Available online a t www.scholarsresearchlibrary.com Scholars research library Archives of Applied Science Research, 2011, 3 (5):498-505 (http://scholarsresearchlibrary.com/archive.html) ISSN 0975-508X CODEN (USA) AASRC9 Studies on some selected chemical parameters of Siddheshwar reservoir of Maharashtra Shaikh Parveen R and Bhosle Arjun B School of Earth Sciences, Swami Ramanand Teerth Marathwada University, Vishnupuri, Nanded (Maharashtra) India ______________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT Water is vital for all aspects of human and ecosystem survival and health .Thus, its quality is also important. Water quality refers to the composition of water samples because, their high concentration make the water unsuitable for drinking purpose. Present study reports the concentration of ions such as Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium, Potassium, Chloride, Phosphate and Sulphate from Siddheshwar reservoir, Hingoli district of Maharashtra state. The analysis has been carried out during June 2009 to May 2010. Water of this dam is mostly useful for drinking, domestic, agricultural, aquaculture, and industrial purposes. The observed values were compared with standard permissible limit as prescribed by various organizations. Keywords : Chemical analysis, Drinking water, Reservoir. ______________________________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION Water is one of the abundantly available substances in nature. It is essential constituent of all animal and plants materials. It forms about 75% of earth crust [14]. All natural water contains dissolved ionic constituents based on numerous analyses of surface and ground waters from all over the country. It has been found that the bicarbonates, sulphates and chlorides of calcium, magnesium and sodium are major ionic species present in most waters. Some of the minor ions are Al, NH 4, PO 4, CO 3, Fe, Mn, F, SO 3, S, etc. Typically the major and minor ionic species present are derived from the contact of the water with various mineral deposits [5]. The sources of biocarbonates, sulphates and chlorides of calcium, magnesium and sodium found in natural waters are the desolution of lime stone, marble, chalk, calcite, dolomite, magnesite, dolomitic limestone, white salts (the baking soda), gypsum, alabaster, selenite, minerals containing calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate, potassium sulphate, potassium chloride, 498 Scholars research library Shaikh Parveen R et al Arch. Appl. Sci. Res., 2011, 3 (5):498-505 ______________________________________________________________________________ Magnesium sulphate, natural brines, and byproducts of chemical industries. Potassium, usually present in small amounts, is derived from soil minerals, decaying organic matter and from the ashes of burned plants and trees [12]. Study Area Siddheshwar dam have been constructed on river Purna at Siddheshwar village in the Hingoli district of Maharashtra state. The river Purna, a tributary of Godavari river rises in the hills of Aurangabad district and after a winding course of about 250 miles, it joins Godavari below Purna (railway junction). Siddheshwar dam serves as an important source of several benefits and facilities to the region of Hingoli, Parbhani and Nanded districts. This has been selected for carrying out the present research work. It is situated at northern part of Marathwada region of Maharashtra. Figure 1: Location of Siddheshwar dam near Hingoli. MATERIALS AND METHODS Table 1: Following are methods used for chemical parameter analysis with its permissible limits. Sr. No. Parameters Method of Determination Permissible Limit (mg/L) 1 Ca EDTA-Titrometric 75.0 2 Mg EDTA-Titrometric 30.0 3 Na Flame Photometer 30.0 4 K Flame Photometer - 5 Cl Argentometric 250 6 PO 4 Ammonium Molybdate (spectrophotometer) 5 7 SO 4 Barium chloride (spectrophotometer) 150 The present investigation work has been undertaken for the systematic analysis of few chemical parameters of this dam. The water samples were collected from two sampling sites and named S 1 and S 2. The sampling site S 1 is near the wall of reservoir and S 2 is near the pump house. The water sampling was carried out once in a month. Water containers were cleaned properly before use. The selected chemical parameters were estimated by the standard methods as given in 499 Scholars research library Shaikh Parveen R et al Arch. Appl. Sci. Res., 2011, 3 (5):498-505 ______________________________________________________________________________ APHA [1]. