Abstract:
Migration pattern of organochloro pesticide
lindane has been studied in groundwater of metropolitan
city Vadodara. Groundwater flow was simulated using
the groundwater flow model constructed up to a depth of
60mconsidering a three-layer structure with grid size of
40×40×40 m3. The general groundwater flow direction
is from northeast to south and southwest. The river
Vishwamitri and river Jambua form natural hydrologic
boundary. The constant head in the north and south end
of the study area is taken as another boundary condition
in the model. The hydraulic head distribution in the
multilayer aquifer has been computed from the visual
MODFLOW groundwater flow model. TDS has been
computed though MT3D mass transport model starting
with a background concentration of 500 mg/l and using
a porosity value of 0.3. Simulated TDS values from the
model matches well with the observed data. Model
MT3D was run for lindane pesticide with a background
concentration of 0.5μg/l. The predictions of the mass
transport model for next 50 years indicate that advancement
of containment of plume size in the aquifer system
both spatially and depth wise as a result of increasing
level of pesticide in river Vishwamitri. The restoration
of the aquifer system may take a very long time as seen
from slow improvement in the groundwater quality
from the predicted scenarios, thereby, indicating
alarming situation of groundwater quality deterioration
in different layers. It is recommended that all the industries
operating in the region should install efficient effluent
treatment plants to abate the pollution problem.
