Agroecology for Sustainable Food Security - tnsroindia.org.in

Indian Journal Of Natural Sciences ISSN: 0976 – 0997
Vol1 / Issue 2 / October 2010 © IJONS
drinking water supply and for irrigation [3]. However, groundwater is not only a valuable resource for water supply,
but also a vital component of the global water cycle and the environment. As such, groundwater provides water to
rivers, lakes, ponds and wetlands helping to maintain water levels and sustain the ecosystems. Groundwater
pollution, often due to contaminant seepage from waste disposal sites, is a worldwide problem. Such contamination
of groundwater resources potentially poses a substantial risk to local resource users and to the natural environment.
Assessing risk involves identifying the hazard associated with a particular occurrence, action or circumstance and
determining the probability of that hazard occurring due to rapid growth of population, industrialization and
urbanization, there have been intense human activities and interference into nature leading to over-exploitation and
severe pollution stress on natural water-bodies. Improper waste disposal and unscientific anthropogenic practices
over the years adversely affected the surface and ground water quality. The major problem with the ground water is
that once contaminated, it is difficult to restore its quality the solution ion-trivial because of complex dynamics
involved in the ground water flow, which requires simultaneous solution of complicated geo-chemical and
hydrological equation. Hence, there is a need for concern over the protection and management of ground water
quality. The present study was urgently required to draw attention towards this region for taking necessary steps to
minimize the adverse impacts which likely to occur due to drinking water contamination. This paper is an attempt to
address the issue taking into account ground water quality parameters with respect of statistical analysis in domestic
zone of Arsikere Taluk, Hassan District, Karnataka.
Study area
Arsikere is one of the important taluk of Hassan district, Karnataka state. It is a major railway junction on the South Western
Railway and a central place to visit places of tourist interest, like Belur (40 km), Halebidu (25 km) and Shravanabelagola
(80 km). The geographical location of Arsikere taluk lies between the latitude 13° 19' 48"N and longitude of 76° 15' 0" E. It has
got an elevation of 807 m (2647 feet).
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Groundwater samples were collected at an interval of 30 days from February 2009 to September 2009 from all the 12
bore wells for physico-chemical analysis. Water samples were collected in plastic cans from bore wells of 2 liter
capacity. Factors like pH and water temperature are recorded at the spot of collection. For Dissolved Oxygen (DO)
the samples were fixed on the spot using Winkler’s reagents. Later the samples were brought to the laboratory for
the estimation of other chemical parameters. The final results were calculated by taking three consecutive readings.
The standard prescribed methods were followed for the physico-chemical analysis of the water samples [4].
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Mohammed et al
The minimum, maximum, mean and standard deviation obtained for the pre-monsoon and monsoon period are
reported in Table 1.The pH of a solution at any given temperature represents the hydrogen ion concentration at that
temperature. In pH scale, the value of the water less than seven indicates acidic condition of that water and greater
than seven indicates the alkaline condition of water. In the present study pH values ranged from 6.9 to 8.3and 7.4
to8.55 during the pre-monsoon and monsoon seasons respectively. During the present investigation the pH values
were found well within the permissible limit of BIS (bureau of Indian standards) [5].
Low pH in pre-monsoon season may due to acids, acid generated salts and dissolved carbon dioxide and high pH is
may be from carbonates, bicarbonates, hydroxides, phosphates and borates. Similar observations were made by
Samir [6].The result showed that pH has showed positive relationship with Total alkalinity (Table 2 and 3). The chief
source of fluoride containing minerals viz., (fluorite, fluorapatite, crylolite, micas and hornblend) are rocks and
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