Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (2006) 123: 299Ð312 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-006-9198-5 c Springer 2006

RISK ASSESSMENT OF PHYSICO-CHEMICAL CONTAMINANTS IN GROUNDWATER OF PETTAVAITHALAI AREA, , TAMILNADU Ð

A. ABDUL JAMEEL1 and J. SIRAJUDEEN2,∗ 1Post Ð Graduate Studies and Research Department of Chemistry, Jamal Mohamed College, Tiruchirappalli Ð 620 020, Tamilnadu, India; 2Department of Chemistry, School of Engineering and Technology, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli Ð 620 024, Tamilnadu, India (∗author for correspondence, e-mail: siraju [email protected])

(Received 16 October 2005; accepted 16 January 2006)

Abstract. A study was carried out in Pettavaithalai area to evaluate the current status of physico- chemical contaminants and their sources in groundwater. Groundwater samples collected from pet- tavaithalai area in 15 different stations were analyzed every alternative months over a period of two years from August 2000 to June 2002. A sugar mill is situated at the heart of the study area. Three profiles (profile A, B and C) were selected based on the direction in which the sugar mill effluent flows. In each profile five samples were collected from five different station at a regular distance of about 1 Km. The physico-chemical parameters such as pH, EC TDS, TH, NO3,SO4, PO4, Na, K, Ca, Mg, DO, BOD and COD have been analyzed. The results showed that among the three profiles, many of the estimated physico-chemical parameters of profile C were very high when compared to profile B and A which indicates the poor quality of the groundwater around this area.

Keywords: physico-chemical contaminants, groundwater, Pettavaithalai, , India

1. Introduction

Water is one of the most indispensable resources and is the elixir of life. Water constitutes about 70% of the body weight of almost all living organism. Life is not possible on this planet without water. It exists in three states namely solid, liquid and gas. It acts as a media for both chemical and biochemical reactions and also as internal and external medium for several organisms. About 97.2% of water on earth is salty and only 2.8% is present as fresh water from which about 20% constitutes ground water. Ground water is highly valued because of certain properties not possessed by surface water (Goel, 2000). The rapid growth of urban areas has further affected the ground water quality due to over exploitation of resources and improper waste disposal practices. The ground water quality of Pettaivaithalai area which is located about 25 Km from has been altered due to many anthropogenic activities. A sugar mill is located at the heart of this area. The effluent from this industry 300 A. ABDUL JAMEEL AND J. SIRAJUDEEN which is let into the ground, percolates and may change the ground water quality. Therefore it is essential for protection and management of the ground water quality.

2. Details of Study Area

The details of the study area were collected from Public Works Department, Ground Water Division, Tamil Nadu Water and Drainage Board and Statistical Department, Tiruchirappalli. The details regarding the area are given below.

2.1. LOCATION

Tiruchirappalli District is situated on the banks of the River Cauvery about 320 km southwest (SW) of Chennai. This city was the capital of Chola dynasty during the Sangam age. The Pandyas and Pallavas ruled over this region for short periods. The historic Rockfort had played a vital role in the carnatic wars in the 18th cen- tury. Today, Tiruchirappalli is a blend of history and tradition, a pilgrim centre as well as a thriving commercial city. It is one of the best educational cities in In- dia housing colleges with more than one hundred and fifty years of age. Bharath Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), locomotive service station of Southern Rail- ways, Ordnance Factory are some of the major industries of Tiruchirappalli. The Pettavaithalai area is situated about 25 km west of Tiruchirappalli. It is located be- tween the latitude of 10◦5300 and the longitude 78◦2900. The total area coverage is 367.735 hectares. A sugar mill with large scale production is located in the heart of the area. There are a large number of cottage industries and automobile service stations.

2.2. CLIMATE

The area has a high mean temperature (28 ◦C) and low relative humidity. This gets more rainfall from northeast (NE) monsoon. Even though the region is quite hot, the difference between maximum and minimum temperatures is only moderate. The atmosphere is dry with little moisture during the beginning months of the year. When the season is cool, the climate is pleasant and enjoyable. The SW monsoon period lasts till August. Rainfall occurs from October to December. The maximum and minimum temperature are dominant by April to June and November to January respectively.

2.3. RAINFALL

This area gets rainfall mostly from the NE monsoon. The average rainfall is about 818.52 mm. It gets more rainfall during the period of October and November. At the RISK ASSESSMENT OF PHYSICO-CHEMICAL CONTAMINANTS IN GROUNDWATER 301 same time there is no rainfall from February to April. The average rainfall around Pettavaithalai for the last three years (1999Ð2002) is about 880.16 mm.

