B.D. Patil’s research while affiliated with North Maharashtra University and other places

The study of subsurface water quality to evaluate its aptness for agricultural, industrial practice has become essential due to the variability in rainfall intensity and uncertainty in its distribution. In view of this, the geochemical properties of 45 groundwater samples, including electrical conductivity (EC), pH, total dissolved solids, major cations, and anions, are measured and evaluated suitability. The suitability for irrigation purpose advised by appraisal of various cultivation water quality parameters such as sodium percentage (Na%), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), Kelly's ratio (KR), residual sodium carbonate (RSC), magnesium adsorption ratio (MAR), and permeability index (PI). The industrial applicability was analysed using the Langelier saturation index (LSI), Ryznar stability index (RSI) and Larson-Skold index (LSkI). Geographic information systems (GIS) used the analytical results to produce the numerical spatial dispersion of the indexes. The comprehensive technique of suitability evaluation indicates that subsurface water in the research region is ideal for cultivation. Also, the spatial variation maps of LSI, RSI and LSkI illustrations that most pre-monsoon period samples were largely unaffected by minor scaling and corrosive potentials. Hence study indicates that, continuous monitoring of quality groundwater resources can play major role for achieving the goal of sustainable development of the region.

This study examines the relationship between Land Surface Temperature (LST) and Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) through a combination of ground-based, satellite-based, and re-analytical products. It focuses on the most recent changes in land surface temperature between 1991 and 2021 in the Chalisgaon Taluka of Maharashtra State, India. The results demonstrate that LULC changes have a significant impact on the climate through a range of mechanisms. There appears to be a connection between the changes in LULC spatial pattern with change in LST and Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). The error matrix is calculated for the assessment of the accuracy of classified land use land cover images. This analysis confirms that the most substantial alterations are related to changes in plant cover, as reflected by the alterations in LULC classes as well as in NDVI. The Built-up area covered 0.91% in 1991, but grew to 6.48% in 2021 compared to 1991. Between 1991 and 2021, the study region's vegetation and agricultural land area declined by 2.64%. It was discovered that there has been a quick transition from vegetation to built-up area. The mean LST ranges were amplified dramatically from 35.05 ⁰ C to 46.22 ⁰ C from 1991 to 2021, largely due to the growing build-up zone and decrease vegetation The study found that the growth of urban landscapes and associated rise in human activities, as well as shifting of agricultural patterns, LULC related changes to surface temperature, and regional climate feedback across this region, warrants further research. The finding of the present study will be useful for city planner and developers as baseline information for achieving the sustainable development of the area.

The objective of the study is to recognize temporal changes that affect the Koyna River's water quality parameters throughout time. 52 samples of water in total were collected at weekly intervals from March 2018 to March 2019 at the Koyna River in the vicinity of Karad, Maharashtra, India, to determine the concentrations of TDS, sulphate (SO4--), and nitrate (NO3-). The average annual concentration of NO3-, SO4--, and TDS is considerably lower than the values prescribed by WHO and BIS for irrigation and drinking. Timely variations in the parameters have been recorded. Increasing patterns were observed throughout the monsoon season (June to September 2018), followed by a deceased pattern (October to December 2018), and then a remarkably high level of certain variables in January 2019. The outcomes showed that water entering the river from upstream sources, runoff from agriculture, and household and industrial sewage discharges in tributaries and the mainstream are responsible for variations in concentration that occur gradually, suddenly, and in various manners

The qualitative assessment of groundwater and health risk is an integral step in sustainable development of the region. The present study mainly focuses on the assessment of human health risk in the Shahada tehsil of Nandurbar District, North Maharashtra, India due to the nitrate and fluoride contamination in subsurface water resources due to the anthropogenic inputs. In view of this, forty-five (45) representative water samples were collected in month of March 2019 and were assessed for major physiochemical parameters using guidelines of APHA standard procedures. The analytical results were compared with the drinking standards of World Health Organization (WHO) and Bureau of Indian (BIS). The analytical results depict that EC, TDS, TH, Ca2+, Mg2+, HCO3−, Cl−, NO3− and F− surpassed the desirable limit (DL) and permissible limit (PL). The statistical analysis includes Correlation Analysis (CA) and Principal component Analysis (PCA) has been used to ascertain the significant association among water quality parameters. Further, the degree of contamination and domestic suitability of water were evaluated by computing Pollution Index of Groundwater (PIG), Groundwater Quality Index (GWQI) and Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA) mainly for nitrate and fluoride contamination. PIG results inferred that 6.66% samples have moderate, 73% insignificant pollution and 20% low pollution. GWQI results revealed that 14% samples (poor class), 62% samples (very poor class) and only 6.6% samples (unsuitable). Total Hazard Index (THI) of fluoride and nitrate indicates that about 51% of the infants, 84% of the children, 69% of the teenagers and 60% of the adults are at non-carcinogenic risk, as THI values of more than 1 were observed to be vulnerable to non-carcinogenic health hazard. The outcomes of the study may assist the government authorities and research scholars as well as the local communities to develop comprehensive strategies in the study area to overcome the health risk problems due to fluoride and nitrate contamination.

