Groundwater quality: focus on fluoride concentration in rural parts of Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, India
- 1 October 2003
- journal article
- Published by Informa UK Limited in Hydrological Sciences Journal
- Vol. 48 (5), 835-847
- https://doi.org/10.1623/hysj.48.5.835.51449
Abstract
Hydrogeological investigations have been carried out in rural parts of Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, India where agriculture is the main occupation. Granite gneisses associated with schists and charnockites are the main lithological formations, which are overlain by black cotton soils. Groundwaters are alkaline, very hard and mostly brackish. Possible sources of fluoride (F−) are weathering and leaching of F−-bearing minerals under the alkaline environment. A high rate of evapotranspiration, longer residence time of waters in the aquifer zone, intensive and longterm irrigation, and heavy use of fertilizers are the supplementary factors to further increase the F− content in the groundwaters. The investigated area has been classified into three types with reference to concentration of F- prescribed for drinking: low-F- (1.20 mg l−1). Forty-five percent of the total groundwater samples belong to the high-F- category. Dental fluorosis is noticed in the region. A groundwater management programme is suggested. Des recherches hydrogéologiques ont été menées dans des secteurs ruraux du district de Guntur (Andhra Pradesh, Inde), où l'agriculture est l'activité dominante. Les formations lithologiques principales sont des granito-gneiss associés à des schistes et à des charnockites, et sont couvertes de vertisols de type “black cotton”. Les eaux souterraines sont alcalines, très dures et essentiellement saumâtres. Des sources potentielles de fluorure (F-) érodent et lessivent les minéraux portant du F- dans l'environnement alcalin. Un fort taux d'évapotranspiration, des temps de résidence de l'eau dans la zone aquifère plus longs, une irrigation intensive et durable sur le long terme, et l'utilisation importante de fertilisants sont des facteurs aggravant l'augmentation de la teneur en F- dans les eaux souterraines. La zone d'étude a été décrite selon trois classes, en référence à la teneur en F- préconisée pour la consommation humaine: teneur faible (1.20 mg l−1). Quarante cinq pour-cent de l'ensemble des échantillons d'eau souterraine relèvent de la classe de forte teneur en F-. Des cas de fluorose dentaire ont été recensés dans la région. Nous suggérons un programme approprié de gestion des eaux souterraines.Keywords
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