Effect of industrial effluent on properties of groundwater

Field survey was conducted to assess the quality of underground water in four major industrial areas of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, and viz., Patancheru, Katedhan, Nacharam and Jeedimetla. Ground water samples were collected from wells at different lateral distances from the effluent streams i.e., starting from a minimum distance of 20 meters to a maximum distance of 620 meters from the effluent streams and analysed for different characteristics. The survey revealed that indiscriminate disposal of the effluent of industrial complexes around Hyderabad has aggrevated the acidity, EC, TDS, COD, Cl-, SO4(2-), PO4(3-), NO3-, F and heavy metals in the ground waters. As the sampling distance from the polluting stream increased a gradual improvement in the quality of ground water was noticed.