International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 3 Issue 3 No 4 – June 2012
ASSESSMENT OF GROUND WATER QUALITY IN KOVILAMBAKKAM
BivinBabu 1, Ashwin2 Sharmilaa.G 3
Department of Civil Engineering, Bharath University,
173, Agaram Road, Selaiyur, Tambaram,Chennai-73,India.
Abstract
The study was performed for the underground water quality collected at ten different sites at
kovilambakkam. The physico chemical analyzed parameters include pH, total,dissolved solids,
total, alkalinity and hardness, chloride, floride, iron,nitrate and phosphate.The results were
compared with the values of various water quality standards such as World Health Organisation
(WHO).
Introduction
Water quality refers to the chemical and physical characteristics of water. It is a measure of the
condition of water relative to the requirements of human or any species in need. It is most
frequently used by reference to a set of standards. The most common standards used to assess
water quality relate to health of ecosystems, safety of human contact and drinking water.Water
quality parameters of underground water at different locations in Kovilambakkam,Chennai,
Tamilnadu, were determined by using different analytical methods. The study was performed for
the underground water collected at ten different sites. The results were compared with the values
of various water quality standards such as World Health Organisation (WHO).
Materials and Methods
Sampling sites
A total of ten samplesfrom different placeswere collected to carry out a broad study on the
quality of water in this area.
Water sampling procedure
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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 3 Issue 3 No 4 – June 2012
Plastic bottles of 1.5 liter capacity with stopper were used for collecting samples. Each bottle
was washed with 2% Nitric acid and then rinsed three times with distilled water. The bottles
were then preserved in a clean place. The bottles were filled leaving no air space, and then the
bottle was sealed to prevent any leakage. Each container was clearly marked with the name and
date of sampling.
Methodology
The samples collected on a day were immediately processed for physiochemical and
bacteriological analysis as per standard methods.The samples were analyzed for different
parameters. The physico chemical analyzed parameters include pH, total,dissolved solids, total,
alkalinity and hardness, chloride, floride, iron,nitrate and phosphate and tabulated in table 2.
Water Quality Index
The water quality index (WQI) gives overall quality of water on the basis of large number of
physico-chemical characteristics of water.Water Quality Index (WQI) is a most efficient method
for assessing the quality of water. Water Quality Index (WQI) is a tool for communicating the
information on overall quality of water and rates the quality of each sample locations. It acts as
the perfect indicator of the quality of the water. It was first proposed by Horton (1965) to
determine the suitability of the groundwater for drinking purposes. Analyzed groundwater
sample data are tabulated in Table1. WQI is computed adopting the following formula.
n
 Wi q i
WQI 
i 1
n
 Wi
i 1
Where, W is the unit weightage factor computed using the following equation, Wn  K / S n and
K is the proportionality constant derived from,


1
K 
n1
  
 n 1 S i
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



 
 
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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 3 Issue 3 No 4 – June 2012
where S n and S i are the Bureau of Indian Standard values of the water quality parameter (Table
2). Quality rating is calculated using the formula,
 V
 Videal  
q ni   actual
 x100
 Vs tan dard  Videal  
Where, qni is the quality rating of ith parameter for a total of n number of water quality
parameters. Vactual is the value of the water quality parameter obtained from laboratory analysis.
Videal is the value of the water quality parameter can be obtained from the standard tables.
Videal for pH is 7,and Dissolved Oxygen is 14.6 mg/lit and for other parameters it is equivalent to
zero. V s tan dard is the BIS standard of the water quality parameter. Based on the WQI values, the
water quality is rated as excellent, good, poor, very poor, and unfit for human consumption
(Table 1).
Table 1 : Quality rating of water on the basis of WQI (by Tiwari and Mishra, 1985)
WATER QUALITY INDEX
DESCRIPTION
0-25
Excellent
26-50
Good
51-75
Poor
76-100
Very Poor
>100
Unfit For Drinking
Table 3 Water Quality Index Ranges in the Kovilambakkam
Results and Discussion
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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 3 Issue 3 No 4 – June 2012
The study area has pH ranging from 6.3 – 7.5. All sampling sites have a normal pH value. Total
alkalinity of water varied from 380 – 500 mg/l. . Total hardness was found in the sample water
ranges from 340 -700 mg/l, which is not in the permissible limits.The results of water
investigation show that the waters of the study area are highly contaminated with total dissolved
solids. As a result of high concentration of TDS, water loses its pot ability and reduces the
solubility of oxygen in water.The nitrate level in the study area are within the permissible limit.
Chlorides also have high values and are greater than the permissible limit
Table 2Water quality parameters
All the
Sample No
parameters
are in
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
7.5
6.3
7.4
7.4
7.3
7.4
7
7.3
7.1
7.5
510
410
400
400
380
420
380
350
370
420
1753
1030
1520
1562
1670
1740
1550
1335
1400
1560
500
340
600
750
620
600
550
600
530
700
Chlorides
340
110
300
300
240
360
500
280
330
320
Nitrate
44
20
25
20
20
25
30
20
20
25
Fluoride
1.5
1
.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
Phosphate
5
3
.3
0.5
0.5
2
0.5
0.5
0.5
5
Iron
BDL
BDL
BDL
BDL
BDL
BDL
BDL
BDL
BDL
BDL
mg/l,except
pH
pH
Total
Alkalinity
Total
Dissoved
solids
Total
Hardness
BDL-Below detection Limit
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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 3 Issue 3 No 4 – June 2012
Table 3 Water Quality Index Ranges in the Kovilambakkam
sample
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
WQI
37.24
23.21
13.43
85.76
20.16
13.42
13.68
87.92
13.69
12.31
Conclusion
The ground water samples collected from the various places in kovilambakkam were analyzed
for variousphysicochemical parameters. The general observation from the results is that the
water is considerable for drinking and all other domestic purposes. Overall contribution of the
parameters says that the groundwater quality is not bad throughout the study area. As per the
study, the TDS values are high than the prescribed values of WHO but this can be controlled
using reverse osmosis methods.
References
[1] APHA.Standard methods of the examination of water and waste water (18th edu).American
Public HealthAssociation, New York, 1998, 11-20.
[2] BIS, Specification for drinking water. Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi 1998, 171-178.
[3] Jain C.K and etal.Assesment of ground water quality for drinking water purpose, District
Nainital, Utarkhanda,India, Environ monit Assess, springer, (2009) 166,663-673
[4] Rajgopal; Groundwater quality assessment for public policy in India.1st Annual report.
Department ofgeography, IOWA University, IOWA.1984, 10-11.
[5] Trivedi R.K. and Goel P.K. ; Chemical and Biological methods for water and soil pollution
studies, Environmental publication, India (1986)
[6] Vogel’s Text Book of Quantitative Chemical Analysis, Jeffery G.H, Basset J, mendham J and
Denny RC, 5thEd, ELBS, 1989.
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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 3 Issue 3 No 4 – June 2012
[7] WHO, World Health Organisation, International Standard Standards for Drinking Water,
Geneva, Switzerland,1992.
[8] World Health Organization, Group on the Water Quality Studies, 1984. Geneva, a Guide for
Collection and Interpretation of Water Quality Data. Geneva, Vol. 3, pp. 18-20
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