R.K. Lalrinzuali and R.K. Aggarwal
Abstract
The present study emphasizes on groundwater quality assessment and working out the interrelationship between various physico-chemical parameters and potentially toxic elements in low-hills of Himachal Pradesh. The study was conducted in industrial areas of two districts and a total of 240 groundwater samples were collected during 2020-2022 from borewells and handpumps and analyzed 21 parameters such as temperature, turbidity, TDS, EC, pH, DO, BOD, alkalinity, sulphate, nitrate, sodium, calcium, total hardness, chloride, magnesium, manganese, iron, zinc, copper, chromium, and lead. The study area was divided into five locations in both the districts and samples were taken during pre-monsoon and postmonsoon to check the seasonal variation. The estimated values were then compared with drinking water quality standards prescribed by BIS and location-wise WQI value was calculated. The results showed that in both the districts, the physico-chemical parameters under study were within the permissible limits. The WQI values range from 43.85 to 25.85 in district Sirmaur and 39.18 to 25.60 in district Una. In both the districts, the WQI lies under the good to excellent category and were suitable for human consumption. Location-wise, the highest WQI value was highest around the industries followed by samples within the industry > along the main highway > residential areas, and the lowest value was in the control which was the samples taken from the Department of Irrigation and Public Health supply. Seasonal-wise, the concentration of the physico-chemical parameters as well as the WQI was higher during post-monsoon than pre-monsoon.