Groundwater quality assessment at Pali, Rajasthan (India)

Chemical analysis of groundwater samples collected from Pali, Rajasthan (India) showed the direct impact of textile effluents on its quality. Textile printing and dyeing units discharge large volume of effluent per day through lined and unlined channels directed towards the Bandi River. It was observed that the groundwater upstream at Pali has dissolved oxygen (4.06-4.26 mg/L), low salinity (2020-3350 microS/cm), sodium (400-600 mg/L), chloride (545-496 mg/L) and sulphate (88-300 mg/L). It was found that groundwater downstream at Pali is oxygen deficient with dissolved oxygen (0 mg/L), extremely saline (7050-28000 microS/cm), alkaline (330-1430 mg CaCO3/L), rich in sodium (1300-7130 mg/L), chloride (61-818 mg/L) and sulphate (466-4006 mg/L) exhibiting high chemical oxygen demand (153-1788 mg/L). Most of the wells had greenish tinge in water and high salinity. Most of the polluted water had sodium adsorption ratio value above 20 which in combination with high salinity is responsible for reduced crop yield, and low soil permeability has been observed in the affected area.