42-Assessment of Groundwater Quality Status in Lakshwadweep

Abstract

The assessment of groundwater quality status was carried out in one of the 10 inhabited islands of Lakshadweep, namely, the Kadamat Island. All the available information on rainfall, groundwater potential, water quality, present groundwater usage pattern, etc, were collected and analysed. Total hardness and salinity are found to be the critical water quality parameters exceeding the desirable and permissible limits of drinking water standards in the Kadamat Island. Spatial variation diagrams of salinity and hardness have been prepared for different seasons and it has been found that the groundwater quality is very bad all through the year along the stretch between south of Puthiyapalli and the helipad. Overall, the groundwater quality in the central and northern part is found to be better than the southern part of the Kadamat Island.