A study of water contamination in the vicinity of Kala Shah Kaku Industrial area

Abstract

Hydrochemical, physiochemical and biochemical studies of surface and subsurface waters have been carried out in the vicinity of Ravi Rayon Limited, Ravi Engineering, Kohinoor Oil Mill and Itehad Chemical, KALA SHAH KAKU. Twenty-five water samples were collected from surface water of Degh Nala, hand-pumps and tube-wells,and analyzed in laboratories of Ravi Rayon Limited, National Institute of Health (NIH) and Department of Earth Sciences, Q.A.U. Results obtained from laboratories were analyzed statistically for linear regression and correlation coefficients using STATISTICA 4.0 software and graphically projected for Stiff Pattern and Trilinear Piper Diagrams using Hc-Gram Software. Water quality distribution contour maps were constructed for electrical conductivity, chloride and total dissolved solids. Moreover, Legrand's method was used to assess the' contamination level of study area, which reflected high concentration of contamination in both the surface and subsurface waters. The quality of shallow water is not satisfactory for drinking and domestic purpose. However, tube-well water has been considered to be suitable.