No abstract

Sustainable water management in a river basin requires knowledge on the water availability in the basin and current and future demands. The problems of water quality have become more important than the quantity and any sustainable management program must take into account the availability and suitability of water resources for various purposes. Being a solvent and depleted in major and trace ions, water is susceptible to contamination by a variety of sources including, but not limited to, rocks, soil, effluents, and sewage with which it comes into contact. In this study, attempt is made to evaluate the status of ground water quality and its effect on human health, irrigation and environment and domestic purposes. Water samples were collected from 53 locations distributed in Karur, Erode and Thiruppur districts in the year 2011 during both pre-monsoon and post-monsoon seasons. Water quality parameters namely, pH, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Total Hardness (TH) and Chlorides were analyzed and were interpreted using geospatial techniques. The results were evaluated in the context of human health, irrigation, domestic effects. It is revealed by the study that the groundwater in the Amaravathi River basin is affected by effluents from textile industries, irrigation return flows and domestic sewage, in addition to the natural geogenic contaminants.