Assessment Of Water Quality Of Selected Natural Springs And Jhoras Lying Within Gangtok Municipal Area
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53555/jaz.v43i1.5069Keywords:
Assessment, jhora, permissible, security, Bureau of India Standard (BIS).Abstract
The increased demand for fresh spring water, especially in the hilly regions, has evolved intensively in the recent times due to the enormous domestic, industrial, irrigational practices which typically cause depletion of water resources and deterioration of water quality and adding stress on these already scarce resources both quantitatively and qualitatively. Periodic quality assessment and monitoring of these drinking water sources is necessary to ensure the quality and security of water supply for the people. Accordingly, this study describes the physicochemical drinking water quality of some selected springs located in Gangtok municipal area together with those of jhoras. Analysis were done using the parameters of the Bureau of India Standard (BIS).To realize this objective, 10 springs and 3 jhoras were selected and samples collected from these sites from the specified period between February to May,2022. The result for pH, electrical conductivity (EC), Total Dissolved Solid (TDS) and chloride of springs showed that the water samples at all the sites were suitable for drinking and within permissible limits as determined by (BIS). Whereas, water samples of jhoras showed the presence of a high percentage of Total hardness, Calcium, Magnesium, Chloride and Sulfate which indicates that the water might have been contaminated by effluent discharge or by excretion of nitrogenous waste from an animal source. Based on the parameters, where values were close to or exceeded the maximum acceptable limits, it showed that the water quality status of all water samples of springs were of “good” quality whereas some spring water needed pretreatment for the purpose of drinking. Water from almost all the sampled spring sites can be considered suitable for drinking purposes.
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