Seasonal changes of Physiochemical properties of Groundwater at Sawai Madhopur District in Rajasthan

Abstract

Rajasthan, the largest Indian state, is predominately arid and semi-arid, where groundwater provides approximately 90 % of drinking water and 70 % of irrigation water requirements.The hydrochemistry of groundwater is greatly impacted by the careless and inappropriate discharge of industrial effluents that are enriched in different chemical, organic, inorganic and biological contaminants.The analytical procedure used to determine various physicochemical characteristics includes total hardness, total alkalinity, Chemical Oxygen Demand and Biological Oxygen Demandfor samples of ground water from fortydifferent sites of Sawai Madhapur district.The hardness of the reservoir water test locations was found to increase as the monsoon season transitioned into the post-monsoon.High value of alkalinity in monsoon and post monsoon may be due to the agricultural runoff with rain water.The concentration of COD in all the samples was lower in the pre-monsoon season but higher in the rainy season and further decreases in post-monsoon season.The BOD levels were lower during the pre-monsoon season at every sample location. The influx of organic waste and increased bacterial activity during the monsoon season resulted in the highest BOD value

Introduction

India, particularly Rajasthan, faces intense pressure on its groundwater resources due to rapid industrialization, agriculture, and limited natural water availability. Groundwater quality is greatly influenced by the concentration of various ions, and contamination has become a serious concern. Reports from the Central Ground Water Board (2021) and WHO indicate that pollutants like fluoride and nitrate pose severe health risks, affecting millions of people across the country.

To assess groundwater quality, a study was conducted in the Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan, covering 40 sample sites across eight regions. Physicochemical parameters—Total Hardness (TH), Total Alkalinity (TA), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), and Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD)—were measured following APHA standard methods.

Key Findings

• Total Hardness:
  Hardness increased from 166.93 mg/L (pre-monsoon) to 205.05 mg/L (monsoon) and 244.55 mg/L (post-monsoon). This suggests higher mineral dissolution and runoff effects after rains.

• Total Alkalinity:
  Alkalinity rose significantly from 199.23 mg/L (pre-monsoon) to 294.67 mg/L (monsoon) and 414.02 mg/L (post-monsoon). Agricultural runoff containing fertilizers and pesticides likely caused this rise.

• Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD):
  COD was lowest during pre-monsoon (5.34 mg/L), increased in monsoon (6.30 mg/L) due to industrial and chemical runoff, and declined again in post-monsoon (5.30 mg/L).

• Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD):
  BOD increased from 4.84 mg/L (pre-monsoon) to 5.42 mg/L (monsoon) and slightly decreased in post-monsoon (5.04 mg/L). Higher BOD in monsoon indicates increased organic matter and microbial activity in water due to rainwater runoff and contamination.

Conclusion

This study aims to improve understanding of the local water quality, identify feasible approaches, and offer recommendations for addressing the issue of groundwater pollution. To maintain the safe and sustainable use of the water supply, it is crucial to comprehend the scope and causes of groundwater pollution.Provided information to local populations on the levels of microbiological and groundwater pollution as well as the existing techniques for preventing the spread of water-borne illnesses.

References

[1] Romantschuk, M.; Lahti-Leikas, K.; Kontro, M.; Galitskaya, P.; Talvenmäki, H.; Simpanen, S.; Allen, J.A.; Sinkkonen, A. Bioremediation of Contaminated Soil and Groundwater by In Situ Biostimulation. Front. Microbiol. 2023, 14, 1258148. [2] Anandan, S.; Kumar Ponnusamy, V.; Ashokkumar, M. A Review on Hybrid Techniques for the Degradation of Organic Pollutants in Aqueous Environment. Ultrason. Sonochem. 2020, 67, 105130. [3] Foorginezhad, S.; Zerafat, M.M.; Ismail, A.F.; Goh, P.S. Emerging Membrane Technologies for Sustainable Water Treatment: A Review on Recent Advances. Environ. Sci. Adv. 2025, 4, 530–570. [4] Robles, K.P.V.; Monjardin, C.E.F. Assessment and Monitoring of Groundwater Contaminants in Heavily Urbanized Areas: A Review of Methods and Applications for Philippines. Water 2025, 17, 1903. [5] Abdelhalim A., Howard G., Howden N. J. K., Ahmed M. & Ismail E. (2023) Carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risk assessment of heavy metals contamination in groundwater in the west of Minia area, Egypt, Human and Ecological Risk Assessment, 29 (2), 571–596. [6] Belkhiri L., Mouni L., Sheikhy Narany T. & Tiri A. (2017) Evaluation of potential health risk of heavy metals in groundwater using the integration of indicator kriging and multivariate statistical methods, Groundwater for Sustainable Development, 4, 12–22. [7] Dash S., Borah S. S. & Kalamdhad A. (2019) A modified indexing approach for assessment of heavy metals contamination in Deepor Beel. India, Ecological Indicators, 106, 105444. [8] Jha M., Kumar S., Singh T. B. N., Srivastava S. K., Azad G. K. & Yasmin S. (2023) Potential health risk assessment through the consumption of arsenic-contaminated groundwater in parts of the middle Gangetic plain, Bulletin of the National Research Centre, 47 (1), 77. [9] Kumar M., Rahman M. M., Ramanathan A. L. & Naidu R. (2016) Arsenic and other elements in drinking water and dietary components from the middle Gangetic plain of Bihar, India: health risk index, Science of The Total Environment, 539, 125–134. [10] Ranjan R. K., Ramanathan A. L., Parthasarathy P. & Kumar A. (2012) Hydrochemical characteristics of groundwater in the plains of Phalgu River in Gaya, Bihar, India, Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 6 (9), 3257–3267.

Copyright

Copyright © 2025 Ashok Kumar Jangid, Dr. BS Bairwa, Dr. Ajay Kumar Meena. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.