Bhandari N. S.* and Hemant K. Joshi

Department of Chemistry, Kumaun University, S. S. J. Campus Almora-263601, Uttarakhand, India

Abstract  This paper aims to propose a quality profile of springs of the study area for irrigation. In the present study, fifty-four springs in Almora have been identified from rural as well as urban localities for calculation of irrigational water quality parameters during pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon, 2008. Spring water samples are collected and analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, HCO3-, Cl-, and SO42-. Different irrigation quality parameters viz. salinity, sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), soluble sodium percentage (SSP), residual sodium carbonate (RSC), magnesium hazards (MH) and permeability index (PI) are calculated for the evaluation of spring water quality for irrigation purposes. All springs are found excellent to good based on irrigation quality parameters. Based on Wilcox diagram, about 98% of the water resources are grouped as C1S1 (low-low) and C2S1 (medium-low) classes, so springs are suitable for normal irrigation.

* Corresponding author, E-mail:im_nsbhandari@yahoo.co.in

CHINESE JOURNAL OF GEOCHEMISTRY Vol. 32, No. 2, 2013, page 130-136

© Science Press and Institute of Geochemistry, CAS and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013