See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/313240863

Assessment of Groundwater Quality and Saline Water Intrusion in the Coastal

Aquifers of Purba Midnapur District

Article  in  Indian Journal of Environmental Protection · January 2017

CITATIONS READS

14 1,653

3 authors:

Prabir Kumar Maity Subhasish Das

Jadavpur University Jadavpur University
11 PUBLICATIONS   73 CITATIONS    120 PUBLICATIONS   783 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Rajib Das
Jadavpur University
64 PUBLICATIONS   492 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Optimisation of Water Resources in Tea Garden Irrigation System through Sustainable Water Management Systems View project

Analysis of sediment transport mechanism in connection to reservoir life and dam safety under “Energy, Environment and Climate Change” View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Subhasish Das on 13 February 2017.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

IJEP 37 (1) : 31-40 (2017) (Received on July 12, 2016)

Assessment of Groundwater Quality and Saline Water

Intrusion in the Coastal Aquifers of Purba Midnapur Dis-
trict
Prabir Kumar Maity, Subhasish Das and Rajib Das
Jadavpur University, School of Water Resources Engineering, Kolkata-700 032
As a result of increasing population, industrialisation and water demand in agricultural sectors, ground-
water table is lowering in most part of district of Purba Midnapur, West Bengal. It is a serious threat as
regards to groundwater quantity and quality due to seawater intrusion. In this study, coastal aquifers
of Purba Midnapur district are selected for an assessment of its groundwater quality and impact of
saline water intrusion. The water samples collected along the coastal region are subjected to various
physico-chemical analyses. The physico-chemical studies involve pH value, total dissolved solids (TDS),
total hardness, specific conductivity, anions (HCO, Cl, CO), Fe and Cl/(HCO3+CO3) ratio. The above
properties are compared with the drinking water standards setup by the World Health Organization. The
results revealed that most of the water samples are significantly hard (range 410–1500 ppm) as regard
to CaCO3 concentration. The salinity was delineated by chloride concentration Cl- and total dissolved
solids measurements. Specific conductance concentration of 2 samples is found quite high, such as at
Serkhanchak-I and Betkundu. Along the Rupnarayan river bank specific conductivity concentration is
found 4000 µmhos/cm.

KEYWORD cal investigation conducted by Goswami (1968),

Geotechnical investigation, physico-chemical
analysis, Salinity, Conductivity, Total dissolved
solids (TDS), Water quality analysis, Saline water
intrusion.
INTRODUCTION
The coastal blocks of Purba Midnapur district in
the vicinity of Bay of Bengal are getting affected
by saline water intrusion through aquifers and
canals. Due to effect of salinity in soil, the crop
yields are reducing gradually, which alarms the
future economy of the concerned area (Sherif and
Singh, 1999; Dhar et al., 2009a-c; Das et al.,
2014). Saline water intrusion phenomenon in
coastal areas was reported in Krieger et al. (1957),
Todd (1960), Cooper et al. (1964), Barlow (2003)
for USA; Papadopoulou et al. (2005) and Gallardo
et al. (2007) for Japan, Olufemi et al. (2010),
Ayolabi et al. (2013) for Nigeria; Sappa and
Coviello (2012) for Italy; Dhar et al. (2009a-e,
2010a-b) for South 24 Parganas district, West
Bengal, Chachadi (2005) for Goa. From geologi-
Mahesha (2001), Mandal (2013), it is seen that
since long years ago the coastal zone of Purba
Midnapur district of West Bengal was situated in
Bay of Bengal at foothill of Rajmahal and
Singbhum. Basically the coastal zone of Purba
Midnapur district build by stratified layers which
are formed through the deposition of silt
(Mukherjee et al., 2015) and boulders in years
after years caring through Ganga, Bhagirathi and
others. Due to natural calamity, many lives and
trees are buried under soil deposition since long
resulting the natural of soil is acidic. Generally in
stratified soil has greater permeability in the hori-
zontal direction leading to ingress of saline water
from the Bay of Bengal. As a result the soil in the
coastal zone of Purba Midnapur district is highly
saline. From the review of previous literatures, it
is perceived that there are different inadequacies
in previous researches. So there is significant scope
for in-depth and thorough study of groundwater
quality due to the saline water intrusion into
coastal aquifers of Purba Midnapur district at West

