Sea water intrusion and coastal aquifer management studies along the coast of Cuddalore taluk of Cuddalore district, Tamilnadu, India

The increasing trend of salinity in coastal aquifer water due to sea water intrusion is a major threat to coastal eco-system. Sea water intrusion - contaminates the aquifer water, reduce the agricultural production, deteriorate the soil and reduce the living standard of the people. A study has been carried out along the coastal region of Cuddalore taluk of Cuddalore district, Tamilnadu, India to evaluate the status of sea water intrusion. To know the saline water ingress in this coastal belt about 10 shallow and 5 deep aquifer water samples have been collected both in pre-monsoon and post-monsoon periods. The collected water samples were analyzed in the laboratory and the results were fed into HYCH software. By using GIS software, thematic maps representing the spatial distribution of various water quality parameters were prepared. From the study it is revealed that the area is facing sea water intrusion problem in an alarming rate due to over exploitation of ground water by the industrial activities (in the south) and by the urban development (in the north). The strategies like reduction of over draft of ground water, recharging of ground water, construction of sub-surface barriers, adopting alternate cropping pattern, planting salt tolerant crops, land development and conjunctive use of surface and ground water are to be practiced effectively to safe guard the coastal aquifer of this region. © 2013 CAFET-INNOVA TECHNICAL SOCIETY.