2.4. SOIL

The nature of soil in the study area is alluvium followed by Granitic gneisses. Alluvium soil constitutes major portion of the deltaic regions, bordering the river Cauvery.

2.5. AGRICULTURE

The economy of the area is mainly based on agriculture. Farm output provides not only the food requirements of the area but a sizable portion of it is exported to other parts of Tamil Nadu. Alluvial type of soil around this area is well supplied with potash and magnesium, which is conducive for raising of crops.

2.6. VEGETATION

Nearly 75% of the total area is under cultivation. Out of the total cropped area, 65% include food crops. The major crops cultivated are paddy, banana, sugar- cane and vegetables. Groundnut and pulses are predominantly cultivated as rainfed crops.

3. Materials and Methods

During the study, sampling was carried out at the three different profiles (A, B and C) in 15 wells. The physico-chemical analysis was performed every alternative month over a period of two years from August 2000 to June 2002. Three profiles were selected based on the direction in which the sugar mill effluent flows. In each profile, five samples were collected from five different stations at a regular distance of about 1 Km. The locations of the study area and sampling stations are shown in Figure 1. The 5 stations of profile A are 1. Kottayathottam 2. Thiruchappur 3. Poyya- mani 4. Koraippatti 5. Nangavaram, profile B are 1. Sirukadu 2. Mangammasalai 3. Mill gate 4.Thirumurugannagar 5.Kaverinagar and profile C are 1. Sangiliyandapu- ram 2. Pettavaithalai mainroad 3. Kavakarapalayam 4. S.Pudukottai 5. Sirugamani. Samples were collected in pre cleaned 2 L polythene bottles with necessary pre- cautions (Brown et al., 1974). All the samples were examined to determine pH, EC TDS, TH, NO3,SO4,PO4, Na, K, Ca, Mg, DO, BOD and COD using standard methods of (APHA, 1995). 302 A. ABDUL JAMEEL AND J. SIRAJUDEEN

Figure 1. Location map of pettavaithalai showing sampling station.

4. Results and Discussions

The result regarding the mean values of the various physico-chemical parameters of ground water collected every alternative month from August 2000 to June 2002 are given in the Table I.

4.1. pH pH is the measure of acidity or alkalinity of water. In general, the mean pH values of all the three profiles lie more or less within the permissible limits of WHO (7.0Ð8.5) Table I. Slight changes are seen in the values of all the three profiles. This may be attributed to different types of buffers normally present in the ground water. The same is observed by Weber and Stun (1963, p.1553). The variations in pH are relatively small. However, the values reveal the slight alkaline nature of the ground water. This observation is in good agreement with RISK ASSESSMENT OF PHYSICO-CHEMICAL CONTAMINANTS IN GROUNDWATER 303 Na K Ca Mg DO BOD COD 4 PO 4 SO 3 Cl F NO TABLE I 3 HCO 3 1; ND Ð Non-detectable. − Mean Physico-chemical parameters of ground water collected every alternative months from August 2000 to June 2002 234 7.85 7.8 858 8.2 885 5682 7.8 811 6353 319 797 5164 243 4.0 8.0 10055 269 4.0 421 7.7 261 2979 23 333 7.8 ND 1857 2433 912 8.1 238 1802 369 0.9 612 74 7403 23 551 1.1 101 1529 8.6 178 6354 1.1 7.9 4.0 945 0.8 821 8.0 475 798 7.8 498 5.6 939 27 5151 0.20 58 419 9.0 8.3 3501 3971 0.31 69 7.0 1.3 94 436 160 552 7.9 3096 123 905 19 0.33 2.0 3106 0.39 74 459 1171 11 126 1345 297 3 23 6078 ND 82 13 212 68 7.0 138 3037 760 1.4 68 1315 0.27 151 0.9 30 924 1285 37 68 66 460 0.15 46 5.4 7.6 1098 711 5.0 82 5.9 279 4.9 52 52 3.2 488 2.1 1.5 128 47 33 533 4.4 4.5 3.1 300 166 62 0.47 0.17 14 4.7 3.3 395 1176 130 233 16 98 572 311 1.1 73 1.0 4.7 5.0 126 15 12 4.0 0.19 0.23 91 4.2 12.2 3.2 858 501 66 100 548 3.7 44 38 184 14 0.26 54 79 0.18 12 464 4.2 2.8 70 88 276 9.0 3.3 4.8 227 115 17 4.9 4.3 185 14 19 140 253 5.4 4.9 186 3.9 3.5 17 18 3.3 5.6 12 19 ProfileA Station pH EC 1 TDS THB 8.0 CO 1017 682 1 320C 14 7.8 433 2555 112 1705 1.2 1 454 15WHO 7.5 values 8.3 67All 986 the values are expressed 0.14 inEC ppm Ð except micromho pH cm 127 and 298 558 EC. 13 7Ð8.5 1.8 362 600 79 67 252 500 37 215 43 0.38 500 4.7 338 505 50 4.5 13.0 15 500 70 43 1.8 61 250 4.0 1.5 5.4 3.5 50 36 0.32 14 250 76 0.10 200 8.0 12 63 100 51 150 3.9 6.0 6.5 5.0 24 10 304 A. ABDUL JAMEEL AND J. SIRAJUDEEN those of Saha and Bose (1987, p. 39). The mild alkalinity indicates the presence of weak basic salts in the soil (Jameel, 2002). The result also shows that the alkaline pH is particularly due to bicarbonate and not due to carbonate alkalinity. The mild alkaline nature suggests that approximately 95% of CO2 in water is present as bicarbonate. This is favoured by the findings of Azeez et al. (2000).