INDIAN J. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, VOL. 37, NO.1, JANUARY 2017 31

© 2017 - Kalpana Corporation
Table 1. Physico-chemical properties of water samples in 28 wells and one seawater sample at
different locations of Purba Midnapur
Area/block pH Specific Bicarbo- Chlori- Total Iron, TDS, Cl/
conducti- nate - de (CI), hard- ppm ppm (HCO3+CO3)
vity at HCO3, ppm ness
25oC, ppm CaCOM,
µmhos/cm ppm
Nijkasba 8.61 1040 280 70 250 0.25 666 0.22
Serkhanchak well- 7.29 16000 570 6900 2480 14.39 10240 12.11
Serkhanchak well-II 8.14 1190 450 30 280 0.14 762 0.05
Mukutshila-I 7.72 6700 100 2900 1500 20.44 4288 29.00
Mukutshila-II 7.63 3300 210 1120 660 0.23 2112 5.33
Kharipukhuria 7.77 1900 240 580 400 5.30 1216 2.42
Kalindi well 8.50 470 250 50 120 0.17 301 0.17
Sea water 7.80 26000 180 11400 3570 0.72 16640 63.33
Ramnagar, well-I 7.38 550 420 60 200 0.20 352 0.14
Basantia High 7.86 1350 240 360 410 0.38 864 1.50
School
Majna, well-II 7.36 1380 310 310 490 1.20 883 1.00
Katchlageria, well 7.68 490 490 30 250 0.38 314 0.06
Charaichia, well-II 7.76 450 330 20 110 0.18 288 0.06
Panichiari, well-I 7.38 1900 340 560 550 0.11 1216 1.65
Mukutshila (zone-I) 8.19 580 280 60 210 0.18 371 0.21
well-II
Khejuri, well-II 7.75 810 330 110 180 0.26 518 0.33
Shilaberia,well 7.84 810 410 90 260 0.19 518 0.22
Kamarda, well-II 7.18 850 360 100 230 0.09 544 0.22
Digha central zone, 7.67 1230 310 280 270 0.12 787 0.90
well-II
Digha-Western 7.17 560 250 70 150 0.13 358 0.28
zone, well-I
Mandar, well-I 7.47 480 270 40 290 0.12 307 0.15
Betkundu- WSS 7.55 4700 250 1580 660 0.3 3008 6.32
Dhekua- WSS 7.71 910 280 150 100 0.2 582 0.54
P.H.no.2
Natsal WSS, 7.67 3900 200 1220 560 2.0 2496 6.10
P.H. no.1, zone-2
Gopalpur WSS 7.71 920 230 100 40 2.0 589 0.43
Laksha WSS 7.65 970 250 140 50 0.2 621 0.56
P.H. no.1
Chaitanyapur WSS 8.64 1590 140 450 240 nil 1018 2.25
P.H.no.1, zone-1
Chaitanyapur WSS 7.54 1010 200 160 440 nil 646 0.80
P.H. no.1, zone-2
Nandakumar WSS 7.31 3100 100 950 560 0.2 1984 9.50
P.H. no.1
Note: WSS – Water supply scheme

