Assessment of fluoride contamination in groundwater from Basara, Adilabad District, Telangana State, India

Abstract

The major objective of this study was to locate the vulnerable areas in terms of fluoride contamination. A total of 34 groundwater samples were collected from major drinking water sources in rural areas of Basara, Telangana, and studied with reference to the distribution and hydrogeochemistry of fluoride. The geochemical trend of groundwater in the study area demonstrates that sodium is the dominant cation (Na+ > Ca2+ > Mg2+ > K+) and chloride is the dominant anion (Cl– > HCO3– > SO42– > CO32– > NO3– > F–). The fluoride concentration varied from 0.06 to 4.33 (1.13 ± 0.90) mg L−1 with the highest fluoride level at Karegaon village (4.33 mg L−1). Seven locations showed the presence of fluoride in excess of permissible levels.