Groundwater quality delineation based on fuzzy comprehensive assessment method (FCAM): a case study

Groundwater is the primary source for drinking purposes in all over the world. The present study is carried out to evaluate the groundwater suitability for drinking purposes. For this purposes, thirty groundwater samples were collected from active boreholes in the investigated region and analyzed for concentrations of various physico-chemical parameters. Chadha diagram was used to better understand the hydro-geochemistry, while fuzzy comprehensive assessment method (FCAM) was introduced to delineate the overall groundwater quality for drinking purposes. Groundwater is slightly alkaline in nature in this study region, and the dominant hydrochemical facie is HCO3−-Na+ which is a reflection of the predominant rock-water interaction in the region. Results of FCAM demonstrated that 73% of groundwater samples were most suitable for drinking purposes and remaining 27% were poor in quality which were unsuitable for drinking purposes in the investigated region.