4.2. ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY (EC)

The importance of Electrical Conductivity (EC) is its measure of salinity which greatly affects the taste and thus has a significant impact on the user acceptance of the water as potable (Pradeep, 1998). Electrical conductivity talks about the conducting capacity of water which in turn is determined by the presence of dissolved ions and solids. Higher the ionizable solids, greater will be the EC. The WHO permissible limit for EC in water is 600 micromho cm−1. When this exceeds 3000 micromho cm−1, the germination of almost all the crops would be affected and it may result in much reduced yield (Srinivas et al., 2000). The present study shows very high values of EC for all the stations of profiles A, B and C. This may be due to the increased percolation rate of sugar mill effluent, domestic and agricultural wastes containing high dissolved solids. The running effluent has very high TDS value of 3950 ppm contributing for high EC value. This observation is in good agreement with the report of Senthil Kumar et al. (2001 p. 93) who found that total solids in sugar mill effluent was very high in the range of 1520 to 4485 ppm. Though the EC values of profile A are less than 1000 micromho cm−1, profiles B and C have abnormal values upto 6077 micromho cm−1 except the station 4 of profile B and 1 of profile C. The station 4 of profile B and 1 of profile C have no agricultural activities and comparatively less human inhabitation since they are very close to railway line. This decreases the availability of dissolved ionisable solids in these stations.

4.3. TOTAL DISSOLVED SOLIDS (TDS)

The Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) values in all the three profiles exceed the maxi- mum permissible limits of WHO (500 ppm). Profiles B and C show a higher TDS value than profile A. This suggests that profiles B and C are polluted to a larger extent by the percolation of sugar mill effluent and other wastes (domestic and agri- cultural) containing high concentration of dissolved solids. The same is reported by Subbarao et al. (1997 p. 406). Low waste disposal in some stations of profiles B & C lead to low TDS values. The low TDS value may also be due to the presence of granitic materials in that area, which is resistant to dissolution. It is in conformity with the report of Tiwari (1999 p. 323). A very high value of 2556 ppm observed in profile C is due to the infiltration of excess of sewage wastes from the sewage canals and unprotected drainages that RISK ASSESSMENT OF PHYSICO-CHEMICAL CONTAMINANTS IN GROUNDWATER 305 are located near stations 1, 3, 4 and 5. Ward (1994, p. 109) had already concluded that the high TDS in ground water was particularly due to irrigated lands. High levels of TDS may aesthetically be unsatisfactory for bathing and washing .

4.4. TOTAL HARDNESS (TH)

The Total Hardness (TH) is an important parameter of water quality whether it is to be used for domestic, industrial or agricultural purposes. It is due to the presence of excess of Ca, Mg and Fe salts. Profiles B and C show TH values slightly higher than the permissible limits of WHO (500 ppm). As per Durfur and Backers classification, 180 ppm hardness may be categorized as very hard. The carbonate and bicarbonate concentrations are useful to determine the temporary hardness and alkalinity. Since the analysis of carbonate in this study has given negative results for most of the samples, the alkalinity is mainly due to bicarbonates. The total hardness of profiles B and C are very high compared to A. In general, high hardness is mainly due to the contamination by the effluent containing high concentrations of Ca, SO4, Cl and heavy metals. The same is inferred by Fokmare and Musaddiq (2001 p. 651). The high values in stations 4 and 5 of profile B and stations 3, 4 and 5 in profile C may be due to the regular addition of large quantities of sewage, detergents and large scale human use. This observation is supported by Bhanja and Ajoy (2000 p. 377).