32 INDIAN J. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, VOL. 37, NO. 1, JANUARY 2017

© 2017 - Kalpana Corporation
Figure 1. Water sampling in 28 wells and one sea
water sampling at different locations of Purba
Midnapur district
Bengal.
FIELD INVESTIGATION
Groundwater samples from different deep
tubewells of Public Health Department under Govt.
of West Bengal in coastal blocks of Purba Midnapur
district have been collected on phase-1, phase-2
and phase-3 basis. In the phase-1 to phase-3,
groundwater samples have been collected from
the deep tubewells analyzed by State Water In-
vestigation Directorate, Govt. of West Bengal for
various chemical parameters determination. Fig-
ure 1 shows the geographical location of the study
area. The parameter includes pH, electrical con-
ductivity, total dissolved solids and anions, such
as carbonates, bicarbonates and chlorides (Table
1). The procedure for water samples collection is
that at first container of 1.5 L of capacity is taken,
washed with distilled water after that water
sample from deep tubewell is poured by this con-
tainer and tight with inner cap as well as outer
cap for prevention of air passing.
Water samples have been collected from an av-
erage depth of about 200 m below ground level.
Based on chemical analysis conducted, the data
obtained from chloride concentration has been
INDIAN J. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, VOL. 37, NO.1, JANUARY 2017
© 2017 - Kalpana Corporation
Figure 2. Well locations and chloride concentra-
tion at study area
plotted in figure 2. Then relevant contours have
been constructed in the figure 3. As observed,
the chloride concentration varies from as high as
11400 ppm along the seashore line to as low as
20 ppm at Khejuri. The patterns of variation of
the chloride concentration in the aquifer at the
depth considered have been found to be quite
irregular. At some locations, the chloride concen-
tration is quite high, such as at Serkhanchak-I
(6900 ppm) and Mukutshila-I (2900 ppm).
Along the Rupnarayan river bank chloride con-
centration is 1500 ppm. Conversely, at few loca-
tions, the chloride concentration is significantly
low, like Charaichia (20 ppm), Kalindi (50 ppm),
Pataspur (60 ppm), Nandigram (100 ppm) and
Henria (200 ppm), etc. This heterogeneity in the
aquifer media of the study area has attributed to
this irregularity of the contours for chloride con-
centration. For the study area, the total dissolved
solids concentration data from chemical analysis
(Table 1) has been plotted and relevant contours
have been constructed in figure 4. The total dis-
solved solids concentration varies from as high as
16640 ppm along the sea shore line from Digha
to Haldia to as low as 300 ppm at Charaichia.
The variations of the total dissolved solids con-
centration in the aquifer at the depth taken were
33

