Evaluating the suitability of groundwater for drinking purposes in the North Chengdu Plain, China

Abstract

Groundwater is a significant and crucial component for all development activities of any life support system. In this study, the hydrochemical analysis and water quality index method (WQI) were used to assess groundwater quality for drinking purposes. Twelve groundwater samples were collected and analyzed into fourteen parameters which were considered as important indicators for assessing groundwater quality. A comparative study of these parameters with that of the Chinese Groundwater Standard (GB/T14848-2017) was conducted. It can be depicted from the results that groundwater quality is categorized as very hard, fresh water and slightly alkaline in nature. The major sequence of dominant cations and anions in groundwater are Ca2+ > Mg2+ > Na+ > K+ and HCO- 3 > SO2- 4 > Cl- respectively. From the total 12 samples analyzed, the parameters of TH, NH+ 4, Fe and Mn of samples exceeded the limits set by (GB/T14848-2017) standard. Piper diagram illustrated that groundwater samples of the studied area are mostly of Ca-Mg-HCO3-SO4 type. WQI showed all samples fall between excellent to good category of water and suitable for drinking purposes. The quality of groundwater is mainly affected from anthropogenic activities and natural influence. The proposed method is reliable and effcient for groundwater pollution assessment and can be used in decision-making.