The quality of surface water of river kali and its effect on groundwater in Muzaffarnagar District

With rapidly increasing urbanization and scarcity of adequate river water, there is a constant rise in the extraction of groundwater and its use for various purposes such as drinking, bathing etc. But due to steep expansion of industrialization there is increase in amount of discharge of untreated sewage water in these water bodies which imposes a high risk of percolation to nearby groundwater sources creating an alarming situation to public health. One such case is of the River Kali in Muzaffarnagar District where untreated water from numerous industries flows in which makes its water unfit for use. The study was carried out to access the effect of river water to groundwater within 500m radius and study its impact on public health.This was an observational study conducted in Muzaffarnagar district where, river water from 4 locations and groundwater from 4 locations (near 500m radius) was taken and tests performed for pH, taste, odor, BOD, Coliform count, heavy metals, hardness, suspended solids using references from Indian standards of drinking water. : The water quality of river Kali is not fit for any purpose and also the Groundwater in its proximity is not fit for drinking.