Figure 3. The line of equal chloride concentration
found to be quite irregular pattern. At some loca-
tions, the total dissolved solids concentration is
quite high, such as at Serkhanchak-I (10240 ppm)
and Mukutshila-I (4288 ppm). Along the
Rupnarayan river bank, the total dissolved solids
concentration is 2500 ppm. Conversely, at few
locations, the chloride concentration is signifi-
cantly low, like Charaichia (288 ppm) and Mander
(307 ppm), etc. The permissible limit of total dis-
solved solids in drinking water is 500 ppm, the
increment leads to ingress of saline water in the
study area from Bay of Bengal.
The specific conductivity of water in mhos/cm
is multiplied by 0.65 so as to obtain the dissolved
salt content in ppm. The specific conductivity is
expressed as follows:
Specific = Dissolved salt / 0.65 … (1)
conductivity
The specific conductivity is also known as salin-
ity of groundwater table. From the chemical analy-
sis data, the specific conductivity in mhos/cm
has been plotted in the study area and relevant
contours have been constructed in the figure 5.
The specific conductivity concentration varies from
as high as 26000 mhos/cm along the sea shore
line from Digha to Haldia to as low as 450 mhos/
34 INDIAN J. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, VOL. 37, NO. 1, JANUARY 2017
© 2017 - Kalpana Corporation
Figure 4. The line of equal total dissolved solids
concentration at coastal area of Purba Midnapur
district
cm at Charaichia. The variations of the specific
conductivity concentration in the aquifer at the
depth taken were found to be quite irregular pat-
tern. At some locations the specific conductivity
concentration is quite high, such as at
Serkhanchak-I (16000 mhos/cm) and Betkundu
(4700 mhos/cm). Along the Rupnarayan river
bank specific conductivity concentration is 4000
mhos/cm. Conversely, at few locations, the
specific conductivity is significantly low, like
Katchlageria (490 mhos/cm) and Chandpur (550
mhos/cm), etc.
The water samples are so collected from deep
tubewells from the study are analysed, the iron
concentration in ppm has been plotted and the
relevant contours have been constructed in fig-
ure 6. In public water supply the permissible limit
of iron is 0.3 ppm as per IS 1983:2004. As ob-
served, the iron concentration varies from as high
as 0.72 ppm along the seashore line from Digha
to Haldia to as low as 0.1 ppm at Panichiari. At
some locations the iron concentration is quite high
such as at Serkhanchak-I (14.39 ppm) and
Mukutshila (20.44 ppm. Along the Rupnarayan
river bank iron concentration is in between 0.3
ppm to 0.2 ppm. But at few locations, the iron
concentration is significantly low, like Digha west-
Figure 5. Salinity in groundwater table of Purba
Midnapur district (specific conductivity in µmhos/
cm at 250C)
ern zone (0.13 ppm), Kamarda (0.09 ppm) and
Nijkasba at Nandigram (0.25 ppm), etc. High iron
concentration creates the water turbid; this should
be removed by filtration or other process before
uses for different sectors.
WATER QUALITY ANALYSIS
Water samples have been collected from 28 deep
tubewells at different blocks of Purba Midnapur
district. Chemical analyses have been conducted
at the laboratory of State Water Investigation
Directorate, Govt. of West Bengal. The physico-
chemical properties consisting (Table 1) of pH,
specific conductivity, total dissolves solids, hard-
ness, carbonate, bicarbonate, chloride and iron
have been determined. The results and discus-
sions are presented in this section.
Hydrogen ion concentration (pH)
The pH value of water indicates the acidity or
alkalinity of water. The pH value 7 means the
water sample is neutral. If the pH of water is
more than 7, it will be alkaline and if it is less than
7, it will be acidic. The permissible values of pH
for public supplies may range between 6.5 to 8.5.
The average pH values for 28 well water and
one-seawater samples have been found to be
INDIAN J. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, VOL. 37, NO.1, JANUARY 2017
© 2017 - Kalpana Corporation
Figure 6. The line of equal iron concentration at
coastal area of Purba Midnapur district
7.723. So it is within permissible limit.
Specific conductivity of water
Total amount of dissolved salt can be determined
by measuring the specific conductivity of water.
The specific conductivity of water in mhos/cm
at 25ºC is multiplied by a coefficient generally
0.65 so as to directly obtain the dissolved salt
content in ppm. The specific conductance of
ground water varies widely, from a few 10 of
mhos (in chemically inert rocks where there are
abundant precipitation) to over 100,000 mhos/
cm (in some desert brines). The specific conduc-
tance of ocean water is of the order of 50,000
mhos/cm.
Carbonate and bicarbonate
The principle source of carbonate (CO32-) and bi-
