A comparative study on usage of Durov and Piper diagrams to interpret hydrochemical processes in groundwater from SRLIS river basin, Karnataka, India

Abstract

In the present study, an attempt was made to evaluate and identify hydrogeochem. of water and the involved chem. processes using Durov and Piper diagrams. The prominent hydrochem. facies was Ca2+-​Mg2+-​Cl-​-​SO42-​ in both methods although slight variation in terms of Ca2+-​Mg2+-​HCO3-​ was also obsd. in few water samples. Piper diagrams indicated the dominance of mixed water type (70.84​%) having no one cation-​anion pair exceeds 50​%, while Durov specified the dominance of simple dissoln. or mixing (83.34 %) with no dominant major anion or cation. Thus, both the diagrams signify nonidentification of the water types with neither anions dominant nor cations dominant. Piper diagram, Durov plot and chloroalkaline indexes indicated the dominance of alk. earth elements were over alkalies in majority of samples due to direct exchange of Ca2+ and Mg2+ from the Aquifer matrix with Na+ and K+ from the groundwater. Further, SAR (0.41>SAR< 2.78)​, percent sodium (7.3 > %Na < 42.4) and WQI (13.56 >WQI < 112.99) values recommended the suitability of 100, 91.67 and 62.5​% of samples for domestic and irrigation purposes.