Hydrogeochemistry of the groundwater flow system in a crystalline terrain: a study from the Kurunegala district,Sri Lanka |
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Authors: | H. A. H. Jayasena Rohana Chandrajith C. B. Dissanayake |
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Affiliation: | (1) Department of Geology, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka;(2) Institute of Geology and Mineralogy, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Schlossgarten 5, 91054 Erlangen, Germany |
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Abstract: | Water samples collected from dug wells and tube wells from the Kurunegala District of Sri Lanka have been studied for their major hydrogeochemical parameters to understand the chemical quality of water in the terrain. The region is composed of Precambrian metamorphic rocks where groundwater is only available in the regolith and along weak structural discontinuities. The study of the major chemical constituents of groundwater revealed several relationships with the aquifer lithology. Groundwater from mafic rocks have high dissolved solids, while quartzose metaclastic rocks yield water with low dissolved solids. The study area displays very low SO4 2− contents of the groundwater. The chloride content is higher in the dry regions and in terrains underlain by pink granite and marble/calc gneiss while areas with marble, as expected, show high concentrations of Ca and Mg ions. The waters in the region can be classified into non-dominant cations to Na + K dominant and Cl− and HCO3 − dominant types. Water from charnockite-bearing areas tends to have non-dominant cations and more CO3 2− + HCO3 − types. Effects such as soluble salts in the regolith, fracture intensity and climatic variations play a significant role in the behavior of the hydrogeochemistry in the area. |
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Keywords: | Groundwater Hydrogeochemsitry Precambrian terrain Sri Lanka Fracture zones Climatic zones Kurunegala district |
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