carbonate (HCO3-) ions in ground water is the dis-
solved carbon dioxide in rain. The pH of the water
indicates the form in which carbon dioxide is
present. For bicarbonate, pH range is 4.5 to 8.2
and for carbonate, pH is over 8.2. Under usual
conditions the bicarbonate concentration in ground
water ranges mainly from 100 to 800 ppm. Car-
bonate values for sample numbers 1, 7 and 27
are measured 40, 40 and 60 ppm, respectively
35
whereas no carbonate was found in other sam-
pling locations.
Chloride
Chlorides are normally present in water in the form
of sodium chloride NaCl. Their concentration above
250 mg/L produces a noticeable salt taste in drink-
ing water. For sample numbers 2, 4, 5, 6, 8 (sea
water), 10, 11, 14, 19, 22, 24, 27, 29 the chlo-
ride values are 6900, 2900, 1120, 580, 11400
(sea water), 360, 310, 560, 280, 1580, 1220,
450 and 950 ppm, respectively. So for seawater
sample, maximum chloride value is 11400 ppm.
High chloride content indicates that the seawa-
ter intrusion takes places in these sites.
Total hardness as CaCO3
Hardness is caused by the presence of certain
salt of calcium and magnesium, dissolved in wa-
ter.
Temporary hardness: If bicarbonates of calcium
and magnesium are present in water, this hard-
ness can be removed by simple boiling or by add-
ing lime to the water. Such hardness is known as
temporary hardness or carbonate hardness.
Permanent hardness: If sulphate, chloride and
nitrates of calcium or magnesium are present in
water, such hardness is known as permanent
hardness. The permissible values of hardness of
water as CaCO3 in ppm are 300 ppm. For sample
numbers 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 14, 22, 24, 28, 29,
the hardness in ppm are 480, 1500, 660, 400,
3570, 410, 490, 550, 660, 560, 440 and 560
ppm, respectively. It is obvious that seawater
intrusion takes place in this area.
Iron (+++)
Both physico-chemical and microbiological fac-
tors control the concentration of the iron in natu-
ral water. In ground water iron generally occurs in
2 oxidation states, that is ferrous and ferric. The
presence of iron is within the tolerance limit as
the upper limit setup by World Health Organiza-
tion (WHO, 1971, 1993) is 1.00 mg/L. According
to the Indian Council of Medical Research, the
maximum desirable limit is 0.1 mg/L (ICMR, 1975).
Iron in irrigation water should not exceed 20 mg/
L in neutral or alkaline soils and 5 mg/L in acidic
soil. For sample numbers 2, 4, 6, 11, 24 and 25
36 INDIAN J. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, VOL. 37, NO. 1, JANUARY 2017
© 2017 - Kalpana Corporation
the iron concentrations are 14.39, 20.44, 5.3,
1.2, 2.0 and 2.0 ppm, respectively.
Total dissolved solid
The permissible limit of total dissolved solids (TDS)
in drinking water in ppm is 500 ppm. The amount
of total dissolved solids in sample numbers 1-6,
8-12, 14-20, 22-29 are 666, 10240, 762, 4288,
2112, 1216, 16640, 352, 864, 883, 314, 1216,
371, 518, 518, 544, 787, 358, 3008, 582, 2496,
589, 621, 1018, 646 and 1984 in ppm, respec-
tively. From this outcome, it is obvious that the
increase is due to the salt-water intrusion in the
coastal side. Based on the total dissolved solids
present, the water samples have been catego-
rized as saline, brackish and freshwater.
INTERPRETATION OF SALINE WATER DISTRI-
BUTION
Almost all the theories developed for saline water
intrusion have been for homogenous, isotropic
aquifers, a condition not found in Purba Midnapur
district, which is characterized by special hetero-
geneity of the aquifer. Soil of low hydraulic con-
ductivity is interspersed with soil of high hydrau-
lic conductivity in an almost random manner. As
a result, filaments of high hydraulic conductivity
protrude deep inland from the sea causing ingress
of sea water inland through this preferential path
(Figure 7). The orientation of these filaments in-
land is often curvilinear with sharp bends and
changes in directions occurring sometimes. In view
of the great heterogeneity of the aquifer, it is
very difficult, if not impossible to apply the saline
water ingress theories for a homogenous aquifer
to the coastal aquifer of Purba Midnapur. The im-
portance of collection of water samples and their
chemical analyses arises in this context. Sodium
chloride is a relatively stable compound, which
does not chemically react with most aquifer min-
erals. As a result the concentration of sodium
chloride is mainly governed by interaction and the
balance between freshwater and saline water, in
other words, knowing the saline concentration of
sea water, any other saline concentration can be
interspersed as the result of mixing sea water
and freshwater in a certain ratio. Ideally, water
sample should be taken at average depths 200 m
and at different locations in coastal area of Purba
Midnapur to obtain the salinity at different points

