Assessment of Trace Element Concentrations in Groundwater Sources of a Rural Village in Kerala, India

Abstract

Water is an essential part of all living organisms. India is already experiencing the effects of the impending global freshwater crisis in terms of water quantity and quality. The study, which was carried out in a rural village (Villiappally Gramapanchayath) in Kerala, sought to quantify the level of trace elements in the ground water and to determine how they affected the quality of the water suitable for human use. Twenty-two public wells that are used by the residents for their everyday needs are sampled in the pre-monsoon for the analysis. ICP-MS was used to analyse the water samples for the presence of the heavy metals Zn, Pb, Fe, Cd, As, and Al. The acquired value from ICP-MS analysis is compared with BIS standard values of drinking water quality. From the analysed heavy metals, cadmium and iron in some of the wells are exceeding the permissible limit of BIS. HPI of each well is carried out and find out that DW1, DW2 and DW14 is not fit for drinking purpose. By analysing the Metal Index (MI) out of 22 wells, 9 wells are pure in quality and others are slightly to moderately affected. Certain metals in different wells shows slight greater concentration than the permissible limits of BIS. These might be taken into account for a safer drinking water.