INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL AND CHEMICAL SCIENCES ISSN: 22775005

Research Article Quality Characterization of Groundwater at () Nidhi Vema1 and Navneet Kumar2* 1Research Scholar, CMJ University, Shillong, , . 2College of Engineering, Teerthanker Mahaveer University, , Uttar Pradesh, India.

ABSTRACT Groundwater is a natural resource for drinking water. Like other natural resources, it should be assessed regularly and people should be made aware of the quality of drinking water. The present study is aimed at assessing the water quality for the groundwater of . This has been determined by collecting twelve groundwater samples from public places of Amroha district and subjecting the samples to different physico-chemical analysis. It may be concluded that underground water at Amroha is highly alkaline, very hard, highly polluted with organic and also highly polluted with reference to all physico-chemical parameters studied. The water sources of the area are not suitable for drinking, domestic and industrial as well as irrigation purposes with respect to the physico-chemical parameters. The present study suggested that ground water quality management is urgently needed for the study area.

Keywords: Physico-chemical, ground water, iron, chemical oxygen demand.

INTRODUCTION from disease producing chemical substances The quality of water is vital concern for and microorganisms that are dangerous to mankind since it is directly linked with human health, majority of the rural people do not have health. Groundwater is highly valued because accesses to potable water for domestic use. it constitutes the major drinking and irrigation Several regions in India have encountered water source in most of the parts of India. In degradation in groundwater quality too, due to recent decades, exploitation of groundwater increase of population growth and rapid has increased greatly, particularly for urbanization4-6. The present study carried out agricultural purpose, because large parts of with the aim of understanding the groundwater the country have little access to rainfall due to quality and its suitability for domestic and frequent failures of monsoon1,3. Presently, irrigation purpose. Groundwater is usually as 85% of the water requirement for domestic use direct use in rural water supply without proper in rural areas, 55% for irrigation and over 50% treatment and for agricultural practice most of for industrial and urban uses is met from the year. Groundwater may also contaminated groundwater. Groundwater irrigation started due weathering of rock and agrochemicals with only 6.5 Mha in 1950-515, which was used for irrigation in this area. However, no increased to 46.5 Mha in 2000- 200117 studies have been carried out in the with meeting about 70% of the irrigation water respect to drinking and irrigation purpose so requirements of the country. This clearly far in the rural area of Periyakulam taluk. India indicates the growing pressure on is endowed with a rich and vast diversity of groundwater resources. There is growing natural resources, water being one of them. concern on the deterioration of groundwater Water is nature’s most wonderful, abundant quality due to geogenic and anthropogenic and useful compound22,23. Of the many activities. The quality of groundwater in a essential elements for the existence of human region is a function of physical, chemical and beings, animals and plants, water is rated to biological parameters9,10. Groundwater quality be of the greatest importance. Without food, is as important as the quantity. Poor quality of human can survive for a number of days, but water adversely affects the plant growth and water is such an essential that without it one human health. It decreases agricultural cannot survive12,13. production; reduce agrarian economy, retards Water is not only essential for the lives of improvement in the living conditions of rural animals and plants, but also occupies a unique people. Potable water is the water that is free position in industries. Groundwater is an

