Abstract
A study was conducted to assess the groundwater quality in Biratnagar of Morang district of Nepal on the basis of some important physicochemical and microbiological analysis. During the study, the elevated value of turbidity ranged from 2.1±2.80 NTU (ward no. 8) to 81.46±44.28 NTU (ward no. 10), free-carbondioxide (FCO2) ranged from 12±2.45 mg /L (ward no. 21) to 17.2±3.03 mg/L (ward no. 8), arsenic ranged from nil (ward no. 3) to 0.17±0.21 mg /L (ward no. 1), iron (Fe) ranged from 0.45 mg/L (ward no. 7) to 3.67 mg/L (ward no. 4), manganese (Mn), ranged from 0.45 mg/L (ward no. 7) to 5.99 mg/L (ward no. 16) and fecal coliform bacteria were found positive in 10 wards (ward nos. 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11,14,15,20 and 21) constituting 45.45% of the total samples ranging from 3 to 25 MPN/100 ml . Out of the total analyzed samples, turbidity in 78 samples (70.90%), FCO2, Fe, and Mn in all samples (100%) and arsenic in 37 water samples (33.64 %) were crossed the permissible limit of WHO guideline. However, the value of pH, EC, DO, TH, PO4-P, NO3-N, Cd, Zn, and Pb were below the WHO guideline value. The status of fluoride was below detectable level in all the analyzed groundwater samples.
Highlights
Groundwater is an important source of fresh water for human consumption, irrigation and industrial use in many countries of the world
The elevated value of turbidity ranged from 2.1±2.80 NTU to 81.46±44.28 NTU, free-carbondioxide (FCO2) ranged from 12±2.45 mg /L to 17.2±3.03 mg/L, arsenic ranged from nil to 0.17±0.21 mg /L, iron (Fe) ranged from 0.45 mg/L to 3.67 mg/L, manganese (Mn), ranged from 0.45 mg/L to 5.99 mg/L and fecal coliform bacteria were found positive in 10 wards constituting 45.45% of the total samples ranging from 3 to 25 MPN/100 ml
The value of groundwater temperature, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), dissolved oxygen (DO), bicarbonate (HCO3), total hardness (TH), phosphate(PO4-P), nitrate (NO3−N), cadmium, zinc, and lead were found to be below the WHO guideline value whereas in some groundwater sources, elevated level of turbidity, free-carbondioxide, arsenic, iron, manganese and fecal coliform were recorded
Summary
Groundwater is an important source of fresh water for human consumption, irrigation and industrial use in many countries of the world. Point sources are industrial premises, towns, agricultural installations, manure storage, and land ills whereas non-point (diffuse) sources consist of leaching of nitrates and pesticides into surface and ground water as a result of rainfall, soil in iltration, and surface run off from agricultural land. These sources can cause signi icant variation in the contamination level of water over time Fawell and Nieuwenhuijsen (2003). Almost all the population of Terai including Biratnagar relies on groundwater for drinking, household uses, industrial purposes as well as irrigation and tube wells serve the major source of drinking water. For which physicochemical parameters such as pH, turbidity, electrical conductivity (EC), dissolved oxygen (DO), free-carbondioxide (FCO2), bicarbonate (HCO3), total hardness (TH), phosphate (PO4-P), nitrate-N (NO3-N), arsenic (As), and luoride (Fl), Fe, Mn, Cd, Zn, and Pb as well as microbiological examination for total fecal coliform bacteria were measured
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