Impact of climate and anthropogenic activities on groundwater quality for domestic and irrigation purposes in Attur region, Tamilnadu, India

In southern India, Attur is a major groundwater province with substantial groundwater quality and quantity deficiencies as a result of increasing population density and urbanization. In the present study, 43 bore well locations are identified in the study area to evaluate the appropriateness of the nature of groundwater for domestic and irrigation uses. The study region majorly covered by charnockite, hornblende biotite gneiss, and porphyroclasts bearing mylonites are exposed in the foothill. The dominant ions in groundwater are as follows K+, >Na+, >Mg2+, and >Ca2+ for cation and Cl-, >HCO3-, and >SO42- for anions. It's revealed that groundwater is mainly alkaline and hard in nature for domestic uses. Various irrigation indices have been calculated for the evaluation of groundwater quality parameters for irrigation suitability. The most efficient methods of statistical analysis are principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) was carried out in the study. It has also been found that, weathering of host rocks and their minerals, agricultural waste, synthetic fertilizers, and anthropogenic activities are strongly influencing the quality of water in study area. The research concluded that, remedial measures such as primary treatment are immediately needed before use for drinking uses.