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important source of water supply throughout needs. Because of the importance of the world. The quantity and the suitability of groundwater in drinking and in other uses, its groundwater for human consumption and for environmental aspects such as contamination irrigation are determined by its physical, transport have been significantly studied16,17. chemical and bacteriological properties. Its Many researchers have focused on hydro development and management plays a vital chemical characteristics and contamination of role in agriculture production, for poverty groundwater in different basins as well as in reduction, environmental sustenance and urban areas that resulted due to sustainable economic development. In some anthropogenic intervention mainly by areas of the world, people face serious water agricultural activities and industrial and shortage because groundwater is used faster domestic wastewater. Natural phenomena than it is naturally replenished14,15. Human such as volcanoes, algae blooms, storms, and development and population growth exert earthquakes also cause major changes in many and diverse pressures on the quality and water quality and the ecological status of the quantity of water resources and on the water. The availability of good quality drinking access to them. Water quality monitoring and water is extremely important for prevention of assessment is the foundation of water quality diseases and for improving the quality of life management; thus, there has been an for humans. Pure water does not exist in increasing demand for monitoring water quality nature18,24. Water in its natural form contains of many rivers and ground water by regular living / non-living, soluble / insoluble, organic / measurements of various water quality inorganic components and its quality keeps on variables. The physico-chemical study could changing from time to time and place to place. help in understanding the structure and The contamination of water is directly linked to function of particular water body monitoring of the contamination of our environment. Potable ground water regime is an effort to obtain water is derived either from surface water information on ground water levels and (rivers, lakes, streams, ponds etc.) or ground chemical quality through representative water (aquifers, ranney wells etc.) However, sampling. Due to inadequate supply of surface water from either source is rarely fit for waters, most of the people in India are drinking19,20. depending mainly on groundwater resources Amroha is a ‘C’ class city of western Uttar for drinking and domestic, industrial, and Pradesh having a population more than 19 irrigation uses20,21. lakh as per the census of 2011. District Innumerable large towns and many cities in Amroha lies in the west of India derive water supply from groundwater for adjoining , Hapur, & Buland different uses through municipality network Shahar. The district consists of 1133 villages, and also from large number of private 3 Tehsils, 6 Blocks & 11 Police Stations. Its boreholes. About one billion people are geographical area is 2470 Sq. Km. Extending directly dependent upon groundwater from Latitute 28° 54’ North to 39° 6’ North and resources in Asia alone, and In India, most of Longitude 78° 28’ East to 78° 39’ East. The the population is dependent on groundwater maximum & minimum height from sea level as the only source of drinking water supply. are 240ft. and 177ft. respectively. In the north The groundwater is believed to be of the district lies district Bijnore, tehsil comparatively much clean and free from Sambhal of Moradabad is in the south, tehsil pollution than surface water. But prolonged Sadar of Moradabad is in the east and in the discharge of industrial effluents, domestic west are situated districts Meerut, sewage and solid waste dump causes the & Buland Shahar. Ganga river separates it groundwater to become polluted and created from district Ghaziabad, Meerut & Buland health problems. In recent years, because of Shahar. Amroha has gone through rapid continuous growth in population, rapid industrialization and population growth during industrialization and the accompanying last few decades. Some industries are causing technologies involving waste disposals, the underground water pollution in the area of our rate of discharge of the pollutants into the study and therefore, an attention is urgently environment is far higher than the rates of their needed. purification. The dependence on groundwater has increased tremendously in recent years in MATERIAL AND METHODS many parts of India. Hence, physico-chemical India Mark II (IM2) hand pump water at ten analysis of water is important to assess the different sites at Amroha district was collected. quality of groundwater in any basin and/or Standard methods and procedures were urban area that influences the suitability of followed for quantitative estimation of water water for domestic, irrigation, and industrial quality physico-chemical parameters. All the

