Assessment of physicochemical characteristics and identification of groundwater quality indicator parameters in Aizawl, Mizoram, Northeast India

Abstract

The increase in population and rapid industrial development have resulted in surface water pollution that stresses groundwater resources to ensure sustainable consumption and human well-being. The present study was aimed to assess the physico-chemical characteristics and heavy metal concentration of groundwater in Aizawl city. The study also seeks to determine the indicator parameters of water quality through analysis of variance (ANOVA) and correlation coefficient in relation to physico-chemical properties. The results revealed that all physico-chemical parameters were within the regulatory standards, except turbidity (80.9 NTU) and phosphate (0.6365 mg/L). Trace amounts of Zinc (Zn) and Copper (Cu) were also present; however, Iron (Fe) and Manganese (Mn) slightly exceeded (Fe: 1.162 mg/L; Mn: 0.6892 mg/L) the permissible limit. Statistically, two-way ANOVA revealed that temperature, chloride, total alkalinity (TA), total hardness (TH), calcium, and dissolved oxygen (DO) were significant (p<0.001) both between sites and seasons. Further, TH showed positive and significant correlation with total dissolved solid (TDS) (R2=0.792), chloride (R2=0.52), TA (R2=0.62), calcium (R2=0.88), and Zn (R2=0.61). Conversely, DO demonstrated negative and significant correlation with turbidity (R2=-0.73), chloride (R2=-0.52), phosphates (R2=-0.70), ammonia (R2=-0.81), and Mn (R2=-0.58). These results indicate that the analysis of TH and DO can serve function as proxies for indirectly indicating the presence and concentrations of the other correlated water quality parameters. Thus, TH and DO act as indicator parameters for water quality in holistic groundwater monitoring in Aizawl. The identification of water quality indicator parameters can play a key role in future research for cost-effective, rapid, and seasonal groundwater monitoring to ensure the sustainable management of this resource.