A Study of Groundwater Contamination of Patiala District as a HOT SPOT in Punjab

Hardev Singh Virk

Abstract

Patiala is a part of Malwa belt of Punjab which has reported highest contamination due to heavy metals and other ionic pollutants in groundwater. The Department of Water Supply and Sanitation's (DWSS) Punjab Statement on Water Quality Monitoring and Mitigation paints a dismal picture of Punjab's current water quality situation. It is estimated that around 50% habitations are having poor quality of water due to high contamination of arsenic, iron, aluminium, magnesium, selenium, fluoride, nitrate and other basic parameters. In Patiala district, contamination by uranium, fluoride, nitrate, and sulphate predominates; heavy metals (aluminum, lead, and nickel) are next as major groundwater pollutants. In two villages in the Patiala district, there were 2553 mg/L of NO3, the highest level ever recorded in Punjab. The highest figure 1 of sulphate contamination, 4980 ppm, was recorded in the Patiala district's Pehar Kalan and Pehar Khurd. The analysis presented in this paper is based on Department of Water Supply and Sanitation (DWSS) data collected in 3 phases during 2009 to 2016 and compiled and analysed in April 2016 using Ion Chromatography and Spectrophotometer in DWSS Laboratory in SAS Nagar (Mohali 7), India.

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