Water quality index method in assessing groundwater quality of Palakonda mandal in Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh, India

Clean, safe and acceptable fresh water is fundamental to the existence of life. There is still a serious problem with adequate availability of fresh and quality of water for human consumption. This study, therefore, assesses the relevance of groundwater in the selected sites of villages of Palakonda mandal in the Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh, India, for consumption, based on different indices of water quality. Groundwater is the principal source for domestic and irrigation purposes in this region. In order to assess the quality of groundwater, 39 groundwater samples were collected during pre- and post-monsoon season from 2013 to 2016. The concentrations of physicochemical parameters such as pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, total hardness (TH), Ca(II), Mg(II), fluoride (F−), chloride (Cl−), dissolved oxygen, total alkalinity and nitrite (NO2−) were analyzed to compute Water Quality Index (WQI). The results of the concentrations were interpreted and compared with WHO (2012) and BIS (2012) standards. Correlation between various parameters was also computed, and the results were presented. The results of WQI computation infer that the groundwater of the selected sites in Palakonda mandal is rated as ‘good’ for human consumption.