Na HCO
3
Cl
Parameters
52
51
30
22
21
50
49
32
48
43
42
26
47
46
40
20
19
13
25
15
6
39
29
16
5
44
38
23
2
45
36
37
28
34
10
35
4
41
12
3
31
24
17
33
9
27
11
7
18
8
14
1
S
t
a
t
i
o
n
s
Linka ge distance
Monsoon
(a) (b)
Fig. 3 Two-way-joining cluster analysis of the groundwater quality parameters for a summer and b monsoon
Environ Earth Sci
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SO
4
, Na and HCO
3,
and cluster 4 contains only Cl. This
phenomenon is slightly due to agricultural activity, and
greatly due to the inuence of seawater in the shallow
coastal aquifer system. It reects same results between
correlation and two-way-joining cluster analyses, and good
agreements between the two statistical techniques.
Groundwater quality for irrigation purposes
The quality of irrigation groundwater in the study area is
mainly arbitrated by Na % estimation indicating that
50 % of the groundwater samples fall in the unsafe zone
in summer, and 30 % belong to the unsafe zone in
monsoon, respectively. The impacts of seawater
incursion and agriculture activity have also proved to
affect the quality of groundwater. Na in excess may harm
plant growth physically by limiting the uptake of water
through the modications of osmotic process or chemical
metabolic reactions. Effects of Na % on solid structure
reduce permeability and poor internal drainage in soil
(Subramani et al. 2005).
Salinity and SAR determine groundwater utility for
agricultural purposes. Salinity originates from waterrock
interaction and is leached from top soil and anthropogenic
pollution sources. The level of Na in irrigation groundwater
affects permeability and drainage of soil (Tijani 1994).
More than 67 % of samples fall under good class, and
49 % under poor class in both seasons, respectively.
Fig. 4 Wilcox classication of groundwater samples for a summer and b monsoon
Fig. 5 Modied HillPiper plot of the groundwater samples for a summer and b monsoon
Environ Earth Sci
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According to Wilcox (1955), the groundwater of the
study area ranges from moderate to unsuitable for irrigation
uses in both seasons. High EC reduces the osmotic activity
of plants, and interferes with the absorption of water and
nutrients from the soil (Prasanna et al. 2011). Wilcox
(Fig. 4) classication reveals that the groundwater samples
fall in S1, S2 and C3, C4 categories which indicates low to
medium sodium hazard and high to very high salinity
hazard. Based on the chloride classication, 84 % of the
samples fall in brackish and hypersaline nature in both
seasons due to leachate of salt pan and irrigation runoff.
Hardness of the water refers to the soap neutralizing power
of water. High level of hardness may affect water supply
system, excessive soap consumption and calcication of
arteries, and cause urolith or stomach disorder (CPCB
2008). According to USGS classication of hardness, 50 %
1
0

1
0
0

1
0
0
0

1
0
0
0
0

T
D
S

(
m
g
/
l
)

Na+K/(Na+K+Ca) Cl/(Cl+HCO
3
)
(a)
1
0

1
0
0

1
0
0
0

1
0
0
0
0

(b)
T
D
S

(
m
g
/
l
)

