International Journal of Geology, Earth and Environmental Sciences ISSN: 2277-2081 (Online)

An Online International Journal Available at http://www.cibtech.org/jgee.htm

2012 Vol. 2 (3) September - December, pp.176-181/Ranbir Nandan
Research Article
GEOSPATIAL ASSESSMENT OF GROUND WATER CONDITION OF
PATNA DISTRICT, BIHAR
*
Ranbir Nandan
*
Department of Geology and Geohydrology, Bihar National College, Patna-4 (Patna University)
*Author for Correspondence

ABSTRACT
The Groundwater condition of the Patna district, Bihar in India was assessed using geospatial techniques.
The block boundary map, depth to water level maps and SRTM DEM were used as spatial layers. The
published data on Arsenic contamination and Physic-chemical characteristic of water were used as
collateral data, which were joined with the spatial layers for GIS based overlay analysis. The groundwater
collection sites were plotted on the satellite picture of the study area. The study revealed that the depth of
water level is negatively correlated to the elevation of the study area. The 10 blocks were observed as
Arsenic contaminated and Maner was found to be most affected blocks. The Physico-chemical parameters
of water in the district showed abnormality when compared with the permissible standard limits of World
Health Organisations (WHO). The present study concluded that though the study area possesses good to
very good category of groundwater potential but it is facing a serious water crisis, and needs conservation
and mitigation strategies.

Key Words: Groundwater, Aquifer, Patna, GIS, Water Level, Arsenic Contamination, Groundwater
Quality

INTRODUCTION
Groundwater is exists in pore spaces and fractures in rock beneath the Earth's surface
(http://www.lenntech.com/groundwater/definitions.htm). It originates as rainfall or snow and seeps into
the ground and stored as Groundwater (http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Water/water_cycle.html)
through process of hydrological cycle (http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysflr/water.html).
The water is one of the important natural resources. We cannot think of life without water. About 2% of
the total water on earth is fresh but majority of it (1.6 %) is trapped in polar ice caps and glaciers. The
0.36 % of earth water is available in aquifers and wells in the form of groundwater and 0.036% of it is
present in lakes and rivers as surface water
(http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geophysics/question157.htm). The groundwater
has a number of advantages over surface water due to its higher quality, better protection from possible
pollution and infection, less seasonal and perennial fluctuations, and its uniform spread over large regions
than surface water (Zektser and Everett, 2004). Still the quality of available water is a major concern as it
has been reported that 80% of rural illnesses, 21% of transmissible diseases and 20% of deaths among
children in the age group of 5 years, are directly linked to consumption of unsafe water (Hegde, 2012).
On the other hand the demand of water is also growing day by day. In India in 2006, the consumption of
water was 829 billion m3 which is likely to increase to 1093 billion m3 in 2025 and 1047 billion m3 in
2050 (Government of India, 2009). The Bihar, which is the third largest Indian state in terms of
population, is no exception to this. In addition to this the water in this region is not properly cultivated nor
well stored and most of the rain water flows directly to sea without being harnessed and thus needs
suitable management plan for its utilization (Pandey, 2003). In this scenario understanding of ground
water condition in the region becomes imperative for its conservation and management and hence the
present study was carried out in Patna district of Bihar, which is capital and headquarter city of Bihar.
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International Journal of Geology, Earth and Environmental Sciences ISSN: 2277-2081 (Online)
An Online International Journal Available at http://www.cibtech.org/jgee.htm
2012 Vol. 2 (3) September - December, pp.176-181/Ranbir Nandan
Research Article
Study Area
The study area Patna district of Bihar (Figure 1) lies between 25° 13' to 25° 45 N latitude and 84°43' to
86°44' E longitude and occupies 3,202 km2 geographical areas. Administratively, it is divided into 23
blocks namely Athmalgola, Bakhtiarpur, Barh, Belchhi, Bihta, Bikram, Daniawan, Dhanarua, Dinapur
(Khagaul), Dulhin Bazar, Fatwah, Ghoswari, Khusrupur, Maner, Masaurhi, Mokameh, Naubatpur,
Paliganj, Pandarak, Patna Rural, Phulwari, Punpun and Sampatchak. In the north, it is bounded by holy
river Ganga, in the south by Jahanabad and Nalanda districts, in the east by Lakhisarai district and in the
west by Bhojpur district. The district is covered on the other two sides by Son and Punpun rivers. The
elevation ranges from 35 to 86 m amsl in the district. The average annual precipitation in the district is
1100 mm and average annual temperature is 26°C.

The alluvial sediments of various grades of clay silt and sand of Quaternary age forms ground water
reservoir of Patna, which is part of Indo-Gangetic Plains. It consists of upper shallow and lower deeper
aquifer separated by an aquitard layer at the depth of 45 to 70 m. These aquitard is made up of clay and
clay mixed with sand or kankar. The deeper aquifer is made up of medium to coarse grained sand
(CGWB, 2011).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The block boundary map and depth to water level map of the study area were downloaded from internet
links in jpeg formats (http://www.mapsofindia.com; http://cgwb.gov.in/). These maps were then geo-

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International Journal of Geology, Earth and Environmental Sciences ISSN: 2277-2081 (Online)
An Online International Journal Available at http://www.cibtech.org/jgee.htm
2012 Vol. 2 (3) September - December, pp.176-181/Ranbir Nandan
Research Article
referenced and digitized in Geographic Information System (GIS) environment. The NASA Shuttle Radar
Topographic Mission (SRTM) 90m Digital Elevation Model (DEM) was used for the elevation related
analysis (http://srtm.csi.cgiar.org/). The satellite picture of the study area was downloaded from the
Google Earth online applications (http://www.googleearth.com) and was used to depict water sample
collection sites.

