Groundwater Quality Assessment for Villages Around Umred Coal Mines, Nagpur District, Maharashtra

Groundwater is the principal source of water in the area of research. The area covers six villages surrounding the Umred coal mines. Fifteen water samples in total were meticulously collected and a comprehensive investigation was undertaken to study the potential influence of mining activities on the quality of groundwater. Wide range of parameters was investigated and the results were precisely compared to the standards set by the BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) in 2012 and 2015. All the parameters meet the required standards, except for NO3-, It exceeds the acceptable limits in four samples. The findings show that the samples are well-suited for irrigation as per U.S. Salinity Laboratory Diagram. The Piper’s trilinear diagram for the samples shows the dominance of calcium (Ca2+), magnesium(Mg2+) over sodium (Na+), and potassium (K+), with the weak acid (HCO3-) outweighing strong acids (SO42- + Cl-). Majority of samples in this area lie in the Ca-HCO region. The study also evaluated the water quality of this area, by accessing the following key parameters - pH (Potential of Hydrogen), Mg2+ (Magnesium), TDS (Total Dissolved Solids), TH (Total Hardness), Na+ (Sodium), HCO3- (Bicarbonate), SO42- (Sulphates), Ca2+ (Calcium), Cl- (Chlorides), K+ (Potassium), EC (Electrical Conductivity),NO3- (Nitrates), and F- (Fluorides).