Na+K/(Na+K+Ca) Cl/(Cl+HCO
3
)
Fig. 6 a Gibbs boomerang of
the groundwater samples in
summer. b Gibbs boomerang of
the groundwater samples in
monsoon
Environ Earth Sci
1 3
of groundwater samples in the study area fall in very hard
category, and the rest of groundwater samples fall in soft
and hard categories. By Handas (1964) classication of
groundwater samples in the study area, permanent hardness
non-carbonate hardness, (NCH) is higher in both seasons,
compared to the temporary hardness carbonate hardness,
(CH) which cannot be removed easily from water. Based
on the corrosivity ratio, 85 % of the groundwater samples
fall in non-corrosive sector. Groundwater extracted from
the study area for various purposes is transported through
metallic pipes with unsuitable irrigation practice.
Hydrogeochemical facies
Piper trilinear diagram (Piper 1944) reveals similarities and
differences among groundwater samples because those
with similar qualities will tend to plot together as groups
(Todd 2001). The changes in hydrogeochemical phases of
groundwater in the study area can be interpreted from
Johnson (1975) modied HillPiper diagram. The com-
parison of the trilinear plot of hydrogeochemical facies
with Johnson plot shows that most of the groundwater
samples fall in the zone of water contaminated with gyp-
sum, and the rest of the groundwater samples in static and
discoordinated regimes with intensive ion exchange and
bedrock weathering (Fig. 5).
Gibbs boomerang
Gibbs plot is useful to understand the genesis of ground-
water quality (Cederstorm 1946; Gupta et al. 2008; Subr-
amani et al. 2009). The mechanism controlling
groundwater in the study area can be regulated by diverse
processes. From Fig. 6a, b, groundwater samples suggest
that evaporation process and chemical weathering of rock
forming minerals are major factors inuencing the
groundwater quality. The other groundwater samples are
attributed to various anthropogenic activities around the
study area.
Spatial distribution
Spatial distribution of pH is shown in Fig. 7. In summer,
the higher level of pH was observed in central and southern
parts of the study area. In monsoon, the higher level of pH
was distributed in northern, central and southwest parts of
the study area. The reason for increasing pH level in
coastal region is related to the chloride of seawater or
Fig. 7 Spatial distribution map of pH for a summer and b monsoon
Environ Earth Sci
1 3
marine clay (Tjandra et al. 2003; Anbazhagan et al. 2004;
Anitha et al. 2011). The spatial distribution maps of EC and
TDS are shown in Figs. 8 and 9. Higher levels of EC and
TDS were observed in central and northern parts, and small
patches of southern part of the study area in both seasons. It
reveals the higher levels of TDS and EC in groundwater
according to the inuences of domestic and industry
wastes, agricultural runoff and seawater intrusion in both
seasons. The spatial distribution map of Na in summer
(Fig. 10) shows a higher concentration in the central and
southern sectors of the study area. It indicates that the
excess level of Na in groundwater was probably attributed
to the direct cation exchange process through the seawater
freshwater incursion whereas in monsoon, Na concentra-
tion was low compared to summer. It may be attributed to
the monsoonal rainfall in the study area. The spatial dis-
tribution of Cl during the study period is shown in Fig. 11,
and is more or less similar to the spatial distribution of Na.
Higher concentrations of Cl was observed in the southern
part of the coastal side in both seasons. The spatial distri-
butions of Na and Cl are determined by seawater incursion
and irrigation return ow from agricultural activity. After
Indonesian Tsunami in 2004, waves also play a signicant
role in higher concentration of Na and Cl ions (Chan-
drasekharan et al. 2007).
Groundwater quality zone
The groundwater quality map (Fig. 12) was produced by
overlapping of the distribution maps of various parameters
values classied based on WHO (2004) and BIS (2000)
standards (Table 4). The area for good groundwater
quality wells could be found in patches of north (stations
2, 3 4), central (station 10) and southern parts (stations 22,
23, 30, 31, 34, 35, 37, 38, 39 and 45) of the study area.
This map may be used for drinking, irrigation and
domestic purposes. In addition, most of the groundwater
wells have poor quality due to the seawater intrusion and
various anthropogenic activities in and around the study
area.
Conclusions
By the hydrogeochemical analysis of groundwater in the
study area, groundwater can be used for agricultural/
Fig. 8 Spatial distribution map of EC for a summer and b monsoon
Environ Earth Sci
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Fig. 9 Spatial distribution map of TDS for a summer and b monsoon
Fig. 10 Spatial distribution map of Na for a summer and b monsoon
Environ Earth Sci
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domestic purposes, except the coast areas of saline
groundwater. The concentration orders of major cations
and anions are Na [K[Ca [Mg, and Cl [SO
4
[
HCO
3
in summer season, and Na [Mg [K[Ca, and
Cl [HCO
3
[SO
4
in monsoon season, respectively.
Modied HillPiper plot exhibits that majority of
groundwater belongs to gypsum sector in both monsoon
and summer seasons due to the long residence time of
groundwater in shallow aquifers. From Gibbs boomerang,
samples fall in waterrock interaction and evaporation
processes portion, and other samples are afliated to
various anthropogenic activities in both seasons. The
groundwater in the study area is moderately suitable for
irrigation in almost all types of soil with little danger of
exchangeable sodium. The classication of groundwater
quality by ArcGIS divided the comprehensive quality map
into three patches such as good, medium and poor in the
study area. Good and medium patches might be used for
agriculture/domestic purposes to a certain extent.
Groundwater in central, southern and small patch of
northern parts have saline qualities due to seawater
intrusion and irrigation return ow. This research will be
contributed to groundwater management and conservation
in the study area. Effective treatment combined with
monitoring is required to meet the portability of
groundwater.
Fig. 11 Spatial distribution map of Cl for a summer and b monsoon
Fig. 12 Groundwater quality map of Nagapattinam district of Tamil
Nadu
Environ Earth Sci
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Acknowledgments This work was supported by a Research Grant
of Pukyong National University (2014 Year). The manuscript was
greatly beneted from the constructive comments of an anonymous
reviewer.
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