4.5. CARBONATE (CO3) AND BICARBONATE HCO3

The carbonate (CO3) alkalinity is absent in most of the stations throughout the study and it is detectable only above pH 8.3. This is approved by the findings of Narain and Chauhan (2000 p. 351). Therefore the total alkalinity is mostly due to the presence of bicarbonate. The prevailing carbonate alkalinity in some stations may be due to the dissolution of rock minerals as was observed by Pawar (1993 p. 119). In profile A, all the stations show bicarbonate values within the permissible limit of WHO (500 ppm) except station 5 (612 ppm). However in profiles B and C, most of the stations show values exceeding the permissible limit. This may be due to the exchange of atmospheric CO2 with water. The carbon-dioxide entering the system changes to H2CO3. The latter subsequently reacts with primary minerals and in- creases the bicarbonate concentration (Som and Battacharya, 1992). Some stations of profiles B and C encounter still more high values which may be contributed by the percolation of sewage and industrial wastes. This is in coherence with the report of Upadhyay and Rana (1991 p. 33). 306 A. ABDUL JAMEEL AND J. SIRAJUDEEN

4.6. CHLORIDE (Cl)

Chloride occurs naturally in all types of water. Chloride in natural water results from agricultural activities, industries and chloride rich rocks. In profile A, the chloride level is within the permissible limit (250 ppm), which indicates less contamination. Profiles B and C report very high values at stations 1, 2 & 3 and 2, 3, 4 & 5 respec- tively. Such high concentration of chloride is due to the invasion of domestic wastes and disposals by human activities in these areas. This observation is appropriate, as many sewage canals and unprotected drainages are located here. Our observa- tion is supported by the report of Jha and Verma (2000 p. 75). Increased rate of percolation of industrial, agricultural and domestic wastes increases the chloride level especially in profile C. Geological formations of the area may also have in- fluence on the high chloride value (Mariappan et al., 2000). This is coherent with our results.

4.7. FLUORIDE (F)

Fluoride occurs as fluorspar (fluorite), rock phosphate, triphite, phosphorite crys- tals etc. in nature. Tamil Nadu is one of the main fluoride bearing areas. Among factors which control the concentration of fluoride are the climate of the area and the presence of accessory minerals in the rock mineral assemblage through which the ground water is circulating (Handa, 1975). In this work, the fluoride values of all the three profiles lie in the close range of the permissible limit of WHO (1.0Ð 1.5 ppm) except in few cases. The source of fluoride in these water samples may be weathering of rocks, phosphatic fertilizers used for agriculture or the sewage sludge. This coincides with the report of Oelschlager (1971 p. 80). Irregular distri- bution of the rocks varies the fluoride concentration of all the samples (Garg et al., 1998a). Profile A shows that the values are within the permissible limit proving less contamination. Profiles B and C show slightly higher values at few stations (1, 3 and 1, 2 respectively). According to Jain et al., (2000, p. 585) maximum amount of fluoride is extracted at pH 9.2 ± 0.36 and it decreases with decreasing pH. This is in good correlation with our observation, where the fluoride level is only moderate since the water samples have mild alkaline nature (pH 7.5Ð8.3). However, at few stations of profiles B and C a higher value of fluoride is observed in the range of 1.8Ð2.1 ppm. This may be attributed to the percolation of phosphatic fertilizers from the agricultural run off from the nearby lands. Discharge of domestic wastes or the wastes from the surrounding industries increases the fluoride values (Bhosle et al., 2001).

