Chemical quality of groundwater in chaj doab

This paper addresses the chemical quality of groundwater in Chaj Doab, an inter fluvial area of the Punjab, where it is the primary source of drinking water. Therefore, its quality must meet certain standards, because elevated levels of different elements in drinking water have significant hazard for health. For this purpose, 83 shallow and 53 deep ground water samples were collected from different sampling stations, spread over the entire study-area, on quarterly basis. These were analyzed for their dissolved chemical constituents by atomic absorption spectrophotometry, UV-visible spectrophotometry and Ion-selective electrodes. Quality of groundwater is evaluated, with respect to bicarbonate (HCO/sub 3/), chloride (Cl), nitrate (NO/sub 3/), sulfate (SO/sub 4/) sodium (Na), potassium (K), calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg), by comparing observed values with WHO and EEC drinking-water standards. This comparison indicates that norms of good-quality drinking water are exceeded for EC, Na, K, Mg, Cl and SO/sub 4/ at several locations. Concentrations of some parameters even more than the Maximum Admissible concentration have been observed. This study clearly indicates an increasing trend of nitrate concentrations. (author)