Assessment of Physiochemical Characteristics of Ground Water Quality along the Puducherry Coastal Stretch

Demand for quality water has become a major concern in India due to rapid urbanization. The surface water which once used as potable water has become extinct due to various reasons such as Monsoon failure and improper handling of water. This problem has a serious impact on the regions of South India especially Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry where the Monsoon rainfall has failed for the past few decades which have led to the depletion of surface water such as ponds and lakes in many areas. Since, there is no natural river source in these areas and the only alternate solution is ground water to meet out the demand. This phenomenon has created a negative impact on the ground water such as vigorous exploitation to meet the demand for the potable water for industries and urban, which has become apprehensively alarming. A case study was conducted for the assessment of ground water along the coastal stretch of Puducherry region. The water samples collected from different point and nonpoint sources and were analyzed for its physio–chemical characteristics such as colour, Temperature, pH, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Suspended Solids (SS), Hardness, Chloride, Dissolved Oxygen (DO based on the values recommended by WHO and BIS standards.. From the water quality assessment study it was found that the parameters such as TDS ,SS, hardness ,Chloride and Sulphate content were quite exorbitant when compared with the standard scale value in all the sampling locations during Pre-Monsoon and Post – Monsoon and were comparatively less but in excess to the standard value during Monsoon.