Publication

Abstract : Ground water is a vital resource for drinking water around the world. The economic and ecological stability of many countries heavily relay upon groundwater availability. With rapid developments in industrial and agricultural sectors, the need for ground water is greater than ever before. Consequently, the quality of ground water is affected by fertilizers, effluents run off from industries, chemical dumping sites, domestic sewage, etc. Hence, it is necessary to constantly monitor ground water quality as it has a serious impact on human health. In this paper, we have analyzed ground water quality of Thiruvannamalai district of Tamil Nadu, India. The ground water samples are taken from 13 locations per area. Water Quality Index (WQI) is estimated for each area to ascertain for the potability of water. The physicochemical parameters like pH, Electrical Conductivity (EC), nitrates, fluorides, and chlorides sample data are compared against World Health Organization (WHO) standards. Geographical information system (GIS), an effi- cient tool for estimating water quality is used both in spatial and temporal domain. The results are useful in efficient monitoring and assessment of ground water and thus, for taking relevant measures to curb unrestrained exploitation. © Springer India 2016.