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chemicals of Analytical Reagent (AR) grade to 1.010 μS/cm. The high value of conductivity were used, unless otherwise stated for in all of the samples is likely due to prolonged analytical purposes2,8,11. 1.5 liter polypropylene and intensive agricultural practices and bottles were used for water sample collection. geological conditions acquiring high Prior to sample collection, all bottles were concentrations of the dissolved minerals. washed with dilute acid followed by distilled The value of total solid is 750 to 1000 mg/L in water and were dried in an oven. Before taking area of study. The high TS may be attributed final water samples, the bottles were rinsed to use of salts during dyeing process. Total three times with the water to be collected. The Dissolved Solids of water refers to the sample bottles were labeled with date and inorganic salts and organic matter present in sampling source. Three samples of each site water which may be due to the presence of were collected, analyzed and arithmetic mean sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, of three values is reported here. A blank was carbonates, hydrogen carbonate and ions of also run for all volumetric titrations25,26. The chloride, sulfate and nitrate. Total Dissolved specifications of used instruments are Century Solids content of the drinking water samples CP 901 pH meter, RI Conductivity meter and collected from various sites showed a range Hach 2010(version 6.4) spectrophotometer. between 680 mg/L to 805 mg/L. However; all The estimated parameters are Temperature, the water samples showed higher TDS value pH, Conductivity, Total Solids, Total Dissolved from WHO guidelines i.e. 500 mg/L. In the Solids, Total Suspended Solids, Turbidity, present study, the range of total suspended Total Hardness, Calcium, Magnesium, solid is 45 to 205 mg/L in ground water Dissolved Oxygen, Biological Oxygen samples. Suspended solids containing much Demand, Chemical Oxygen Demand, organic matter may cause putrefaction and Chloride, Alkalinity, Phosphate and Sulphate7. consequently the stream may be devoid of A brief description of sampling sites is given in dissolved oxygen. Table 1. Dissolved Oxygen is an important for many chemical and biological processes taking RESULT AND DISCUSSION place in water. DO in water can decrease due Site-wise estimated values of seventeen to microbial activity, respiratory and organic physico-chemical parameters with their decay. Dissolved Oxygen value is an prescribed W.H.O. standards are presented in indicative of pollution in water and depicts an Table 2 (W.H.O. 1984). A critical analysis of inverse relationship with water temperature. the data revealed following facts regarding The permissible limit for DO as per WHO is 5 ground water quality at Amroha. mg/L. Drinking water samples collected from The temperature was in the range of 21.20C to various sites were found to contain DO levels 25.40C in the ground water sample. pH reveals ranging from 2.0 mg/L to 4.5 mg/L. All drinking if a solution is acidic or alkaline. pH of water water samples had DO within WHO beyond permissible range can affect mucous permissible limit. The amount of dissolved membrane of cells and cause corrosiveness in oxygen is irrelevant for ground water. water supply system. pH value determined for However, water sample are found to be all the water samples collected from selected deficient of oxygen. The oxygen-demanding sites was found in the range of 7.33 to 8.01. nature of biodegradable organics is of utmost All water samples were found to have high importance in natural water systems. In the value of pH from the limit of WHO i.e. 6.5 to present study, the BOD values in ground water 8.5. EC is the most important parameter to samples were 13 and 28 mg/L. The results demarcate salinity hazard and suitability of showed that the BOD values were higher in water for irrigation purpose. It signifies the almost all the sites in the study area. Chemical amount of total dissolved solid. The Turbidity Oxygen Demand test is quite useful in finding of any water sample is the reduction of out the pollution strength of industrial waste transparency due to the presence of and sewage. Chemical oxygen demand as is particulate matter such as lay or slit, finely the amount of oxygen required for a sample to divided organic matter, plankton and other oxidize at its organic and inorganic matter. In microscopic organisms. In the present study, the present study, the range of COD is 20 to the range of turbidity in the study area is 2.13 50 mg/L. Higher values of chemical oxygen to 5.40. EC values were in the range of 0.430 demand are noticed for all study area.

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Table 1: Details of sampling sites S.No. Site No. & Name Location of site Apparent water quality Usage 3.0 km North-East from Pale yellow on standing, 1 I, Amroha Block Drinking & Bathing Railway Station odourless 6.0 km West from Railway 2 II, Tehsil Amroha Colourless, odourless Drinking & Bathing Station III, Shah Vilayat Dargah 3 1.5 km South to site no. II Colourless, odourless Drinking & Bathing Square Pale yellow on standing, foul Drinking, Washing & 4 IV, Vashu Dev Tirth 2.5 km West to site no. III smell Bathing Pale yellow on standing, Drinking, Washing & 5 V, Railway Station 6.0 km East Tehsil odourless Bathing Pale yellow on standing, foul 6 VI, Lakra Square 4.0 km West to site no.II Drinking & Bathing smell Drinking, Washing & 7 VII, Bus Stop 6.0 km South to site no.II Colourless, odourless Bathing 7.0 km South-West to site Drinking, Washing & 8 VIII, Dhanora Bus Stop Colourless, odourless no.II Bathing 4.5km South-West from 9 IX, District Court Colourless, odourless Drinking & Bathing Railway Station Pale yellow on standing, 10 X, Nagar Palika Parishad 5.0 km South to site no.II Drinking & Bathing odourless 11 XI, Collectrate Amroha 0.5 km South to site no.IX Colourless, odourless Drinking & Bathing 2.0 km South from Railway 12 XII, Roadways Colourless, odourless Drinking & Bathing Station

