Study of Temporal and Spatial variation of Groundwater Quality along a Coastal stretch of Alappuzha District, Kerala, India: Post Tsunamic study

Abstract

Arattupuzha coast in Alappuzha is one of the tsunami affected coasts of India by 26th December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. In this study an attempt has been made to evaluate the temporal and spatial variation of important groundwater quality parameters pH , Electrical Conductivity (EC), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Total Hardness (TH), Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium, Potassium, Bicarbonate, Chloride and Sulfate along this coastal strip of Alappuzha district by conducting sampling and analysis in each month of year 2012 and at the end of years 2013 & 2014. Comparison with WHO standards (2011) and BIS standards (2012) revealed that some of the sampling stations exceed the permissible limits for certain parameters. Comparative study of spatial distribution maps of water quality parameters generated using GIS revealed the temporal variation. Water Quality Index (WQI) calculated using above parameters ranked good quality for dug well strata and excellent quality for bore well strata.