Abstract Groundwater quality evaluation is essential in semi-arid regions where significant agricultural demands and varying hydrogeological conditions exert considerable stress on aquifer systems. To determine the suitability of groundwater for irrigation and to evaluate its quality, 15 physicochemical parameters were analyzed for samples collected from Baramati tehsil during both pre- and post-monsoon seasons of 2023. Seasonal groundwater samples were obtained from 66 sites following standard APHA protocols. The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment Water Quality Index (CCME-WQI) was used through Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) guidelines. The suitability of irrigation was also tested by Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR), USSL classification diagrams. The CCME-WQI shows that groundwater quality shows mainly on marginal condition in both seasons, with mean values of 56.64 ± 8.28 (pre-monsoon) and 54.79 ± 7.93 (post-monsoon) respectively. A Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed a small but significant decrease in WQI values after monsoons (p < 0.05), indicating that a monsoonal recharge does not uniformly enhance groundwater quality. The SAR values for most samples were in the low to medium sodium hazard (S1-S2) classes, whereas USSL plots revealed an overwhelming predominance of high salinity (C3-C4) categories, highlighting constraints for irrigation without any management methods. Wilcox classification further showed that the majority of samples ranged from permissible to doubtful for irrigation, with limited seasonal improvement. Overall, the integrated WQI, SAR, and Wilcox evaluations indicate that groundwater in Baramati tehsil is largely marginal and locally unsuitable for unrestricted irrigation, emphasizing the need for site-specific groundwater management and continuous monitoring.
Zagade et al. (2025) studied this question.