The study looks at chemical characteristics of groundwater in Jammu and Kathua on the basis of thirty water samples collected from open wells during July and December, 1997. The water quality has been evaluated for irrigation and drinking purposes. The suitability of water for drinking purposes has been compared with the standard norms i.e., BIS, 1983 and WHO, 1984.

The suitability of water for irrigation purposes has been classified on the basis of Piper’s diagram for determining hydrochemical facies and US Salinity Classification diagram for irrigation purposes using the Groundwater Software (Version 1, 1989). The behavior of water level fluctuation has been studied on the basis of data for the months of January, May, July and December, 1997.

The average values of pH have indicated alkaline nature of groundwater in the study area except at few wells. The higher values of calcium, magnesium and sodium than the prescribed limits for drinking purposes were obtained at some wells in the study area. The concentration of chloride at all wells was within the prescribed limits for drinking purposes under the present sampling program.

The water samples have shown that sulphate at almost all wells (except two) was within the limits for drinking purposes. Also, the nitrate concentration was within the limits for drinking purposes except at Londi (79 and 78 mg/l).

The concentration of fluoride was below desirable limit (0.6-1.2 mg/l) in about 83 % of wells under the present study and suitable public health measures should be taken regarding this. The study also revealed that the majority of the wells lie under high salinity zone.

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