Nature Environment and Pollution Technology ISSN: 0972-6268 Vol. 11 No. 2 pp. 293-296 2012 An International Quarterly Scientific Journal Original Research Paper Assessment of Some Physico-Chemical Characteristics and Heavy Metals in Some Groundwater Samples Along the Budhi Gandak Belt of Muzaffarpur District During Monsoon Season S. Mumtazuddin, A. K. Azad and Manoj Kumar University Department of Chemistry, B.R.A. Bihar University, Muzaffarpur-842 001, Bihar, India ABSTRACT Nat. Env. & Poll. Tech. Website: www.neptjournal.com This paper presents quality of water samples from bored tube wells at different sites along the Budhi Gandak Received: 20/11/2011 belt from Akharaghat to Musahari in Muzaffarpur district of Bihar state during monsoon season of 2011. The Accepted: 24/12/2011 parameters such as pH, conductivity, TDS, DO, total hardness, alkalinity, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium and chloride as well as heavy metals such as Cu, Zn, Fe and As have been studied. TDS of Key Words: almost all samples exceeded the maximum permissible limit of WHO. Iron was also found much above the Groundwater quality maximum permissible limit in nearly all the samples. The water samples along Budhi Gandak belt under Heavy metals study have arsenic contamination in some samples which even much exceeded the maximum permissible Budhi Gandak belt limit at certain sites. The arsenic contamination in the groundwater of this area is serious concern for human Muzaffarpur health. INTRODUCTION for the death of more than 14,000 people daily. An estimated 700 million Indians have no access to a proper toilet, and Water has always been an important and life-sustaining drink 1,000 Indian children die of diarrheal sickness every day. to humans and is essential to the survival of all organisms. Thus, having water samples tested regularly is the only way Excluding fat, water comprises approximately 70% of the to be sure that the groundwater is not contaminated. human body by mass. It is a crucial component of metabolic processes and serves as a solvent for many bodily solutes. In continuation of our earlier work (Mumtazuddin et al. Water is not only one of the most essential commodities of 2009, 2009, 2011), we have, in the present work, studied our day-to-day life, but the development of this natural quality of water samples from bored tube wells at different resource also plays a crucial role in economic and social stations along the Budhi Gandak belt from Akharaghat to development processes. Groundwater is an invisible natural Musahari in Muzaffarpur district of Bihar state during resource and is present in the dark pores and fissures of sands monsoon season in 2011 with respect to water quality pa- and rocks of the upper portion of the earth’s crust (Kumar et rameters such as Na, K, Ca, Mg, Cu, Zn, Fe and As besides al. 2010). Groundwater, which is the water that remains under several physico-chemical parameters such as pH, TDS, EC, the ground and is tapped into to provide drinking water for TH, DO, alkalinity and chloride and comparisons have been homes is generally polluted by the activities that occur just made with a series of national and international standards above it. Groundwater pollution is harder to recognize until for drinking water. after illness has occurred. People are the number one cause of MATERIALS AND METHODS groundwater pollution and it has been major problem in the global context (Trivedi & Gurdeep 1992). Water is typically Water samples of bored tube wells were collected from 21 referred to as polluted when it is impaired by anthropogenic different sites of different regions along the Budhi Gandak contaminants and either does not support a human use, like belt from Akharaghat to Musahari in Muzaffarpur district serving as drinking water, or undergoes a marked shift in its during monsoon season in 2011. The samples were collected ability to support its constituent biotic communities, such as in precleaned polythene bottles with necessary precautions fish. Natural phenomena such as volcanoes, algae blooms, (APHA 1996). The pH and DO were measured at the sam- storms and earthquakes also cause major changes in water pling sites. The other parameters like total hardness (TH), quality and the ecological status of water. calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, iron, copper, zinc It has been suggested that water pollution is the leading and arsenic were estimated by using standard methods worldwide cause of deaths and diseases, and that it accounts (APHA 1996, De 2010).. 294 S. Mumtazuddin et al. