Abstract
This study was carried out to evaluate the status of the groundwater quality for paddy fields irrigation in Korea. Water samples were collected at 130 sites throughout the country. Samples were collected at three seasons - April, July and October - in 2000. According to our survey, the groundwater was found to be suitable for irrigation purpose. Average EC was shown 0.286 dS/m. Nitrate-nitrogen and $Cl^-$ concentration was 5.6 mg/L, 32.95 mg/L which satisfied the Korean Standards for Irrigation Water. Nitrate-nitrogen concentration in each province was shown as following orders: Jeju (11.17 mg/L) > Chungnam (8.16 mg/L) > Gyeongbuk (6.64 mg/L) > Gyounggi (5.91 mg/L) > Chungnam (4.95 mg/L) > Gyeongnam (3.91 mg/L) > Jeonbuk (3.50 mg/L) > Jeonnam (3.27 mg/L) > Gangwon (2.91 mg/L). The concentration by sampling seasons were October (6.62 mg/L) > July (5.88 mg/L) > April (4.78 mg/L). As the soil of Jeju Province is usually derived from volcanic ash soils mainly used for upland drops, it may influence the nitrate-nitrogen concentration of groundwater. The amount of rainfall also influence the water quality. But the $COD_{Cr}$ were shown April (3.17 mg/L) > July (2.91 mg/L) > October (2.40 mg/L), it is highly related in the basal dose of organic matter fertilizers. This study demonstrated that groundwater quality was suitable for irrigation, but continuous monitoring is recommended for agricultural policy and developing OECD agricultural environment indicators.