Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

HYDROGEOCHEMISTRY OF TWO RIVERS OF KERALA WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO DRINKING WATER QUALITY

C.C. Harilal, Akness Hashim, P.R. Arun and S. Baji

Abstract

Water quality assessment of two rivers of Kerala was carried out with respect to potability.The physico-chemical and biological characteristics of water samples analysed were compared with the water quality standards prescribed by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB).Analytical results indicate that, except for high BOD and Total coliforms, the water quality of the two rivers were within the limit of potability. Increase in values of most of the water quality parameters were noticed with the lower reaches of rivers. Issues related to salinity intrusion was noticed to be higher with the Neyyar river than Karamana river. It can be concluded that these water resources can be effectively tapped from its upper reaches and can be brought to potability limit after proper treatment.