The water quality of rivers is an issue of serious concern today. Rivers are heavily impacted due to their use for carrying off the industrial, municipal, agricultural and domestic effluents. Water samples were collected for the present study from the Ganga River at Kanpur, Allahabad and Varanasi sites, during the period 2011-2012. The minimum temperature (17°C) was recorded in winter season. The pH, TDS, EC, sulphate, phosphate, nitrate, BOD and COD values exhibited their minimum at Allahabad site. The chloride and dissolved oxygen were recorded minimum at Kanpur site while alkalinity and total hardness had their lowest values at Varanasi site. The water quality of the Kanpur site was very poor compared to Varanasi and Allahabad sites. However, the Ganga river waters could host some tolerant fish species such as the exotic Cyprinus carpio and Oreochromis niloticus and also catfishes. All these species are very hardy, in respect of poor water quality, thus they (exotic species) have powerfully invaded in degraded systems worldwide.

Ground water is the major source of drinking water in both urban and rural areas 5. It is the most important source of water supply for drinking and irrigation purposes in rural areas. Ground water quality plays an important role in groundwater protection and quality conservation. Hence it is very important to assess the ground water quality not only for its present use but also from the view point of a potential source of water for future consumption 6. Water sources available for drinking and other domestic purpose must possess high degree of purity, free from chemical contamination and microorganism. The people of Tekanpur uses wells, bore wells and lake water for their daily activities and also for drinking purposes. This study was carried out to determine some physiochemical parameters of ground water samples and lake water in relation to water quality requirement for drinking purpose.