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The results obtained from the analysis of water samples of Siddheshwar reservoir are systematically given in table 2. A comparison of the chemical characteristics of water samples has been made with drinking water quality standards as quoted in table 1. Major Cations Vijayakumara et. al. (2005) observed calcium ranged from 8.60 – 94.10 mg/L 75.25 – 124 mg/L in surface and sub-surface water of Bhadra River respectively in June-December 2002. Mane et. al. (2010) obtained calcium values ranged between 22.82 – 69.87 mg /L from Yeoti Lake of Maharashtra during the study period of June 2009 – May 2010 . Jawale and Patil (2009) analysed Mangrul dam water, Jalgaon during November 2006-October 2007. They observed magnesium maximum 30.19 mg/L in December and minimum 6.33 mg/L in October. Also found at site I maximum 27.27mg/L in December and lowest 7.3 mg/L in June at site II. Helen et. al. (2011) observed magnesium content ranged from 12 to 187 mg/L during September 2009-March 2010 from coconut husk retting area near Parakkani river, Tamil Nadu. Sawant and Telave (2009) observed sodium concentration ranged from 7 to 30 mg/L, 43 to 82 mg/L, 54 to 92 mg/L and 9 to 25 mg/L from Mumewadi, Gijwane, Nool and Mahagaon reservoirs of Gadhinglaj Tahsil , Maharashtra respectively during the period of 2006-2007. Mahadev et.al. (2010) observed sodium ranged from 7.2 mg/L to 28 mg/L from Cauvery river, Mysore, Karnataka during October 2007 – November, 2008. Potassium levels started from 4.4mg/L in April and increased gradually each month until January up to 18 mg/L and 17 mg/L and then dropped back to 9.5 mg/L and 7.6 mg/L in March for selected Site 1 and Site 2 of Yarseli lake, respectively. The average potassium levels were 9 mg/L reported by Tepe et. al. (2005) during their study period April 2003 to April 2004. Ameh and Akpah (2011) observed the potassium concentration minimum as 3.40 mg/L and maximum as 7.80 mg/L with an average 4.9657 mg/L from Pov Pov river, Kogi state, Nigeria in the year 2009. In the present study, calcium varies from 17.95 to 100.2 mg/L and 28.05 to 90.18 mg/L with an average 46.14 mg/L and 53.9 mg/L for S1 and S 2 respectively. In the winter season calcium ions were above the prescribed limit i.e.75 mg/L.Dilution during monsoon may explain low concentration of calcium. The important source of calcium is dissolution of small quantities of carbonate minerals. Calcium is very important element influencing the flora of ecosystem which plays potential role in metabolism and growth. The concentration of the magnesium ions in the water samples are ranged from 0.244 to 43.92 mg/L and 0.976 to 31.72 mg/L for S 1 and S 2 respectively. All the values are below permissible limit except in the month of January may be due to post monsoon season. The more magnesium in water adversely affects the crop yields. 500 Scholars research library Shaikh Parveen R et al Arch. Appl. Sci. Res., 2011, 3 (5):498-505 ______________________________________________________________________________ The maximum concentration of Sodium in present study found as 22.6 and 21.9 mg/L for sampling site S 1 and S 2 respectively. The minimum sodium content was 18.3 mg/L for both the samples during monsoon season. The excess amount of sodium in drinking water is harmful to persons suffering from cardiac, renal and circulatory diseases. Also it is important in irrigation water because it reacts with soil to reduce its permeability. Potassium (K) ranks seventh among the elements in the order of abundance. The concentration of potassium content was in the range of 8.5 to 9.2 mg/L and 7.9 to 9.0 mg/L for samples S 1 and S2 respectively. Potassium cations important in nervous system. Major Anions Toshniwal et.al. (2005), found chloride value in between 12.1mg/L to 54.2mg/L which were less as compared with standard permitted by ISI i.e. 250mg/L from Jayakwadi dam, Paithan (MS), India in the period of March-May 2005. Yadav and Kumar, (2011), investigated chloride values ranged from 18 to 88mg/L from river Kosi in Rampur district, Uttar Pradesh. The maximum chloride content was due to addition of natural contaminants and pollutants. Dhanalakshmi et. al. (2008), studied water quality of Sulur pond at Coimbatore during October 2001 to September 2002. They found phosphate concentration ranged between 1.30 – 1.90 mg/L. Shubhachandra et. al. (2006) analyzed water quality of Purna river, Maharashtra during July 2001 – June 2002. The observed phosphate values fluctuated between the range of 0.96 – 1.90 mg/L, 1.20-2.0 mg/L and 1.60-2.30 mg/L at upstream, midstream and downstream respectively . The highest phosphate content in summer season due to agricultural run-off and domestic sewage. Narayana et. al. (2008) recorded sulphate content ranged from 32.98 – 78.5 mg/Lin Anjanpur reservoir during November 2005 to October 2006 seasonwise. Alaa and Werner (2010) obtained sulphate values ranged from 34.16 mg/L to 68.12 mg/L from six sites along the river Nile, Egypt during July 2009-June 2010. In the present investigation, the concentration of the chloride in the water samples ranged from 30 to 48 mg/L and 32 to 60 mg/L for S 1 and S 2 respectively .All chloride values are below the permissible limits.