STUDIES ON SEASONAL VARIATION OF GROUND WATER QUALITY USING MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS FOR BIDAR URBAN & ITS INDUSTRIAL AREA (KARNATAKA-STATE, INDIA)

Abstract

In this study the seasonal variability of groundwater quality parameters in Bidar urban and its industrial area are investigated. Three water samples each from 35 wards were collected and subjected for physico-chemical analysis. Average of the three samples represents each ward data. Analysis was done for pre-monsoon and post-monsoon seasons of the years 2009, 2010 & 2011. Seventeen physico-chemical parameters viz., pH, total hardness, calcium, magnesium, chloride, nitrate, sulfate, total dissolved solids, iron, fluoride, sodium, potassium, alkalinity, manganese, zinc, dissolved oxygen & total solids were analyzed. Factor analysis is applied on the data set to investigate the origin of the water pollution sources. FA yielded three factors for each season (combined pre-monsoon & combined post-monsoon) with 62.8% and 61.6 % total variance respectively; in addition FA identifies anthropogenic factor (i.e., industrial, urban sewage and agricultural drainage) and natural factor (top soil mixture with water and percolation, weathering of ground strata) as latent pollution sources. Hierarchical cluster analysis grouped 35 sampling stations of Bidar urban into three clusters, i.e., relatively less polluted (LP), and moderately polluted (MP) and highly polluted (HP) sites, based on the similarity of water quality characteristics.