4.8. NITRATE (NO3)

The high nitrogen content is an indicator of organic pollution. It results from the added nitrogenous fertilizers, decay of dead plants and animals, animal urines, RISK ASSESSMENT OF PHYSICO-CHEMICAL CONTAMINANTS IN GROUNDWATER 307 feces, etc. They are all oxidized to nitrate by natural process and hence nitrogen is present in the form of nitrate. The increase in one or all the above factors is responsible for the increase of nitrate content (Rahman, 2002). The ground water contamination is due to the leaching of nitrate present on the surface with percolating water. The nitrate content of profile A is well within the permissible limit of WHO (50 ppm). High values of nitrate observed at some stations of profiles B and C (1, 2 and 2, 3 respectively) are due to the infiltration of pollutants from various sources like industries and also presence of improper septic tanks in these sites. This is in cognizance with the report of Connelly and Taussiq (1994, p. 145). Eventhough, the nitrate content of the sugar mill effluent is within the permissible limit, very high nitrate contents are observed in profiles B and C. This may be attributed to the percolation of large amount of organic wastes from effluent nitrate fertilizers and other wastes like sewage disposal which on decomposition by microorganism results in the production of nitrates. The low nitrate content encountered in profile A and certain samples of profiles B and C (4 and 1, 5) may be due to the less usage of nitrogen fertilizers and less disposal of wastes around these stations (Narain and Chauhan, 2000).

4.9. SULPHATE (SO4)

Sulphate is found in small quantities in ground water. Sulphate may come into ground water by industrial or anthropogenic additions in the form of sulphate fertilizers. The sulphate values of profiles A and B lie within the permissible limits of WHO (250 ppm) even though profile B shows values slightly higher than A. In profile C, most of the samples show double the amount of sulphates when compared to profile B. This high level may be due to the percolation of sugar mill effluent in this area. Sulphurdioxide used as a bleaching agent in sugar industry acts as a source of sulphate content. The effluent on percolation pollutes the ground water by increasing the sulphate level. This effluent during its flow may also carry the agricultural runoff containing sulphate fertilizers, which in turn increases the sulphate concentration in ground water (Pawar and Shaikh, 1995).

4.10. PHOSPHATE (PO4)

Phosphate enters into ground water from phosphate containing rock, fertilizers and percolation of sewage and industrial wastes. In our study, almost all the three profiles show slightly higher phosphate values than the WHO permissible limit (0.10 ppm). The major cause for phosphate concentration in ground water may be the agricultural runoff from the irrigated lands containing phosphatic fer- tilizers. This is held true by the presence of vast agricultural lands near these profiles. 308 A. ABDUL JAMEEL AND J. SIRAJUDEEN

High values reported in profiles B and C may be due to the percolation of sugar mill effluent in addition to the agricultural runoff. This is true, because, the sugar manufacturing process involves the usage of superphosphate of lime or phosphoric acid which may contribute phosphate to the effluent (Dhembare et al., 1998). This is supported by the high value of phosphate emanating from the sugar mill industry. On comparing the three profiles, A shows slightly higher values owing to the high usage of phosphatic fertilizers in this area.

4.11. SODIUM AND POTASSIUM (Na and K)

Sodium and potassium are the most important minerals occurring naturally. The major source of both the cations may be weathering of rocks (Singh et al., 1999) besides the sewage and industrial effluents. The sodium and potassium values of profile A lie more or less within the safe range of WHO limit of 200 and 12 ppm respectively and is suitable for irrigation and domestic purposes. Profiles B and C show higher values in most of the stations owing to the precipitation or absorption of both the cations by soils or coating on the minerals and also due to the effluent percolation. Sodium is found in association with high concentration of chloride resulting in salinity. The concentration of sodium is important in classifying irrigation waters because it reacts with soil permeability (Adak and Purohit, 2001). Sodium and potassium concentrations are also influenced by the cation exchange mechanism. The decomposition of granitic terrain containing felspar may be another reason for increased concentration of both the ions. High values of sodium and potassium at certain stations are attributed to the possible contamination by domestic sewages and effluents.

4.12. CALCIUM AND MAGNESIUM (Ca and Mg)

Calcium and magnesium are from natural sources like granitic terrain which contain large concentration of these elements. The result shows that calcium and magne- sium values for most samples in profiles A and B lie very well within the safe limits of WHO (100 ppm and 150 ppm respectively) except at few stations of pro- file C. Calcium and magnesium are ions of total hardness and hence they are interrelated. High values in profile C may be due to the seepage of effluent and domestic wastes or due to cationic exchange with sodium (Jacob et al., 1999). However, low values do not mean that it is not influenced by the pollutants but it might be due to the reverse cationic exchange with sodium. (i.e.) sodium ions replace Ca and Mg ions thereby reducing their concentration in ground water after percolation. In the study, higher values of sodium are recorded, wherever there is low calcium and magnesium concentrations. RISK ASSESSMENT OF PHYSICO-CHEMICAL CONTAMINANTS IN GROUNDWATER 309

