Groundwater quality assessment in emerging industrial cluster of alluvial aquifer near Jaipur, India

Groundwater is the major source of drinking water on the earth's surface. The threat to groundwater contamination is increasing day by day due to rapid increase in industrialization and urbanization. The present study aims at assessing the groundwater quality contamination threat around industrial cluster at Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation (RIICO) in Jaipur district of Rajasthan, India. The cluster does not have common effluent treatment plant, and very few units have their effluent treatment plants. Groundwater samples were collected around the industrial cluster and its vicinity and analyzed for major cations, anions and trace elements. The water quality data indicate that total dissolved solids exceed the drinking water standard set by the Bureau of Indian Standards in few samples, and trace elements of health significance are not detected in any sample. The soil analysis indicates that only the top surface near the point of disposal of the treated effluent is affected. In view of the thick alluvium of 60-80 m and the water table above 30 m, the effluents are retarded significantly before reaching the water table. The sodium adsorption ratio of water samples indicates its suitability for irrigation and falls in the category of fairly suitable to excellent. Piper plot reveals that dominant cations are Na+, K++ and Mg++ and dominant anions are HCO3- and CO3-. The Gibbs plot indicates that rock-water interactions influence the groundwater quality. The study reveals that the groundwater quality from most of the sources meets the requirements of drinking water standards, and there is enough environmental space available for the expansion of industrial belt in this RIICO hub.