International Journal of Engineering Research ISSN:2319-6890)(online),2347-5013(print) Volume No.3, Issue No.8, pp : 476-481 01 Aug 2014 IJER@2014 Page 476 Hydrochemical Analysis and Evaluation of Groundwater Quality in Part of Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh – Using Remotesensing and GIS Techniques. P. Mynar Babu 1 , G. Jai Sankar 2 ,V.Sreenivasulu 3 , Dr. K.Harikrishna 4 1,3 Department of Civil Engineering, JNTUK University, Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, India. 2 Department .of Geo-Engineering, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. 4 Department of Civil Engineering, Viswanadha Institute of Technology and Management, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. 1 mynar.babu09@gmail.com, 4 harigis2007@gmail.com Abstract:Groundwater is one of earth’s most vital renewable and widely distributed resources as well as an important source of water supply throughout the world. The quality of water is a vital concern for mankind since it is directly linked with human welfare. An attempt has been made to delineate hydrogeomorphic units from IRS P6 LISS III satellite imagery using remote sensing and GIS techniques. The ground water samples are collected from the forty eight observation wells in the study area for quality studies during May 2012 and locations are identified with GPS. Water quality parameters for drinking water standards determined using standard water quality procedures and prepared spatial distribution maps in Arc GIS environment. Groundwater is a valuable natural resource that is essential for human health, socio-economic development, and functioning of ecosystems. Various chemical constituents of water occur as dissociated particles or ions. In the present area of investigation, the chemistry of groundwater with respect to the major elements and chemically related properties has been determined. The major cations include Calcium (Ca +2 ), Sodium (Na + ), Potassium (K + ), Chloride (Cl - ), Sulphate (So 4 -2 ) and Nitrate (No 3 - ). The chemically related properties such as Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and Total Hardness (TH) were also determined. Integrated overlay technique helped to delineate to prepare spatial distribution of groundwater quality for drinking purposes Potable and Non – potable in the study area. Key words: Groundwater, Hydrogeomorphology, Remote sensing, Integrated overlay technique and Hydrogeochemistry. 1. Introduction Groundwater is a valuable natural resource that is essential for human health, socio-economic development, and functioning of ecosystems (Zektser, 2000; Humphreys, 2009; Steube et al., 2009). In India severe water scarcity is becoming common in several parts of the country, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. The overdependence on groundwater to meet ever-increasing demands of domestic, agriculture, and industry sectors has resulted in overexploitation of groundwater resources in several states such as Rajasthan, Punjab, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, among others (CGWB 2006; Garg and Hassan, 2007; Rodell et al., 2009). Groundwater can be optimally used and sustained only when the quantity and quality is properly assessed (Kharad et al., 1999). GIS has been used in the map classification of groundwater quality, based on correlating total dissolved solids (TDS) values with some aquifer characteristics (Butler et al., 2002) or landuse and landcover (Asadi et al., 2007). Other studies have used GIS as a database system in order to prepare maps of water quality according to concentration values of different chemical constituents (Yammani, 2007). In such studies, GIS is utilized to locate groundwater quality zones suitable for different usages such as irrigation and domestic (Yammani, 2007). For any area, a ground water quality map is important to evaluate the water safeness for drinking and irrigation purposes and also as a precautionary indication of potential environmental health problems. Considering the above aspects of groundwater contamination and use of GIS in groundwater quality mapping, the present study was undertaken to map the groundwater quality in Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh, India. The main objective of the research work is to make a groundwater quality assessment using GIS, based on the available physico-chemical data from 48 locations in the study area. The purpose of this assessment are (1) to provide an overview of present groundwater quality, (2) to determine spatial distribution of groundwater quality parameters such as total dissolved solids, total hardness, calcium hardness, magnesium hardness, carbonates, bicarbonates, sodium, potassium, nitrates, chlorides and sulphates (3) to generate groundwater quality zone map for the study area. 2. Study area: The study area is located in eastern and central part of Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh, India. The area covered in this investigation is about 3430 km 2 . The area is geographically lying in between 80° 48ꞌ 0ꞌꞌ and 81° 35ꞌ 11ꞌꞌ E longitude and 15°42ꞌ 0ꞌꞌ and 16°45ꞌ 0ꞌꞌ N latitude, the study area is shown in the Fig.1.