164
Views
1
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Research Article

Evaluation of factors influencing surface water quality in a coalfield area of Damodar valley, India: a sustainable uses

ORCID Icon, ORCID Icon, &
Pages 6183-6205 | Received 25 Mar 2021, Accepted 10 Jun 2021, Published online: 05 Jul 2021
 

ABSTRACT

A systematic study on the major ions and heavy metals was carried out for surface water resources of EB coalfield for water quality assessment, source apportionment and studying the geochemical processes controlling the surface water quality. Seasonal effect was not very prominent for the surface water quality parameters inclusive of metals, though some dilution was observed in some parameters during the monsoon season. Some of the parameters exceeded the drinking water limits like TDS, turbidity, NO3, F, total hardness and Mg2+ in surface water. The Fe concentrations exceeded the desirable limit of the BIS standard in about 26% of the water sample. The surface water chemistry of the EB coalfield is influenced by extensive coal mining activities. The principal component analysis of metals and health concerning anions demonstrated that the data were synthesised into three loading factors with Eigen values >1 and explaining about 71.4% of the total variance. The extracted factors seem to indicate geogenic sources, coal mining and associated transportation. The quality assessment of the surface water for irrigation suitability suggested that the calculated parameters (SAR, %Na, RSC and MH) of water to be in the range of good to permissible; however, at a few sites, SAR values and MH make it unsuitable for irrigation. Thus, the study exemplified the need for awareness about the contamination of surface water within EB coalfield area. The findingsof the present study may be useful to decision-makers in developing plans for surface water quality management and sustainable use.

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the financial support provided for the study by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India (for the ISM/JRF fellowship) and the University Grants Commission (for Dr. D. S. Kothari’s postdoctoral fellowship-OT/15-16/0017). The analytical facility provided by the CSIR-Central Institute of Mining & Fuel Research, Dhanbad, is also thankfully acknowledged.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the University Grants Commission, New Delhi [OT/15-16/0017]; Ministry of Human Resource Development, New Delhi [ISM/JRF/DR-2012/0047].

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 61.00 Add to cart

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 1,223.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.