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Assessment of Salinity Hazard of the Irrigation Water of Gopalgonj District, Bangladesh

Mashura Shammi
Department of Environmental Sciences, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Department of Environmental Pollution and Process Control, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi-830011, Xinjiang, PR China.

Rashadur Rahman
Department of Environmental Sciences, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Bikash Karmakar
Department of Environmental Sciences, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Md. Mostafizur Rahman
Department of Environmental Sciences, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.

Md. Moniruzzaman
Senior Scientific Officer
Soil, Agronomy and Environment, BCSIR.

M. Khabir Uddin
Department of Environmental Sciences, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

The specific objectives of the present research were to analyze the hydrochemistry of surface water and groundwater of the study area and to classify the salinity hazard of water resources from different sources of Gopalganj district in order to evaluate the suitability for irrigation purposes. A total of 21 samples were collected from surface water (canal, ponds and river), and groundwater samples from shallow tube well (STW) deep tube well (DTW). Important parameters were analyzed to identify salinity hazard of irrigation water like EC, Total hardness (TH), important anions Cl¯, SO42¯ and PO43¯ were determined along with important cations Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+ and K+ . Both surface and groundwater of the study area maintained the trend of Cl¯ > SO42¯ > PO43¯. The cation trend in both surface and groundwater of the study area were Na+>K+>Ca2+>Mg2+. The elevated Electrical conductivity (EC), Cl− and high content of Na+ relative to Ca2+, Mg2+ and K+ samples suggest their saline origin. While Total hardness, and SAR, soluble sodium percentage (SSP) and other important analysis indicated that most of the surface water and DTW samples were not suitable for irrigation. Plotting from Wilcox diagram evidenced that most of the surface water especially river water and DTW of the study area had higher SSP values greater than 80 indicating a threat of salinity hazard. Among the surface water samples, 2 (25%) fell under “good” class, 2 (25%) fell under “fair” class and 4 (50% ) fell under “poor” class. Among the STW water samples, 4 (40%) fell under “good” class, 4 (40%) fell under “fair” class and 2 (20%) fell under “poor” class indicating suitability.

Keywords: Salinity hazard, Irrigation, Water quality, Sodium Adsorption Ratio , Soluble Sodium Percentage , Electrical conductivity, Surface water, Ground water

Location: Gopalganj district

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Risk Management in Agriculture

Commodity: Water quality

Objectives:

1. To assess the hydrochemistry of surface water and groundwater and

2. To evaluate the suitability of irrigation water quality of different sources of Gpalgonj districts in Bangladesh

Methodology:

The study area Gopalganj district, is situated in Dhaka division of Bangladesh with latitude 23°20´ to 22°50´ North and 90°05´ to 89°40´ East. Gopalganj Sadar Upazila was chosen for the study site. The water samples were collected from various irrigation sources in the month of March 2012. One canal water sample, 3 pond water samples, four river water samples, 8 shallow tube well (STW) samples and three deep tube well (DTW) samples were collected and preserved in 500 ml plastic PET bottles according to the standard methods mentioned in APHA. The depth of the STW is 100-150 feet while the depth of DTW was 600 feet. Two sets of same sample were collected from each location. One set of sample was kept under non-acidified condition and another kept under acidified condition by adding 0.01 M nitric acid. Physical parameters Electrical conductivity (EC), pH and DO were measured by using potable TOA-DKK meters instantly at the site by using the probe model HM 30P, DO 31P and CM 31P respectively. All parameters were measured three times. Only high pure (AnalR grade) chemicals and double distilled water was used for preparing solution for analysis according to the method described elsewhere. For determining the concentration of Ca2+, and Mg2+ the samples were directly run into the Atomic Adsorption Spectrometer (AAS) (Model No. Shimadzu AA-7000 series). Sulfate (SO₄^2¯) and phosphate (PO ₄^3¯) was determined by UV-Spectrophotometer model no. SPECORD222A433 at 420 nm wavelength by Turbidimetric method (using Tween-80) and 490 nm wave length by Vanado-Molybdate Phosphoric Yellow Color Method meqL^-1. Chloride (Cl¯) was determined by volumetric method. Sodium (Na+) and Potassium (K+) was determined by Flame photometer (Model No.: Jencons, PFP7). The sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), which describes the relationship between soluble Na+ and soluble divalent cations (Ca2+ and Mg2+). It is a measure of the sodicity of the soil determined through quantitative chemical analysis of water in contact with it. SAR values are plotted against EC values (in µS/cm) on the U.S. Salinity diagram to categorize analyzed water samples according to their irrigational suitability quotient. This has long been the standard measure of potential sodium hazard for irrigation water. Soluble Sodium Percentage (SSP) is also used to evaluate sodium hazard. Water with a SSP greater than 60% may result in sodium accumulations that will cause a breakdown in the soil’s physical properties. The SSP values and the EC values have been plotted on the Wilcox diagram. Kelly’s ratio is also an important parameter for irrigation water quality, which is measured considering sodium ion concentration against calcium and magnesium ion concentrations. Kelly’s ratio of more than 1 indicates an excess level of Na+ in water. Water with a value of KR < 1 is considered suitable for irrigation, while those with a ratio more than 3 is considered as unsuitable for irrigation. The US Salinity Laboratory’s diagram and Wilcox’s diagram are used for evaluating the suitability of the water of the study area for irrigation purposes. The US Salinity Laboratory’s diagram was used to classify the quality of the irrigation water. It represents both the salinity hazard and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) together (after U.S. Salinity Laboratory Staff, 1954). Wilcox’s diagram was used for identifying the classification of sample water for irrigation, where in the electrical conductivity (EC) is plotted against %Na+. Samples were collected in triplicate and data were processed by using OriginLab 9.0 (OriginLab corporation, USA).

Source of Information: International Journal of Plant, Animal and Environmental Sciences, Vol 5(4) Oct-Dec-2015, ISSN-2231-4490.

Article Link (Online Journal): www.ijpaes.com

Funding Source:

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

Irrigation water quality is largely influenced by the existing anions and cations in the water. Presence of high salinity and sodicity can deteriorate the soil properties of valuable agricultural land as well as damage the crop production. It is palpable that large production in agricultural sector is highly dependent on good quality of irrigation water. However, because of increasing salinity trend in Bangladesh, many areas of the country have started to realize the impact of using poor quality water for irrigation. As, irrigation water quality is largely influenced by the existing anions and cations in the water, presence of high salinity and sodicity can deteriorate the soil properties of valuable agricultural land as well as da mage the crop production. So, it is very important to assess the irrigation water quality of any agricultural area in order to earn maximum agricultural yield. Gopalganj district in Bangladesh is a highly potential district in terms of agriculture and fisheries. So, considering from the results and discussion it can be concluded that, the surface water especially river water and deep ground water is more subjected to sodium hazard compared to shallow ground water in the study area. The ratio of Ca2+ and Mg2+ of all water samples indicated that there is no permeability problem of the soil in the area. Considering Na:Ca, the shallow ground water showed high suitability for irrigation water. Surface water and deep ground water of the area had high Na:Ca value. According to US salinity Laboratory’s diagram, the surface water sources are excellent to good, and groundwater sources are good to moderate as irrigation sources. Maximum surface and groundwater samples were classified as good to fair when placing on Wilcox’s diagram. By considering the salinity and sodium hazard of all water sources it can be recommended that the shallow tube well water is the best source for irrigation compared to others.

Knowledge Management: Journal