of irrigated
hri village,
s the earth
degradable
esulting in
, domestic
respiratory
oundwater
gricultural
te, IRS-1A
ware. The
INFO GIS
cessitating
]th-related
Bichhri in
c. through
| fall in H-
the H-acid
r detection
- Ver.8.3
dard FCC
preted and
nt of post-
LISS-II of
resolution
ere found
land cover
tamination
orphology,
RC / INFO
for human
CB 1998).
n by FAO
r drinking
standard
1986) and
urrence of
Ramachandran, Kausalya
3. DISCUSSION:
Water quality analysis indicated that some of the physico-chemical parameters, viz., EC, dissolved solids, Ca, Mg, Na
and SO4 levels were higher when compared with the Indian ( IS-10500 : 1991) and German Drinking Water Standard
(Bundesgesatzblatt, 1990; Malina ,1996; USEPA 1990; WHO, 1984 )- A map-union in ARC/INFO GIS enabled the
estimation of spatial spread of H-acid conc. in groundwater in 1992, in areas with varying groundwater potential within
Bichhri. It was noticed that H-acid conc. varied in different parts of the aquifer; while an area of 3.01 Km? had a
concentration level of «1 mg/l, over 0.02 Km? area had a conc. of 500 mg/l. By 1998, the H-acid conc. had declined
drastically with a maximum conc. of 50 mg/l over an area of 0.04 Km? and 3.4 Km? of aquifer with H-acid conc.
ranging from 2- 40 mg/l. Table.i indicates the advantage of using GIS for assessing the magnitude of H-acid
contamination on groundwater aquifer.
H-acid contamination (1992) H-acid contamination (1998)
Groundwater potential | Area contaminated | Groundwater potential | Area contaminated
category (Km?) category (Km?)
Poor 0.1 Poor 0.01
Poor - Moderate 1.7 Poor - Moderate 15
Moderate - Good 2.4 Moderate - Good 1.9
Table 1: Decline in contamination hazard to groundwater at Bichhri.
Soil quality for agricultural purpose was assessed using The Netherlands Standard for Soils and the German Standard
(Grenzwerte, 1994) and the trace metal and micro-nutrient content as recommended by FAO (1983). It was noted that
most of the soils were in good state barring those found in the vicinity of HACL factory, except for the H-acid
concentration which made the soils highly toxic for agricultural purpose. Analysıs using GIS indicated that the
magnitude of H-acid conc. in soil extract of surface and sub-surface ranged from 4000 - 7000 and 4000 - 6000 mg/kg
respectively. In groundwater, H-acid conc. ranged from 1- 500 mg/l of water in 1992 and 2-50 mg/l in 1998 (Fig. 1).
India
H-acid contamination of Groundwater, Bichhri, Rajasthan, India - November 1992
Kms 025 0 025 050 075 1.00 Kms
Scale
[mim
dan
AY RN
QUE -
x
Bichhri
Village
lll
100 - 400
EX
Udaisagar
Reservoir
Figure 1. H-acid contamination in groundwater samples from Bichhri village near Udaipur city in November, 1992
Map-union of H-acid conc. in surface and subsurface soil in 1998, with a map of groundwater potential of Bichhri,
highlighted the H-acid hazard to the aquifer through natural leaching (Fig.2). It was noticed that areas with both - poor
International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXIII, Part B7. Amsterdam 2000. 1227