Wetlands are essential for preserving the hydrological cycle, the diversity of the world's ecosystems, the regulation of the climate, and human wellbeing. Humans can benefit directly from wetlands ecosystems in addition to receiving indirect services from them. The world is experiencing serious environmental issues due to the rapid depletion of natural resources, posing a threat to ecosystems. The wetland resource is mainly contaminated from sewage or wastewater disposal, encroachment, commercial and industrial activity. In view of this current study compares the water of wetlands in Khultabad tehsil of the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra. The samples were collected in Pre-monsoon in January 2022. A total of 28 water samples were analyzed collected from wet lands situated in the central part of Aurangabad district, Maharashtra. The samples were tested for pH and temperature, electrical conductivity, turbidity, total dissolved solids, dissolved oxygen, chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand (BOD), total hardness, bicarbonate, chlorides and nitrate. For developing suitable policies and carrying out priorities, knowledge of the fundamental and integrated facts on wetlands is crucial. All the selected parameters are showing higher values due to the continual discharge of waste effluents into it. According to the study, there should be urgent action is needed to restore water quality and support any long-term plans for wetland restoration.

The study investigated the effects of Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) change dynamics on the state and status of an unprotected wetland in semi-arid regions of India. The effects of the LULC shift on the wetland during a 15-year period were mapped and quantified using the long-term satellite image data collection. Using the supervised analysis approach, a multi-source satellite image analysis was carried out. The complete research area's Landsat data series were utilised to evaluate, map, and track LULC change over time. Wetland detection maps created for the 2007-2013-2016-2022 temporal periods were examined. According to the findings, the amount of agricultural land remained essentially constant during the comparative period, ranging from 29.71% to 31.43%. The percentage of waste land progressively grew from 14.29% to 22.86% between 2007 and 2016. By 2022, the plantation area will have shrunk from 15.43% in 2007 to 5%. Similarly, it is anticipated that the habitat would grow from 8.07% in 2007 to 12.93% in 2022. Farmland and fallow area figures are different because both land uses were determined using different season satellite pictures. But there is no obvious increase or decrease in the total agricultural area. These results may be used to create specialised wetland management plans and perhaps even a framework for restoring wetlands that are not currently under protection.

This is an Open Access Journal / article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. All rights reserved. The present study aimed to assess the water quality index of water samples collected from eastern part of Nandurbar District, Maharashtra. The qualitative assessment of water is an integral step in sustainable development of the region. The area representative fortyfive samples were collected in month of March 2020 and were analysed for major physico-chemical parameter. The results were matched with World Health Organization (WHO, 2017) standards, Hydro-chemical analysis shows that the quality of water is tented towards alkaline with hard to very hard water types. The contamination and domestic water aptness were evaluated by calculating water quality index (WQI). WQI classification revealed that 16% samples fallen under good class while 78% samples are in the poor class, 4% samples are in the very poor class and only 2% of the samples fall into unsuitable water quality.

Subsurface water storage potential zone (SWSPz) is used as the source of water for household, agricultural, and industrial activities. The current study uses the integrated approach of geospatial, hydrogeological, and multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) based on the influencing parameter for subsurface water storage potential zones and its artificial recharge structure in western India's semi-arid watershed. The thematic map of the influencing parameter will be created using remote sensing data, secondary data, and maps of topography, lithology, drainage density, overland runoff, landform categorization, land use/land cover, type of soil, and vadose zone. The study's findings show that the region’s SWSPz is high in about 14.22% of the area, while groundwater recharge potential is intermediate in about 38.05% of the land and low in about 34.70% and 13.03% of poor the area, respectively. The study's validity was validated by superimposing groundwater level point data onto the final output map, which revealed a good accuracy with the findings. The CGWB approach was also utilized to analyze the surplus water availability, and the findings reveal a vadose area of 40.08 MCM with an artificial recharge of 53.31 MCM. Finally, to recharge the rainwater, suitable site was identified within the study area such as Check dam, Nala bund and percolation tank. The fourteen check dams were identified on third–fourth-order stream present at moderate to high storage potential zone. While twenty-three nala bunds and five percolation ponds were also identified in the study area, it showed good accuracy with ground truth data. In nutshell, to increase the subsurface water potential, the integrated geospatial and hydrogeological modeling approach will be useful for decision makers.

The primary objective of this study is implementation of geo-environmental approach for identification of groundwater storage potential zones in western parts Maharashtra region. Subsurface water storage potential (SbWSP) is total amount of groundwater acc umulated in aquifer. SbWSP plays a key role and helps in every day, agricultural, and industry activities. The study emphases on the process of defining SbWSP zone by geo-environmental approach and multicriteria decision making analysis (MCDA) to the obtai ned feature theme using the significant outcome of occurrence of groundwater in basaltic basin of western part of Maharashtra, India. The geo-environmental data such as remote sensing image and other supplementary data were used to develop different thematic layers viz. slope, lithology surface overland flow, landform, present land use, soil type and vadose zone. The result of study showed that around 9.14 % is having high subsurface water storage potential and 34.86 % of the area is moderate for storage of subsurface water. While 23.28 is in the low SbWSP and 32.72% of the total area comes poor SbWSP. The authentication of the work is done by superimposing point layer groundwater well yield on the SbWSP map and was found to have good agreement with the outp ut map.