WATER QUALITY INDEX–BASED COMPARISON OF MUNICIPAL AND GROUNDWATER SOURCES FOR DRINKING WATER SUITABILITY

Abstract: Ensuring sustainable development and protecting public health, the safe and reliable water is essential. In many regions, groundwater and Municipal water supply are the key sources for the drinking water. However, their quality always varies because of dissimilarities in treatment processes, hydrogeological conditions, and natural geochemical characteristics. The Current study offers a comprehensive information on Water Quality Index (WQI)–based comparative assessment of groundwater and municipal water sources. Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), total hardness, total alkalinity, total acidity, nitrate, sulphate, chlorides, Dissolved oxygen (DO), Residual Chlorine, Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) are the key Physico-Chemical parameters which were analyzed by means of standard analytical methods. The estimated WQI values suggest that municipal water is generally appropriate for drinking reasons, however groundwater quality demonstrates considerable fluctuation, ranging from good to poor, mainly due to elevated mineral content and fertilizer contamination.