Table 2: Site-wise estimated values of different physico-chemical parameters with their WHO standards Site Site Site Site Site Site Site Site Site Site Site WHO S.N Site Parameters No.I No.I No.I No. No. No.V No.VI No.I No. No. No.X Standar o. No.I I II V V VI II II X X XI II ds 1 Temperature(0C) 24.8 23.1 25.4 25 22.8 21.2 22.7 25.2 24.4 25.2 25.1 24.9 - 2 pH 7.72 7.68 7.43 7.33 7.95 7.70 7.39 8.01 7.85 7.55 7.60 7.45 - 3 Turbidity (NTU) 2.72 3.21 2.54 2.13 5.40 3.01 2.55 5.10 4.75 3.15 2.95 3.41 5 Conductivity(µS/ 0.78 0.79 0.67 0.58 0.97 0.53 0.50 1.00 0.63 0.53 0.43 4 1.010 0.300 cm) 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 5 0 Dissolved 5 4.12 3.52 2.5 3.06 3.7 4.4 4.5 2.0 2.43 3.8 2.8 3.2 5 Oxygen(mg/L) Biological 6 Oxygen 22 16 25 15 25 15 14 25 28 17 14 13 6 Demand(mg/L) Chemical 7 Oxygen 28 23 35 20 50 18 20 42 40 35 32 34 10 Demand(mg/L) Total 8 350 380 285 270 550 320 335 450 535 340 355 320 100 Hardness(mg/L) 9 Calcium(mg/L) 255 280 215 220 455 280 290 410 495 255 285 265 100 Magnesium(mg/ 10 95 100 70 50 95 40 45 40 40 85 70 55 30 L) Total 100 11 900 850 780 810 750 860 950 980 780 810 805 500 Solids(mg/L) 0 Total Dissolved 12 710 680 715 685 795 705 690 805 790 685 675 710 500 Solids(mg/L) Total Suspended 13 190 170 65 125 205 45 170 145 190 95 135 95 - Solids(mg/L) 14 Chloride(mg/L) 61 81 56 65 165 80 69 150 170 72 85 67 200 15 Alkalinity((mg/L) 235 238 240 210 300 180 225 320 280 160 185 310 100 16 Iron (mg/L) 0.31 0.23 0.28 0.21 0.70 0.33 0.20 0.65 0.61 0.51 0.30 0.25 0.1 17 Fluoride (mg/L) 0.32 0.50 0.40 0.63 0.62 0.30 0.21 0.53 0.41 0.21 0.11 0.17 1.0

The major sources of hardness in water are the range of hardness exceed permissible dissolved calcium and magnesium ions from WHO limits. Calcium content is very common sedimentary rocks whereas minor contribution in groundwater, because they are available in to the hardness of water is made by ions of most of the rocks, abundantly and directly aluminium, barium, manganese, iron, zinc etc. related to hardness. Calcium concentration The range of total hardness in all the drinking varies between 215 to 495 mg/L and found water samples was between 270 mg/L to 550 exceed permissible limit in many locations as mg/L. However, all the water samples showed per WHO. Magnesium usually occurs in lesser

