Impact of stone quarries on groundwater quality at Achenkovil River Basin, Southern Western Ghats, India: Investigation using WQI and GIS

The quality concern of groundwater owing to human activities is mounting at a shocking rate in many of the river basins in Southern India. A study was carried out in this work to determine the quality of groundwater in the Achenkovil River Basin (ARB) in the Southern Western Ghats region of Kerala, India. A total of 25 dug well water samples were collected from the vicinity of aggregate quarries during the pre and post monsoon seasons of 2020-2021. The water quality index has been applied to categorize the water quality, namely, excellent, good, poor, etc. to infer the quality of water to the people and policy makers in the concerned area. The WQI results showed that 12% of the water samples in good and 28% depict in very poor category. The Hill-Piper Trilinear diagram reveals that the groundwater of the study area falls under Ca2+/Mg2+, and HCO3- and SO42-, Cl-, Mg2+ types. The hydro-chemistry of the rock-dominant water type of the quarrying area is inhibited by geogenic-processes along with the percolation of prevailing quarry leachate and infiltration into the nearby wells. The correlation matrix has been created and analyzed to observe their significant impetus on the assessment of groundwater quality. The overall quality of groundwater systems in the quarrying area, according to the various indices, is not fit for domestic consumption without mandatory quality treatment, but is suitable for irrigation.

Automated summary

The quality of groundwater in many river basins in Southern India is deteriorating rapidly due to human activities. A study conducted in the Achenkovil River Basin in Kerala, India assessed the groundwater quality and found that it is generally poor, unfit for direct consumption, but suitable for irrigation.