Kumbakonam is a well developed maritime district of Tamil Nadu. Groundwater has been the mainstay for domestic needs of more than 80% of population in the district. Dug wells with a density of around 150 per sq km are the major groundwater based structures along the surface level. Groundwater has been the principle source of water supply for the Kumbakonam town and along the urban area. The groundwater withdrawals need be regulated to avoid any possible seawater ingress. Characterization by factor analysis of hydrochemistry of Kumbakonam Taluk has been attempted in this paper. Factor analysis assumes that observed variables are products of linear combinations of some few underlying source variable known as factors. Factor analysis has not been a major tool in the study of groundwater geochemistry as has been demonstrated in several studies (Lawrence and Upchurce, 1983; Olobaniyi and Owoyemi, 2006; Aris et al. 2007; Gallardo and Marui, 2007; Ramesh Kumar and Riyazuddin, 2008). The present study was set to determine has factors that significantly control the chemistry of groundwater in the phreatic aquifers of Kumbakonam taluk.

Keywords : Hydro Geochemistry, Formula, SAR, RSC, Piper Diagram, Kumbakonam Taluk.