Evaluation of water quality for drinking purpose from various zones of southern part of tamilnadu, chennai, india

R Pradeep, K Arun, S Venkatesan, MK Kathiravan, R Srimathi*

Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, SRM College of Pharmacy, SRMIST, Kattankulathur, Chengalpattu, TamilNadu, India

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study was to assess the drinking water quality from North, Central, South, and West regions of Chennai. The samples for analysis included metro water, ground water, Reverse Osmosis water, packaged drinking water, mineral water, boiled water, and rainwater. Analysis of sixteen physicochemical parameters such as pH, turbidity, Electrical conductivity, Total dissolved solids, Total suspended solids, major cations like calcium (Ca2+), sodium (Na+), and potassium (K+) and anions like chloride (Cl-), fluoride (F), nitrate (NO3-) and sulphate (SO42-) and heavy metals such as Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn2+), magnesium (Mg), and Iron (Fe) are all measured using American Public Health Association (APHA)standard methods of analysis. The results were compared with standard values established by agencies such as World Health Organization (WHO), the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and National Drinking Water Quality Standard (NDWQS). The Water Quality Index ranged from 11.66 to 147.11. The results indicate that about 52.9% of the water samples investigated in this study is excellent.

Keywords:

Drinking water, Chennai city, Physico-chemical parameters, Water quality index (WQI).