VI-5-Assessment of Ground Water Quality in Metropolitan Town of Meerut.

Abstract

Urban settlements and growing industrial development, combined with rapid increasing demand for water, are causing more and more water quality problems during recent years. India is also facing increasing scarcity of water and water quality degradation. Rapid urbanization and changing demand patterns would extenuate the problem further. The challenge of urban water management is multifaceted, but includes a lack of freshwater sources within feasible proximity to sustain water demand in many cities, especially the growing number of 'metropolitan cities'. The population density and intensity of economic uses of urban water also lead to water quality degradation that is often most critical in urban settings. There are 35 metropolitan cities as per 2001 census with a population of one million or more each. These 35 cities account for roughly one tenth of country's total population. There are 6 mega cities with a population of 5 million or more each indicating clear shift from rural to urban areas. It is estimated that by year 2050 about 60 70% of population will migrate to cities. With increasing urbanization, the problems associated with it are more visible. In this paper. an attempt has been made to present the status of ground water quality in metropolitan city of Meerut as part of comprehensive assessment of ground water quality mapping, its relative vulnerability for pollution control and identification of degraded water quality zones for quality improvement.