Assessment of groundwater quality and its suitability for drinking and irrigation purpose in Dindigul taluk, Tamilnadu, India

Groundwater samples of Dindigul taluk at the interior part of Tamilnadu, India were evaluated for groundwater quality and its suitability for drinking and irrigation purpose. Positive correlation of EC with most of the parameters suggests that salinity plays a vital role in the enrichment of other parameters. Comparing with the post-monsoon the samples from the pre-monsoon exhibit less quality but are suitable for drinking purpose except in a few locations. Almost all the samples come under the standard values and are suitable for drinking as well as irrigation purpose. The TH and TDS values imply that the samples are hard to very hard type mostly during the pre-monsoon period. Few samples in the evaporation zone of Gibbs plot suggests the contamination of groundwater through surface processes such as irrigation return flow and some other anthropogenic impacts like domestic sewage disposal. Overall, the samples are suitable for irrigation purpose with an exception that samples with medium salinity and high sodium content were not suitable for irrigation purpose in any type of soils.