215-Physico-Chemical Characteristics of Groundwater and Soil of Ajmer.

Abstract

Water, the universal solvent, takes the first priority of life on our planet Earth which serves as a unavoidable medium for the livelihood of the human beings. A little more than 65% of the Indian population now utilizes ground water for its daily needs. The diverse uses of water are for the purpose of drinking, cooking, washing, bathing, gardening, irrigation, industry and a lot of other purposes. The requirement for quality of water varies widely with respect to its various uses. Drinking water quality is a matter of concern as it is related to human health, and ground water resources have been contaminated by pollutants from various resources. Additional impurities are added as the liquid water travel through the soil and came in contact with material on and beneath surface of earth. This paper deals with the present qualitative environmental scenario of Ajmer, a centrally located, fourth largest city of Rajasthan, suffering from pressures of multiple forces like industrialization, urbanization along with increasing trend of population. It lies between 26°20' N to 26°33' N Latitude and 74°35' E to 74°43' E Longitude, covers an area of 241.50 sq. km. and has a population of 485575 according to 2001 census. Sixteen ground water samples from the most preferred drinking water sources were collected from and were analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity, TDS, total hardness, calcium hardness, magnesium hardness, total alkalinity, sodium, potassium and nitrate. It was observed from the study that most of the water samples exceed the limit permissible for potable water with respect to almost every parameter considered. Also soil samples from similar sixteen sites were analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity, calcium, magnesium, total alkalinity, sodium, potassium, nitrate, zinc, cupper and iron. The result revealed that concentration of nearly all parameters are very high. Thus arising a possibility of further deterioration in ground water quality because of percolation of water through soil thereby addition of these elements and minerals by process of leaching. It may have adverse effect on health of people residing in the study area, thus suggesting an urgent need for proper remedial measures.