Think about what you drink!

by NCU Northcap University NCU - Northcap University

Did you know that the groundwater quality assessment is an important parameter? Ground water is essential and vital component for every living being as almost all the surface water sources are drying because of unplanned urbanization and rapid population growth rate. So the only water source left for survival of living organism is going to be the ground water. Lot of folks use it for various applications such as drinking, Irrigation, cleaning etc. Hence, a know how about the quality of water we use, gathered our interest. For Groundwater quality investigation we chose two different regions to know their suitability for drinking & irrigation purpose by following WHO, BIS & F.A.O guidelines.

Aseer region of kingdom of Saudi Arabia suffers from scarcity of surface water. Almost all the population of Saudi Arabia is dependent on the groundwater source. The absence of surface water bodies along with erratic rainfall renders groundwater as the most reliable source of potable water in arid and semi-arid regions globally. High evaporation and low precipitation ensure fewer surface water bodies resulting in a higher dependency on groundwater which makes it even more important for the inhabitants to know about what they drink.

The reason behind selecting South-west Delhi as study area is unplanned urbanization, rapid population growth, and improper management of sewer lines because of which the ground water level is decreasing as well as getting polluted. Also, a motivation to inform the concerned authorities to come up with better plans and strategy to improve the quality of groundwater drove us to carry out the investigation.

In first region i.e. Aseer region (KSA), sixty two representative groundwater samples were analyzed for pH, Electrical Conductivity, Total Dissolved Solids, Total Hardness, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, HCO₃-, CO₃-, Cl-and SO₄2-in order to assess its suitability. On comparison of results with the permissible limits recommended by W.H.O. & F.A.O guidelines, all the samples were found suitable for drinking and irrigation purposes. In second region i.e. South-west Delhi, India- fifty groundwater samples were analyzed to assess the groundwater quality using the same parameters. Water quality indices such as Sodium Adsorption Ratio, PI, MH, Na%, KR, SSP were calculated to find out the suitability of groundwater samples for irrigation purpose.

Piper diagrams were also plotted using Rockware Aq.QA software to find major cation, anion and to detect the major water type dominant in the study area. Having gone through the parameters it was found that most of the parameters were within the permissible range but the major concern was that 46% of sample had very high TDS & 40% of sample had high magnesium content in accordance to the W.H.O. standards. Also, the calcium content was found to be high because of which water is not suitable for drinking. The Total hardness for 82% water samples was under ‘very hard’ water class category. High concentration of hardness builds up on contact surfaces of plug pipes and irrigation lines because of which it causes damage to water heaters. Hence, an immediate action is required to solve the hardness problem.

Hence, the data leads us to a conclusion that, the groundwater water quality in Aseer region is more suitable than Southwest Delhi because of the difference in population, vegetation, industry setup and runoff. Also, Immediate action on adoption of a sustainable water management plan in south west Delhi with proper intervention is needed to protect the groundwater quality from further deterioration and contamination.

By- Prajesh Sharma, Amrit Neupane, Lokesh Choudhary & Dr. Ram Karan Singh