Groundwater Quality Assessment in Korba Coalfield Region, India: An Integrated Approach of GIS and Heavy Metal Pollution Index (HPI) Model

Abstract

The goal of this study was to examine the water quality for drinking and domestic purposes in the Korba coalfield region of Chhattisgarh, India. The Korba Coalfield region has seen the collection of fifteen groundwater samples from different places. The content of eight metals was determined using ICP-MS instruments: aluminum (Al), barium (Ba), cadmium (Cd), iron (Fe), magnesium (Mn), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), and zinc (Zn). Spatial distribution maps were produced using GIS software to make it simple to understand the groundwater’s quality. The groundwater samples were collected during the pre-monsoon season and the amount of Al, Ba, Cd, Fe, Mn, Pb, Ni, and Zn exceeded the ideal drinking water standards in a few sites. The elevated metal concentrations in the study region’s groundwater could be hazardous to the quality of water. The HPI value based on mean concentration was calculated to be 21.64, which is significantly lower than the reference pollutant index score of 100. The HPI calculation revealed that 73.33% of groundwater samples had low HPI values, 6.67% had medium HPI values, and the remaining 20% had high HPI values. The correlation between heavy metals and HPI was calculated; HPI is positively correlated with Fe (r > 0.9471), Pb (r > 0.9666), and Zn (r > 0.9634), indicating that these elements contribute significantly more to heavy metal concentration in the various samples examined than the other selected elements. The box plot seems to be a graphical representation of the outcomes of the different parameter concentrations which show the mean, maximum, and minimum metal values. The cluster analysis was performed and it was classified into two clusters. Cluster-1 comprises 14 members (93.33%) of the water samples examined and is distinguished by relatively low Ba (<700 µg.L-1), pH, TDS, Al, Fe, Cd, Mn, Pb, and Zn concentrations. Cluster-II is made up of 1 member (6.67%), which is primarily made up of groundwater samples (GW-10) taken in the KCF region, India. High values of HPI are found in the eastern portion of Chhattisgarh’s KCF region, reflecting the spatial distribution of metals. Heavy metal leaching from open-pit mining and transit routes was observed to have contaminated groundwater in the eastern section of the research region.