Nitrate Contamination in the Groundwater of C...

Nitrate Contamination in the Groundwater of Chandur and Part of Ghattupal MANDALS Nalgonda District, Telangana, India

Author Name : P. Nagaphaninder, T Sairam, B. Amarender, G. Prabhaker

ABSTRACT Groundwater forms the major source of drinking water in the rural areas of most of the developing nations of the world. Presence of high concentration of nitrate in groundwater is a major problem in many countries as it causes health related problems. The present study is carried out to understand the distribution of nitrate concentration in groundwater in parts of Chandur and Ghattupal mandals Nalgonda District, Telangana, India. Though groundwater is the major drinking water source, deterioration in its quality is going unchecked. In rural areas, the nitrate contamination is uncontrolled and much attention has not been drawn towards this anthropogenic pollution. In the study area 46 groundwater samples have been collected and analyzed for the major ions such as Electrical Conductivity (EC), pH, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Cl-, HCO3-, CO3-, SO4-, NO3-and F-. The study revealed that about 40% of the samples were found to be unsuitable for drinking purposes due to excess nitrate (>45 mg/l) content in the groundwater. High Nitrate concentration may cause blue baby syndrome or methemoglobinemia