Hydrogeochemical characterization of groundwater in alluvial plains of river Yamuna in northern India: An insight of controlling processes

Abstract Groundwater chemistry of an aquifer is influenced by several physical and chemical factors as well as their inter-ionic relationship prevailing in any area. To assess the factors influencing the chemical composition of groundwater in Panipat district, Haryana, India, a semi-arid alluvial region, different parameters including potential hydrogeochemical weathering as well as their ionic indices and conventional graphical methods were employed. The groundwater analysis data did not explicitly show the dominance of a single rock mineral dissolution process. The inter-ionic relationship between Ca 2+ +Mg 2+ and SO 4 2−  + HCO 3 – also indicated that the carbonate and silicate weathering were invariably prevailing in the region. The chloro-alkali indices have shown that Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ were replaced by K + and Na + of surrounding aquifer rock material in 51.1% of groundwater samples. However, there were strong indications of the influence of reverse ion exchange in rest of the data. The piper diagram represented the Ca 2+ -Mg 2+ -Cl − -SO 4 2− type water, indicating an excess of alkaline earths over alkalies (Ca 2+  + Mg 2+ >Na + +K + ) and excess of stronger acidic anions over the weaker acidic anions (Cl − + SO 4 2−  > CO 3 – +HCO 3 – ). The factor analysis indicated that the weathering of aquifer rock material and anthropogenic activities are the main controlling factors in the region.