Appraisal of surface water quality for irrigation collected from Sadar upazila of Jamalpur district, Bangladesh

Abstract

An attempt was made to assess surface water quality for irrigation collected from Sadar upazila of Jamalpur district, Bangladesh. Total 22 water samples were collected from the study area and analyzed for various physicochemical parameters following standard protocols at the Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh. Major cation and anion chemistry showed their dominance in order of Ca > K > Na > Mg and HCO₃ > Cl > SO₄ > BO₃ > PO₄ > CO₃, respectively. The study revealed that 18, 14 and 6 samples were unsuitable for irrigation in respect of HCO₃, K and BO₃ contents in water, respectively. Among the heavy metals, the concentration of Pb, Mn, Cd and Cu in water were comparatively higher than the standard limits, which makes 22, 14, 10 and 3 samples problematic for long term irrigation in the study area. Electrical conductivity (EC) and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) reflected that surface water samples were low to very high salinity (C1-C4) and low alkalinity (S1) hazards classes. As regards to hardness, out of 22 water samples, 2 were very hard, 8 were hard, 11 were moderately hard and only one was soft in quality. The study results concluded that HCO₃, BO₃, K, Pb, Mn, Cd and Cu were the major contaminants in the surface water of Sadar upazila of Jamalpur district, Bangladesh. Finally, the study suggested that the surface water in this area needs to treat to minimize the amount of contaminants before use for irrigation.