Impact of geology and anthropogenic activities over the water quality with emphasis on fluoride in water scarce Lalitpur district of Bundelkhand region, India

The Bundelkhand region of India is suffering from acute water scarcity, raising concern over the potability in the region. Therefore, to develop a baseline data set of groundwater quality, sampling was carried out from the 110 existing shallow hand pumps and tube wells covering the Lalitpur district. Groundwater samples were investigated for hydro-geochemical and isotopic signatures (delta O-18 and delta H-2) to understand the driving factors leading to water quality and its contamination in the region. The results of Hierarchical cluster analysis revealed four different clusters according to their water quality. Cluster 1 and 2 water samples have a good quality of water and these samples fall in the vicinity of major or minor drainage networks of the area. Whereas, clusters 3 and 4 are of deteriorated water quality and located far-off from the drainage networks in the study area. The findings from chemical analysis and chemometric method suggest that the groundwater composition is mainly influenced by rock weathering and anthropogenic activities. Fluoride exposure dosage for the infant and children is twice that of adults in the study area, indicating a stronger impact of fluoride concentration in infants and children. The stable isotopic analysis shows that origin of groundwater is local precipitation, with evaporative enrichment in groundwater. The groundwater of cluster 3 and 4 shows evaporative nature along with high EC and Cl concentration. The variation of concentration of ions in the study area prevails along the groundwater flow direction and surface drainage reveals the control of hydrogeological attributes in the groundwater. (C) 2021 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Automated summary

A study in the Bundelkhand region of India revealed that groundwater quality is influenced by rock weathering and anthropogenic activities, with fluoride concentration having a greater impact on infants and children. The origin of groundwater is local precipitation with evaporative enrichment, and variations in ion concentration along groundwater flow direction indicate control by hydrogeological attributes.