Figure 7. Probable path of saline water ingress at
study area
in the aquifer underneath there. However, for doing
these drilling of boreholes is required, which is
expensive and time consuming. To expedite the
process of characterization of salinity of the aqui-
fer, it is chosen to utilize the deep tubewells in-
stalled by the Public Health Engineering Director-
ate, Government of West Bengal to obtain water
samples that are subsequently analysed chemi-
cally. From the chemical analysis of the water
samples, the chloride concentration of each of
the samples can be ascertained. Since, the depth
of the deep tubewells is the same as all of them
have been made following the same design, by
plotting the chloride concentrations at different
points and then plotting the chloride concentra-
tions for different tube- wells, the pattern of sa-
linity concentration at the depth under concen-
tration can be easily visualized (Figure 3).
Mixing zone between saline water and freshwa-
ter
Because freshwater mixes with saline water a
mixing zone exists between the freshwater and
saline water. If an aquifer is idealized as homoge-
neous and isotropic, the mixing is amenable to
theoretical analysis. However, if the aquifer is
highly heterogeneous as in the case of Purba
Midnapur, it is extremely difficult, if not impos-
INDIAN J. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, VOL. 37, NO.1, JANUARY 2017
© 2017 - Kalpana Corporation
sible, to analyse the mixing zone in the absence
of hydrogeochemical data on chloride concentra-
tion. Mixing zones may have a length of 10 km
where the hydraulic conductivity is high. Penetra-
tion of saline water into coastal aquifers through
zones of hydraulic conductivity may result in mix-
ing zones over large areas. In reasons of low or
very low hydraulic conductivity, mixing zones are
much smaller. A picture of the mixing zones
present in Purba Midnapur can be obtained from
the saline water intrusion figure of Purba Midnapur.
Variation of saline concentration with distance
from shore line
The pattern of variation of saline concentration
with distance from shoreline for Purba Midnapur
can be seen owing to great heterogeneity of the
aquifer, the variation of saline concentration with
distance from shoreline is highly irregular.
Whereas, in some places relatively close to the
sea, the hydraulic conductivity or saline concen-
tration is found to be very low, in some other
places several km inland the saline concentration
is fairly high. This spatial irregularity in saline con-
centration is due to the heterogeneity in the soil
deposits.
The coastal areas of Purba Midnapur are a com-
plex mixture of marine and alluvial deposits be-
longing to the quaternary era. The primary differ-
ence between marine and alluvial deposits is that
marine deposits are characterized by soil grains,
which are more rounded than soil grains of allu-
vial origin. The rounding is caused by attrition and
rolling of the grains against each other due to
wave action. The progression and recession of
the shoreline due to a long-term climatic change
causes soils of marine origin to be deposited on
shorelines during periods of lowering of the mean
sea level. Two mechanisms of saline water in-
gress into coastal aquifers have been identified.
Firstly, there is a direct lateral entry of seawater
from the sea. Secondly, the seawater infiltrates
vertically into the sea floor, which is usually highly
porous due to the constant shifting and rolling of
the sound caused by tidal action and the conse-
quent rounding of the sand grains and subse-
quently moves horizontally towards the land. This
phenomenon is also called submarine ground water
recharge (SGR). It is currently believed that the
37
submarine groundwater recharge plays crucial role
in saline water intrusion into continental land-
masses. The quantum of submarine groundwater
recharge is very difficult to measure as it is ex-
tremely very difficult to form reliable estimates
of the amount of sea water infiltrating into the
sea floor and even more difficult to accurately
evaluate what portion of the undersea ground
water moves towards to land. Civil engineers,
geologists, oceanographers and others have con-
ducted very few studies in this area.
Saline water intrusion
The general geographical feature of Purba
Midnapur is very flat terrain with the ground
heights at most places very slightly higher than
the sea. Two rivers, Haldi to the north and Rasulpur
to the south, allow for saline water ingress. Sa-
line water also enters the aquifer through the highly
porous coastal deposits near Digha. The aquifer
is heterogeneous to the point of being almost ran-
domly distributed. In this context, the ingress of
seawater is most closely understood from a
geochemical analysis. This analysis has been car-
ried out through a collection of water from
tubewells of depth of approximately 200 m from
