The hydro - chemical and microbial analysis of ground water samples in two different districts of Madurai and Virudhunagar Districts, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

Ground water samples of open well and bore wells collected from different places in Madurai and Virudhunagar Districts were analyzed for their hydro – chemical characteristics and microbial studies. The ground water samples were studied during the month July 2014 from different villages. The various constituents monitored include the hydro – chemical characters like pH, alkalinity, hardness, chloride, total dissolved solids, fluoride, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate and residual chlorine. Each parameter was compared with the standard permissible limit of the parameter as prescribed by World Health Organization (WHO). The water analysis reflected that out of 10 samples 2 are under acceptable quality. However in water samples from all the sites, microbial count exceeded the recommended permissible level of WHO. The study reveals that in few areas, water has high hardness, TDS, fluoride and nitrate content. Hence, ground water must be used for drinking after proper treatments viz., softening and defluoridation