Current status of stream water quality around selected Tea Gardens from Southern Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu, India – A case study

Abstract

In this study, metal concentration in tea garden-associated stream water samples from the south Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu was evaluated using ICP-MS to know the current status of pollution level, sources of pollution, probable water quality, and impacts of heavy metals. Stream water pollution of hill regions communities using the heavy metal pollution index, principal compound analysis, and Pearson correlation analysis were measured. In addition, for this purpose, water phy-chem parameters were also measured, such as (pH, temperature, conductivity, salinity, and TDS) using a pH meter. PO4 and F- UV-spectrophotometer, Na, K, and calcium (flame photo meter), NO3- NO3-N (Electronic method-horiba), and turbidity meter to evaluate the stream-water quality were used, and heavy metals, particularly Al, As, Cd, Fe, Cr, Cu, Zn, Pb, Ni, and Mn are analyzed as heavy metal pollutions. The phy-chem average values of pH, Temp, EC, Tds, Salinity, alkalinity, cod, bod, do, chloride, calcium, C. hardness, M. hardness, T. hardness, N-Nitrogen, Phosphate, Potassium, Sodium, Turbidity, Fluoride, Sulphate, and Sulphur are found 8.13, 27.57 °C, 218, 111.67, 78.67, 70.39, 2029, 5.70, 3.83, 70.83, 737, 62.30, 166.11, 679, 1132, 149, 11, 28.33, 4.44, 07, 178, 180 respectively. Heavy metal concentrations, including aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, iron, chromium, copper, zinc, lead, nickel, and manganese, are detected at 32, 7.2, 6.24, 96.4, 0.00, 0.00, 40, 0.00, 0.00, 30 μg/L, respectively. Concentrations of studied heavy metals, particularly, Mn, Ni, Cd, and Fe, have measurements that are greater than the permissible standard limits of BIS, WHO.