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concentration than calcium due to the fact that purposes in the catchment area. This also the dissolution of magnesium rich minerals is shows that the water sources of the area are slow process. Magnesium concentration varies not protected properly. The water sources of between 40 to 100 mg/L which were found the area are not suitable for drinking, domestic most of samples exceed the prescribed limit and industrial as well as irrigation purposes (30 mg/L) as per WHO. The concentration of with respect to the physico-chemical calcium and magnesium in drinking water is parameters. It may be concluded that more than the permissible limit in area of underground water at Amroha is highly study, it causes unpleasant taste to the water. alkaline, very hard, highly polluted with organic The chloride concentration due to domestic and also highly polluted with reference to all sewage, fertilizers applications and/or leaching physico-chemical parameters studied. At from upper soil layers in semi arid climates. present that, Amroha city is losing its water Small amounts of chlorides are required for quality day by day. From the above chemical normal cell functions in plant and animal life. analysis we saw that most of the water Chloride concentration varies between 56 to parameters have already existed there 170 mg/L and found few samples exceed the tolerates limits. Still it has the time to control prescribed limit. Alkalinity of the samples is in the ground water pollution of the Amroha the range of 160-320 mg/L. The alkalinity district. levels of all the water samples are high thus, resisting acidification of the groundwater REFERENCES samples. Iron concentration in the 1. Antony Ravindran A. Azimuthal groundwater samples are varies from 0.20 to Square Array Resistivity Method and 0.70 mg/L which exceeds the permissible limit Ground water Exploration in of 0.1 mg/L as per WHO Standards. Sanganoor, Coimbatore District, The ground water samples exhibited high Iron Tamilnadu, India. Research Journal of contamination which is an indication of the Recent Sciences. 2012;1(4):41-45. presence ferrous salts that precipitate as 2. Apha AWWA. Standard methods for insoluble ferric hydroxide and settles out as the examination of water and rusty silt. High concentration of iron is may wastewater, American Public Health contributed by industrial estate located at the Association, Washington D.C. 1998. sampling site, Iron is an essential element in 3. Bhattacharya T, Chakraborty S and human nutrition. Exposure to excess Tuck Neha. Physico chemical consumption of fluoride over some period may Characterization of ground water of lead to increased chances of bone fractures, Anand district, Gujarat, India, I pain in bones and tenderness in adults. Young Research Journal of Environment children exposed to excess amounts of Sciences. 2012;1(1):28-33. fluoride have a chance of developing pits in 4. Caleb Adwangashi Tabwassah and tooth enamel. Fluoride levels ranging from Gabriel Ike Obiefun. Geophysical and 0.011 mg/L to 0.63 mg/L were detected in the Geotechnical Investigation of Cham drinking water samples. All drinking water Failed Dam Project, Ne Nigeria, samples had fluoride content within the range Research Journal of Recent Sciences, as suggested by WHO is 1.0 mg/L. 2012;1(2):1-18. 5. Freeda D and Rani Gnana. CONCLUSION Hydrochemistry of Ground Water of On the basis of discussion, Majority the Thirumanur Area, Tamilnandu (India), sources had high Fe-content exceeding the Journal of Environ. Science & Engg. WHO permissible limit in all the sites. Most of 2006;48(3):199-102. the parameters in the water sources of the 6. Garcia MG, Hidalgo Del VM, Blesa study area were found high value from the MA. Geochemistry of groundwater in WHO permissible limits. However, the alluvial plain of Tucuman province, increasing urbanization, leaching from Argentina’, Hydrogeology Journal. natural geological formations, domestic 2001;9:597–610. sewage and surface runoff from non-point 7. Goldman RC & Horne JA. Limnology. agricultural sources have affected New York: McGraw-Hill Book. 1983. concentration levels of the studied 8. Harley S. Water quality testing. constituents. A large portion of the Agriculture and agri-food Canada. contamination may be the outcome of growing 2002. human activities i.e., massive industrialization, 9. Jain CK and Sharma MK. Regression construction activities, utilization of agricultural analysis of ground water quality land and forest land for other developmental data of Sagar district, M. P. Indian

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