Studies On Geochemical Distribution And Contamination Assessment Of Metals In The Water Of Kollam District, Kerala

Abstract

The water quality was investigated in the Kollam District, Kollam, to ensure the continuous supply of clean and safe drinking water for the public health protection. In this regard, a detailed physical and chemical analysis of drinking water samples was carried out in different residential and commercial areas of the state. A number of parameters such as pH, turbidity, conductivity, total suspended solids (TSS), total dissolved solids (TDS), and heavy metals were analysed for each water sample collected during the period (September 2020 to August 2021). The obtained values of each parameter were compared with the standard values set by the World Health Organization (WHO) and local standards BIS. The values of each parameter were found to be within the safe limits set by the WHO and BIS. Overall, the water from all the locations was found to be safe as drinking water. However, it is also important to investigate other potential water contaminations such as chemicals and microbial and radiological materials for a longer period of time, including human body fluids, in order to assess the overall water quality of Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu. This study investigates the physico-chemical and bacteriological characteristics of 32 water samples with respect to WHO standards. The water samples were collected from wells, boreholes and small drinking water supply systems (DWS) in and around the township of Kollam. The Water Quality Index (WQI) tool was used to assess the overall water quality with different physico-chemical parameters. Where the pH of the samples was acceptable, the samples showed higher levels of mineralization and deoxygenation.