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Table 1: Methods used for physico-chemical analysis of water samples. pH: The pH of water is an important indication of its qual- Parameters Methods employed ity and provides significant information in many types of pH pH meter geochemical equilibrium solubility calculations (Hem 1975). Electrical Conductivity (EC) Conductivity/ TDS meter The pH of the groundwater in the study area varied from Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Conductivity/ TDS meter 7.10 to 7.71. The pH values of the samples under study are Dissolved Oxygen (DO) DO meter well within the limits prescribed by BIS and WHO for vari- Total Hardness(TH) EDTA Titration Total Alkalinity (TA) Neutralising with standard ous uses of water including drinking and other domestic sup- HCl (Titration ) plies. Calcium EDTA Titration Electrical conductivity (EC): Electrical conductivity is di- Magnesium By Calculation Sodium Flame photometer rectly related to the concentration of ionized substance in Potassium Flame photometer water and may also be related to problems of excessive hard- Chloride Titration by AgNO3 ness and mineral contamination which is measure of salin- Copper UV-Visible spectrophotometer ity that affects the taste of potable water. It depends upon Zinc UV-Visible spectrophotometer Iron UV-Visible spectrophotometer temperature, concentration and types of ions present as stud- Arsenic UV-Visible spectrophotometer ied earlier in our research work. The EC varied from 565 to 1230 µS/cm. All the samples were above the permissible limit of WHO. felspar as well as due to the weathering process. Total dissolved solids (TDS): As groundwater moves and Magnesium: The magnesium concentration varied from 6.2 stays for a longer time in its flow path, increase in total dis- mg/L to 26.1 mg/L. All the samples were within the permis- solved concentrations of major ions normally occur (Norris sible limit of WHO. et al. 1992). Higher TDS show longer residence period of Sodium: The sodium concentration varied from 21.56 mg/L water (Davies et al. 1996). The principal ions contributing to 95.62 mg/L in the study area. All the samples fall within to TDS are bicarbonate, carbonate, chloride, sulphate, ni- the permissible limit of WHO. trate, sodium, calcium and magnesium (EPA 1976). The TDS Potassium: Potassium is an essential element for humans, of the groundwater in the study area varied from 305 to 710 plants and animals and is derived in food chain mainly from mg/L. Out of 21 samples, 8 samples were found to be above vegetation and soil. The main sources of potassium in the maximum permissible limit of WHO. groundwater include rain water, weathering of potash sili- Total hardness: Calcium and magnesium along with their cate minerals, use of potash fertilizers and use of surface water carbonates, sulphates and chlorides make the water hard in for irrigation. It is more abundant in sedimentary rocks and groundwater. The water hardness is primarily due to the re- commonly present is felspar, mica and other clay minerals. sult of interaction between water and geological formations. The potassium concentration ranged from 2.86 mg/L to 22.12 Total hardness in the study area varied from 145 mg/L to mg/L in the groundwater samples. When compared with Eu- 330 mg/L in the groundwater. ropean Union (EU) standards, the concentration of potas- Dissolved oxygen: DO is an important parameter for water sium exceeded in one sample location. The potassium con- purity. DO content varied from 3.4 mg/L to 5.8 mg/L. The centration in water is low because of high degree of stability fluctuations in DO values indicate its dependence on tem- of potassium bearing minerals. perature besides the influence of sources due to different Chloride: The concentration of chloride in the study area chemical and biological processes taking place. ranged from 22.8 mg/L to 235.6 mg/L and hence, all the Total alkalinity: The presence of carbonates, bicarbonates samples under study fall within the desirable limit of 250 and hydroxides is the main cause of alkalinity in natural mg/L of WHO. The limits of chloride have been laid down waters. Bicarbonates represent the major factor since they primarily from taste considerations. A limit of 250 mg/L are formed in considerable amount from the action of car- chloride has been recommended as desirable limit and 1000 bonates upon the basic materials in the soil. The alkalinity mg/L as the permissible limit for drinking water (BIS 1991, value in the groundwater varied from 165 mg/L to 310 mg/L. WHO 1996). However, no adverse health effects on humans have been reported from intake of waters containing even Calcium: The calcium content of water samples fluctuated higher content of chloride (Shrivastava & Nemade 1997). in the range of 39 mg/L to 110 mg/L. The results show that nearly 33% of the samples exceeded the limit of WHO. The Copper: Copper in drinking water arises from corrosive presence of calcium is due to interaction of minerals like action of water and leaching of Cu from copper pipes (Adak Vol. 11, No. 2, 2012 · Nature Environment and Pollution Technology PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES AND HEAVY METALS IN GROUNDWATER 295 Table 2: Physico-chemical parameters and heavy metals in groundwater samples.