the coastal areas and subjecting the water to a
chemical analysis. The results of the chemical
analysis (Table 1) show that the chloride (Cl)
concentration in the area is highly variable. Given
that the only source of Cl is the sea (due to the
absence of Cl- bearing rocks in the area); the Cl
concentration may be attributed to a balance
between the freshwater and the intruded seawa-
ter locally. From figures 2 to 3, which shows the
Cl concentrations at 28 locations, besides the
sea, the following conclusions may be drawn:
1.The Rasulpur river acts as a conduit for saline
water intrusion and relatively porous aquifer in
the vicinity as the village Henria causes a
salinisation of the ground water in that area. As a
result of which the Cl concentration in that area
are high in spite of much lower Cl concentration
near the coast except for one site which appears
to be due to a local high hydraulic conductivity
area.
2. Contai town is in a saline prone area and the
probable pathway of ingress of saline water into
Contai is shown in saline water intrusion map of
38 INDIAN J. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, VOL. 37, NO. 1, JANUARY 2017
© 2017 - Kalpana Corporation
Purba Midnapur (Figure 7).
3.Digha, on the seacoast, witnesses moderate
salinity ingress due to low hydraulic conductivity
of the aquifer of the area and this is reflected in
the Cl- concentrations of 2 sites deeper inland
whose low salinity reinforces the understanding
that the hydraulic conductivity (effective horizon-
tal hydraulic conductivity) is low on the region.
Enhanced Cl concentration is of sporadic con-
cern in different parts of Purba Midnapur. It has
been reported that a number of deep tubewells
have become defunct of an enhanced level.
CONCLUSION
1.The patterns of variations of the chloride con-
centration in the aquifer at the depth 200 m bgl
have been found to be quite irregular. At some
locations, the chloride concentration is quite high,
such as at Serkhanchak-I (6900 ppm) and
Mukutshila-I (2900 ppm). Along the Rupnarayan
river bank chloride concentration is 1500 ppm.
Conversely, at few locations, the chloride con-
centration is significantly low, like Charaichia (20
ppm), Kalindi (50 ppm), Pataspur (60 ppm),
Nandigram (100 ppm) and Henria (200 ppm), etc.
This heterogeneity in the aquifer media of the
study area has attributed to this irregularity of
the contours for chloride concentration.
2. The variations of the specific conductivity con-
centration in the aquifer at the depth (200 m bgl)
taken were found to be quite irregular pattern. At
some locations the specific conductivity concen-
tration is reasonably high, such as at Serkhanchak-
I (16000 µmhos/cm) and Betkundu (4700 µmhos/
cm). Along the Rupnarayan river bank specific
conductivity concentration is 4000 µmhos/cm.
3.As per WHO, permissible value of hardness of
water as CaCO3 is 300 ppm. For sample numbers
2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 14, 22, 24, 28, 29, the
hardness are 480, 1500, 660, 400, 3570, 410,
490, 550, 660, 560, 440 and 560 ppm, respec-
tively. It is obvious that seawater intrusion takes
place in this area.
4.The variations of the total dissolved solids con-
centration in the aquifer at the depth 200 m bgl
were found to be quite irregular pattern. At some
locations, the total dissolved solids concentration
is quite high, such as at Serkhanchak-I (10240
ppm) and Mukutshila-I (4288 ppm). Along the
Rupnarayan river bank, the total dissolved solids
concentration is 2500 ppm. Conversely, at few
locations, the chloride concentration is signifi-
cantly low, like Charaichia (288 ppm) and Mander
(307 ppm), etc. The permissible limit of total dis-
solved solids in drinking water is 500 ppm, the
increment leads to ingress of saline water in the
study area from Bay of Bengal.
5.The coastal zone of Purba Midnapur by its own
virtue possesses high geologic heterogeneity. The
soil of low hydraulic conductivity is interspersed
with soil of high hydraulic conductivity in an al-
most random manner. The pattern of variation of
salinity concentration is heterogeneous in 3 di-
mensional spaces. Some inland locations, such
as Sherkhanchak, Kalindi and Betkundu have been
showing greater salinity than corresponding
coastal areas due to ingress of sea water through
the preferential path. The study finds that the
interface of saline water intrusion is progressively
moving inwards in the zones of Nachinda, Contai,
Mukutshila and Haldia.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors acknowledge with thanks to Mr.
Moloy Kayal, Assistant Engineer, Contai Division
and Mr. Sukumar Barman, Assistant Engineer
Digha Division, Public Health Engg. Dept., Govt.
of West Bengal for permitting to collect water
samples from the deep tube- wells at different
locations of the study area. The authors also thank
to the Director (Mr. Pasanta Kumar Roychoudhury)
