Assessment of water quality around coal-fired thermal power plant, Bathinda (Punjab), India

Abstract

In the present study, both the underground and surface water samples around Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Power Plant Bathinda, Punjab, having total installed capacity of 440MW, were analyzed for the physico-chemical parameters viz. pH, Electrical Conductivity (EC), Total Dissolved Solid (TDS), Total Hardness (TH), Calcium (Ca2+), Magnesium (Mg2+), Total Alkalinity (TA), Carbonate (CO32-), Bicarbonate (HCO3-), Chloride (Cl-), Phosphate (PO43-), Nitrate (NO3-), Fluoride (F-) and heavy metals such as Cadmium (Cd), Copper (Cu), Lead(Pb), Nickel (Ni) and Zinc (Zn). The correlation coefficients (r) among various water quality parameters of studied underground water samples were calculated. The physical and chemical parameters of groundwater are compared with the drinking water quality standards recommended by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) (2012) and World Health Organization (WHO) (2017). On the basis of results obtained in the present study, concentration of Chloride (Cl-), Magnesium (Mg2+), Fluoride (F-) and Total  dissolved solids (TDS) observed in ground water of Bathinda varied from 30 to 284 mg/l, 120 to 280 mg/l, 2.66-3.99 mg/l and 620-1439 mg/l, respectively which are exceeding the acceptable limits prescribed by WHO (2017) as well as BIS (2012). Also, the concentration of heavy metals viz. cadmium (0.366 to 0.437 mg/l), and lead (0.193 to 0.353 mg/l) have higher levels than prescribed by WHO and BIS for drinking purpose. Thus, groundwater is not suitable for drinking purposes with prior treatment.