| dc.description | Groundwater is an important source of freshwater for agriculture, drinking and domestic uses
in many regions of the world including Bangladesh. Demand of groundwater has been
increasing day by day for irrigation by bringing more area under cultivation. As a drinking
water the bottled water market currently has an average annual growth rate of 7.4% between
2002 and 2007, which is parallel to the growth of this industry all over the world. Availability
of groundwater for irrigation has contributed to manifold increases in crop productivity in
Bangladesh. Increasing population, food insecurity, growing economics and poor water
management are putting unprecedented pressure on the world’s freshwater resources
(UNCSD, 2012). | en_US |
| dc.description.abstract | Surface water and groundwater samples collected from Birganj Upazilla, Dinajpur,
Bangladesh in dry seasons of the year 2012 were analyzed for its quality and suitability for
agricultural, industrial and drinking purposes. To study the various physicochemical and
microbiological parameters water samples were from 38 shallow tubewells, 30 deep
tubewells and 3 ponds. Analyses included pH, EC, cations (Ca”*, Mg”, Na‘, K*, Zn’*, Cu”*,
Mn”* and Fe**), anions (HCO;", NO3", SO,”, PO,” and CI’) and TDS (total dissolved solids).
We also computed several variables such as SAR (sodium adsorption ratio), SSP (soluble
sodium percentage) RSC (residual sodium carbonate), permeability index, permeability
salinity, Kelly’s ratio and hardness to evaluate the suitability of groundwater supply for
specific uses. Some correlations and compositional relations were also evaluated. Overall we
found that both the groundwater were acidic in nature (pH varied from 6.1 to 7.5) and could
be suitable for drinking, agricultural and industrial uses. According to TDS and SAR values,
all samples were classed as ‘freshwater’ and ‘excellent’ categories. The soluble sodium
percentage (SSP) of all waters was under ‘excellent’ and ‘good’ classes. Maximum samples
were within ‘soft’ class regarding hardness with ‘suitable’ RSC. Based on Zn**, Mn’*, Fe*",
SO,”, NO; and CTI all groundwater and surface water samples were within the ‘safe’ limit
for drinking but unsuitable for some industries for specific ions. The results also provided
data for water quality of surface and groundwater resources of study region to match national
and international standards for drinking, agricultural, industrial and livestock requirements. | en_US |
