Potable and irrigation suitability of different water supply systems in riverine communities at river Cauvery distributaries, India

Current study focused on investigating the pollution loads of open well, bore well and drinking water from riverine community sites. In addition, drinking and irrigation suitability assessment were also performed by using user specific water quality indices (USWQI) and parameters quality index (PQI). Principal component analysis (PCA) was also performed with physio-chemical parameters. Notable variation was found in most of the water quality parameters at major hamlet and some places exceeded the standards prescribed by authorized organizations. The USWQI was 97.53 to 38.15 in open wells, 96.06 to 68.23 in bore wells, and 88.64 to 74.16 in tap water (drinking water). Among the settlement, highest water quality was recorded at Vilangudi, while the lowest quality found in Karaipakkam area. The predominant drinking water samples were estimated as good quality for human health and hygiene whereas none of the sample was found to be excellent. Open and bore well water samples were of good quality and suitable for agriculture purposes except the few samples which were estimated as poor and fair quality.