Study of Water Quality Index to Ascertain the Suitability of Surface Water for Domestic Purposes

The criteria of water needed for drinking and irrigation can be evaluated by determination of the water quality. Water from various sites from north 24-parganas, West Bengal, India, were collected and subjected for comprehensive physico-chemical analysis. The following six parameters have been considered, namely pH, alkalinity, total hardness, total dissolved solids (TDS), chlorides and dissolved oxygen (DO). The present study aims to study water quality index (WQI) of the urban water bodies. WQI gives a composite number to determine the suitability of water for public and domestic use. It also serves as an important tool in various pollution abatement programs and management of water quality. Three different sites were selected for our present study and the WQI of the sites S-1, S-2, and S-3 were calculated. All the three sites indicated very poor water quality which showed that the physico-chemical characters are under severe pressure. The serious deterioration of WQI collected from all the three sites was attributed due to the immense impoundment on the rivers as well as increase in anthropogenic activities.