Water Quality Assessment in the Adjacent Areas of Tannery Units at Dindigul Corporation

The industries are found to be one of predominant sources of contamination of both surface and groundwater. Tanneries are found to be the most polluting source among the industrial sectors. Previous studies have stated that Tamil Nadu comprises around 3000 tanneries which are located mostly in the districts of Vellore and Dindigul. Dindigul is found to have around 100 tannery units which have drastically contaminated the water bodies in that region. Due to this pathetic scenario, the researchers have suggested to carry out periodical assessment of water quality to preserve the water resources, routine assessments of water quality parameters, and management techniques. As per the suggestion, this study focuses on the present state of water quality in the adjacent areas of tanneries at Dindigul. To ascertain the physico-chemical properties of groundwater in specific areas of Dindigul town, the current study has been conducted. In this study both groundwater and tannery effluent samples were gathered and examined for ten physico-chemical criteria, and the water quality index (WQI) was used to suggest the current state of the water. The findings showed that most of the physico-chemical parameters of the water samples had a significant concentration of dissolved oxygen, fluoride, and chemical and biochemical oxygen demands. The examination of physico-chemical properties of the tannery effluents and groundwater samples collected from 5 different locations indicates that still the water qualities are in a poor state except the specified locations near two tanneries.