environments Article Physicochemical and Bacteriological Analysis of Water Quality in Drought Prone Areas of Pune and Satara Districts of Maharashtra, India Rutuja Dhawde 1, Nuzhat Surve 1, Ragini Macaden 2, Aina Charlotte Wennberg 3, Isabel Seifert-Dähnn 3, Appasaheb Ghadge 4 and Tannaz Birdi 1,* 1 The Foundation for Medical Research, 84A, R.G. Thadani Marg, Worli, Mumbai 400018, India;
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[email protected] (N.S.) 2 St. Johns Research Institute, 100 Feet Rd, John Nagar, Koramangala, Bangalore 560034, India;
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[email protected] (I.S.-D.) 4 The Foundation for Research in Community Health, 3-4, Trimiti-B Apartments, 85, Anand Park, Aundh, Pune 411007, India;
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[email protected]; Tel.: +91-22-2493-4989 or +91-22-2493-8601 Received: 19 April 2018; Accepted: 15 May 2018; Published: 18 May 2018 Abstract: Drinking water quality is determined by the water’s biological, chemical, and physical features. Water sampling was carried out in 20 villages in the Pune and Satara districts of Maharashtra, with 15 falling in a low rainfall zone. Samples were collected from rivers, open wells, and bore wells, four times in a period of a year covering all seasons. A total of 206 water samples were analyzed for their physical, chemical, and bacteriological properties. Physical and chemical properties were expressed in the form of a modified Water Quality Index (WQI). Additionally, the modified WQI was compared to an Overall Pollution Index (OIP) for rivers.