4.13. DISSOLVED OXYGEN (DO), BIOLOGICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD) AND CHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (COD)

The condition in case of dissolved oxygen(DO) is slightly complicated since in contrast to other pollutants, the quality of water is enhanced if it contains more oxygen. An ideal DO value of 5.0 mg/l is the standard for drinking water (Bhanja and Ajoy, 2000). In natural waters, DO values vary according to the physico- chemical and biological activities. The DO values of all the three profiles are be- low the permissible limits of WHO (6 ppm). This is the indication of increased pollution by organic wastes from effluent and domestic sewage around these stations. Profiles B and C record a low DO value when compared to profile A, especially stations 1 of B and 4&5 of C (i.e.) below 4 ppm. This indicates that the effluent and domestic sewage containing high organic pollutants have invaded the ground water which decreases the dissolved oxygen content as a result of microbial activities. This is because organic wastes (carbohydrates, proteins, etc.) act as a medium for microbial multiplication (Sharma and Pande, 1998). The slightly high DO values (4Ð5 ppm) in profile A and few stations of profilesB&Cmaybetheresult of less percolation of organic wastes. Biological oxygen demand (BOD) is an important parameter to evaluate the water quality with respect to organic pollutant. It is a measure of biodegradable materials in water. According to WHO, the permissible limit of BOD in water is 5 ppm. However in profile C most of the samples show higher values than the permissible limits. This is an indication of organic pollution by the intrusion of sugar mill effluent. Eventhough concentrations of some parameters of profiles A and B are within the permissible limit, they are still high when compared to others of the same profiles. It is the indication of improper drainage system, solid waste disposal or seepage of effluent from the sugar mill industry particularly at these sta- tions. Similar observation has been reported by Tyagi et al. (2000 p. 443). The number of microbes such as Escherichia coli (bacterium) increases the BOD tremendously which consume most of the oxygen. Chemical oxygen demand is a measure of pollution in aquatic system. High COD may cause oxygen de- pletion on account of decomposition by microbes (Sivakumar et al. 1989) to a level detrimental to aquatic life. COD is a measure of organic matter in the sample including bio and chemically degradable fractions which survive bacterial attack. Thus, the high value of COD encountered in all the three profiles, above the permissible limit of WHO (10 ppm), indicates the pollution by biodegradable and chemically degradable organic wastes from various sources. Very high value of COD in profiles B and C may be due to contamination of water with the sugar mill effluent containing high volatile solids. The oil and grease and solids from filter cloth washings add together resulting in high COD. Similar results were reported 310 A. ABDUL JAMEEL AND J. SIRAJUDEEN by Verma et al. (1979, p. 204) for sugar factory effluents. Industrial wastes often contain inorganic contaminants which are chemically oxidizable and therefore lead to COD values that are not associated with organic contaminants. The high value of COD in profile A may be due to the inorganic contaminants from the fertilizers and domestic wastes.

5. Conclusion

The groundwater of Pettavaithalai area were collected and analysed for various physico-chemical parameters. The results of the above work show that most of the physico-chemical parameters like EC, TDS, TH, Cl, HCO3,NO3,PO4,SO4, Na, K, BODand COD are well above the acceptable limit. This shows that the ground water of this area is very much affected by various pollutants. The major source of these pollutants may be the effluent flowing from the sugar mill, the agricultural wastes and domestic sewage disposals. All these are disposed to pollute the ground water resource of this area in their own way. Dissolution of rock minerals with the ground water is another reason for pollution. Higher rate of contamination is witnessed in profiles B and C rather than A. The high access of contamination may be the outcome of high human, industrial and agricultural activities in their vicinity, which has also been confirmed. This also shows that water source is not protected properly in this region. The sloppy nature of the land also plays a major role in this respect. All the above results confirm that the ground water quality is not upto the mark and is slowly degrading. Even though at present the condition is not very bad but if the same continues in future, the ground water source will be completely polluted and becomes unfit for drinking and other purposes. It is high time to preserve and protect this valuable ground source. For this various measures have to be taken which will control the contamination from different sources. These include proper treatment and disposal of the effluent, proper drainage for the domestic and agricultural wastes, less usage of chemical and hazardous fertilizers, proper and hygienic maintenance of the sanitary conditions of the area and above all, the inhabitants should be aware of the situation and should be given proper knowledge to improve their own hygienic habits. The public should have protected potable water.

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