and Chief Chemist (Mr. Sambhunath Das Dey) of
State Water Investigation Directorate, Govt. of
West Bengal for performing chemical analysis of
water samples for the test to be done.
REFERENCE
Ayolabi, E.A., et al. 2013. Mapping saline water
intrusion into the coastal aquifer with geophysi-
cal and geochemical techniques: The Univer-
sity of Lagos campus case (Nigeria).
SpringerPlus. 2(433):1-14.
Barlow, M. 2003. Freshwater-Saline water envi-
ronments of the Atlantic coast. U.S. Geological
Survey Report (USGS).
Chachadi, A.G. 2005. Seawater intrusion map-
ping using modified GALDIT indicator model-A
INDIAN J. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, VOL. 37, NO.1, JANUARY 2017
© 2017 - Kalpana Corporation
case study in Goa. Jalvigyan Sameeksha. 20:
1-14.
Cooper, H.H., Jr., et al. 1964. Sea water in coastal
aquifers. U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply
Paper 1613- C. pp 84.
Das, S., et al. 2014. Impact on water quality in
Piyali river, Sundarbans, India due to saline water
intrusion. Indian J. Env. Prot., 34(12) : 1010-
1019.
Dhar, S., et al. 2009a. Salinity intrusion impact
on the Piyali river of the Sundarbans. Interna-
tional Conference on Emerging technologies in
environmental science and engineering. Aligarh.
Proceedings, pp 383-391.
Dhar, S., et al. 2009b. Environmental monitoring
of the salt water intrusion phenomenon of the
Piyali river. National Conference on Advances
in environmental engineering, AEE-09. Rourkela.
Proceedings, pp 377-382.
Dhar, S., et al. 2009c. First investigation of the
status of potable water availability of the Piyali
river. Natl. Sem. on Good governance in water
supply and sanitation management in context
to millennium development goal. Proceedings,
pp 121-126.
Dhar, S., et al. 2009d. Effects of climate change
on the crop productivity in the saline soils of the
Piyali river. 5th Asian Regional Conference of
International Commission on Irrigation and Drain-
age (ICID). New Delhi. Proceedings, pp 300.
Dhar, S., et al. 2009e. First investigation of the
climate change impact on the crop productivity
of the Piyali river region. 60th International Ex-
ecutive Council Meeting and 5th Asian Re-
gional Conference. New Delhi.
Dhar, S., et al. 2010a. Salt water intrusion into
the Piyali river aquifer of the Sundarbans, West
Bengal. National Conference on Groundwater
resource development and management in hard
rocks. Pune. Proceedings, pp 35-36.
Dhar, S., et al. 2010b. Surface and ground water
exploration of the Piyali river in the Sundarbans.
Third International Conference on Hydrology
and watershed management. Hyderabad. Pro-
ceedings, pp 119-129.
Goswami, A.B. 1968. A study of salt water en-
croachment in the coastal aquifer at Digha,
Midnapore district, West Bengal. Bulletin, Int.
Assoc. Sci. Hydrol., 13(3): 77-87.
Krieger, R.A., et al. 1957. Preliminary survey of
39
 the saline-water resources of the United States.
U. S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper,
1374. pp 172.
Mahesha, A. 2001. Effect of strip recharge on
sea water intrusion into aquifers. Hydrol. Sci.-
J.-des Sciences Hydrol., 46(2): 199-210.
Mandal, M. 2013. Digha Sankarpur littoral tract-
A geographical case study. Int. J. Human. Soc.
Sci. Inv., 2(4): 46-54.
Mukherjee, B., et al. 2015. Environmental study
and analysis of silts deposition at Maithon res-
ervoir. Indian J. Env. Prot., 35(3): 177-187.
Olufemi, A.G., et al. 2010. Assessment of ground-
water quality and saline intrusions in coastal
aquifers of Lagos Metropolis, Nigeria. J. Water
Res. Prot., 2: 849-853.
Papadopoulou, M.P., et al. 2005. Modelling the
saltwater intrusion phenomenon in coastal aqui-
fers - A case study in the industrial zone of
Herakleio in Crete. Glob. Nest J., 7(2): 197-
203.
Sappa, G. and M.T. Coviello. 2012. Seawater
intrusion and salinization processes assessment
in multistrata coastal aquifer in Italy. J. Water
40 INDIAN J. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, VOL. 37, NO. 1, JANUARY 2017
© 2017 - Kalpana Corporation
View publication stats
Res. Prot., 4: 954-967.
Sherif, M.M. and V.P. Singh. 1999. Effect of cli-
mate change on sea water intrusion in coastal
aquifers. Hydrol. Processes. 13(8): 1277–1287.
Todd, D.K. 1960. Salt water intrusion of coastal
aquifers in the United States. Int. Assoc. Sci.
Hydrol., 52: 452-461.
WHO. 1971. International standards for drinking
water (2nd edn). World Health Organization,
Geneva.
WHO. 1993. Guidelines for drinking water qual-
ity. World Health Organization, Geneva. pp 188.
AUTHOR
1. Mr. Prabir Kumar Maity, Research Scholar,
School of Water Resources Engineering, Jadavpur
University, Kolkata – 700 032
2*. Dr. Subhasish Das, Assistant Professor,
School of Water Resources Engineering, Jadavpur
University, Kolkata – 700 032.
3. Dr. Rajib Das, Assistant Professor, School of
Water Resources Engineering, Jadavpur Univer-
sity, Kolkata – 700 032.