Groundwater quality assessment for drinking purpose in Vijayawada Region, Andhra Pradesh, India

Abstract

— The quality of groundwater is an important parameter for domestic and industrial usage. Due to rapid development in the urban infrastructure and increased anthropogenic activities as the new capital of Andhra Pradesh state is announced near Vijayawada, the quality of groundwater in the Vijayawada region is getting affected from the past few years. This article analyses the ground water quality in Vijayawada region using the groundwater data taken from the Groundwater and Water Audit department. These data were taken from 29 bore wells during pre-monsoon (May) and post-monsoon (November) seasons from 2013 to 2017. The authors have collected another set of samples from the same set of bore wells during February 2019. The collected groundwater samples were tested for various water quality parameters such as pH, total dissolved solids, total hardness, chlorides, sulphates, calcium and magnesium as per IS 3025 (1984). Water quality index is a quality rating reflecting the effect of each water quality parameter on the overall water quality. The groundwater quality in the Vijayawada region is presented in terms of water quality index against the IS 10500 (2012) specifications for drinking water and recommended the remedial measures to improve the groundwater quality.