Characterization and Assessment of Irrigation Water Quality: A GIS Based Study of District Chakwal, Pakistan

Water quality is one of the most important criteria that not only affect crop growth but also its proper management can lead to sustainable yields and improved soil health. Hence, the current study was conducted to explain the quality of groundwater for irrigation. For this, random sampling of water was carried out in 5 tehsils of district Chakwal including Talagang, Chakwal, Lawa, Kallar Kahar, and Choa Sedan Shah for a period of five years. Three parameters including EC (μS/cm), RSC (meq/L), and SAR were considered for assessing the quality of groundwater of district Chakwal. About 343 water samples from tehsil Talagang, 86 from Lawa, 989 from Chakwal, 27 from Choa Sedan Shah, and 134 from Kallar Kahar were collected. Maximum range of EC (220-26500), SAR (0.00-75.57) and RSC (0.00-12.80) was observed in Tehsil Chakwal. According to water quality parameters, samples showed higher fitness in RSC in comparison to SAR and EC in all tehsils. For instance, in tehsil Choa Saidan Shah fit water samples were 97.87%, while in Kallar Kahar 86.56%, Talagang 90.08%, Lawa 90.69%, and Chakwal 82.40%. Finally classifying the water samples on the three quality parameters EC (μS/cm), RSC (meq/L), and SAR revealed that 54.28% of water samples were found unfit. Based on the presented data, it could be recommended that in tehsils where the quality parameters are poor, the water needs to be reclamation for sustained crop production and improved soil health.