Assessment of Heavy Metals in Ground Water of Different Locations of National Capital Region, Delhi, India

Abstract

The quality of ground water in any region of the world entirely depends on different types of chemical constituents and their concentration levels in surrounding environment or dissolved in water. The main aim of this study was to assess some basic hydro-chemical parameters and heavy metals in ground water of National Capital Region (NCR), India. Thus, we have collected ground water samples from different sources viz., Najafargarh (NG), Bindapur (BP), Dwarka (BC and BG), Uttam Nagar (UN) and Sonipat (SP) in the NCR and analyzed electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), salinity, Arsenic (As), Chromium (Cr), Copper (Cu), Cadmium (Cd), Nickel (Ni), Zinc (Zn), and Lead (Pb). The values of EC, TDS and salinity across the study sites range from 0.32 to 11.41 mS/cm, 233 to 8100 ppm and 154 to 6310 ppm respectively. Whereas, the mean level of heavy ion concentration in ground water was in the sequence of Zn > Ni > Cr > Pb > As > Cu > Cd across the study sites. It has been concluded that, except for Uttam Nagar, ground water from all study sites is contaminated with heavy metals like Zn, Ni, Cr, Pb and As. Therefore, the ground water from study sites that are polluted is unfit for drinking purpose and may pose health risks.