Table 1: Details of collateral data

Type of data Sources
Arsenic Contamination Ghosh et al., 2007 & 2008
Water Quality Rai et al., 2011; Sinha et al., 2011; Yadav et al., 2012

The collateral data on arsenic contamination and water quality were recorded from secondary (published)
sources (Table 1). These collateral data were linked to the spatial block boundary map for GIS overlay
analyses.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The depth to water level in the district during pre-monsoon period varied between 3.00 to 8.57 m bgl. In
the 25% of the observed wells, the water level varied in the range of 2-5 m bgl while in the 76% of the
wells, it was recorded in the range of 5-10 m bgl. The south-west and eastern parts of the district reflected
the depth range of 3 to 6 m bgl, while in the central part it was observed as 6-9 m bgl (CGWB, 2007).

Figure 2: Depth to water level overlaid on Digital Elevation model

Figure 3: Correlation between altitude and depth to water level

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International Journal of Geology, Earth and Environmental Sciences ISSN: 2277-2081 (Online)
An Online International Journal Available at http://www.cibtech.org/jgee.htm
2012 Vol. 2 (3) September - December, pp.176-181/Ranbir Nandan
Research Article
When DEM was overlaid on the depth to water level map (Figure 2), a significant negative correlation (R
= 0.99) was observed between observed water level and the elevation of the region (Figure 3).
A study on arsenic contamination in the study area reported that Maner and Dinapur blocks in the north-
west had 38.06% and 26.87% contaminated water pumps respectively. The south and eastern regions of
the district had sporadic occurrences of arsenic (Ghosh et al., 2007 & 2008). Out of 10 contaminated
blocks, Maner was found to be most affected blocks. The Sampatchak and Bakhtiarpur blocks had 10-20
villages under risk while in Dinapur, Phulwari, Fatwah, Khusrupur, Barh, Pandarak and Mokameh blocks,
3-10 villages were observed under risk due to arsenic contamination (Figure 4).

Figure 4: Arsenic contamination in the study area

Figure 5: Sites showing abnormal physico-chemical properties of sampled water

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International Journal of Geology, Earth and Environmental Sciences ISSN: 2277-2081 (Online)
An Online International Journal Available at http://www.cibtech.org/jgee.htm
2012 Vol. 2 (3) September - December, pp.176-181/Ranbir Nandan
Research Article
In order to assess Physico-chemical characteristics of ground water, the water samples were collected
from 13 sites in Patna (Rai et al., 2011; Sinha et al., 2011 and Yadav et al., 2012). The various Physico-
chemical quality parameters which were estimated and tested in laboratory were pH, Turbidity (NTU),
EC (micromhos/cm), Total Alkalinity (mg/l), Total Dissolved Solids (ppm), Dissolved Oxygen (mg/l),
Total Hardness (mg/l), Calcium (mg/l), Magnesium (mg/l), Chloride (mg/l) and BOD.
The result of the study revealed that the out of 13 tested sites, all the sites reported higher/ lower values
(at least for one parameter) of the tested parameter as suggested by World Health Organisations (WHO)
as permissible limits (Figure 5). The site 1 and 2 had abnormal total dissolved solid, and sites 8 and 10
had abnormal water hardness. Sites 8 and 11 had abnormal electric conductivity and Magnesium content.
Sites 2, 8 and 9 were abnormal in pH values. Sites 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 were abnormal in turbidity. Sites 1, 2,
8, 9 and 13 showed abnormality in terms of total alkalinity. Sites 1, 2, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 had abnormal
dissolved Oxygen.

Conclusion
The present study concluded that the Patna district possess good to very good category of groundwater
potential. In spite of this favourable ground water aquifer, the region is facing a serious water crisis. Due
to urbanisation, the various sources of ground water recharge, such as ponds, lakes etc., is diminishing
leading to depletion of aquifers. These aquifers are also getting polluted due unmanaged land use
practices. These contaminations have further deteriorated the physico-chemical standards of water as
prescribed by World Health Organisation for healthy water. The situation has become grimmer when
rainwater in the region flows as surface runoff without recharging the groundwater due to lack of proper
rain water harvesting management. Therefore it is high time to take precautionary measures for
conservation of management of groundwater in the region. It can be achieved through identifying and
monitoring of susceptible aquifers, and developing and adopting their best management practices.

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International Journal of Geology, Earth and Environmental Sciences ISSN: 2277-2081 (Online)
An Online International Journal Available at http://www.cibtech.org/jgee.htm
2012 Vol. 2 (3) September - December, pp.176-181/Ranbir Nandan
Research Article
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