ASSESSMENT OF CONCENTRATIONS OF TRACE ELEMENTS IN THE GROUNDWATER SOURCES ALONG THE COURSE OF SWARNA RIVER IN UDUPI DISTRICT, KARNATAKA STATE, INDIA

Introduction: Swarna river is one of the major sources of water for Udupi district, Karnataka State. Trace elements present in water gives valuable data about the quality and origin of water and remedial actions that need to be taken if there is any deficiency or excess of elements present in water, as it impacts both the general health and dental health of the populations using the water. It is known that the quality of water affects the development of the skeletal and dental hard tissues in the populations. There was no recent reports related to trace elements present in Swarna river and hence a trace element analysis of the river water during pre-monsoon and monsoon was planned to get a fair assessment of the quality of waterObjectives: 1. To assess the concentrations of trace elements in the groundwater sources along the course of Swarna river in Udupi district 2. To assess the effect of monsoon on the concentrations of trace elements in Swarna river water in Udupi district. Methods: The water sample collection was done during two different periods to assess the effect of monsoon on trace elements concentration. These periods include Pre monsoon and Monsoon. A total of 30 sampling points were identified according to the river flow. Trace metal analysis was carried out using 797 VA Computrace (Version 1.3.1.84) which is a modern voltammetric measuring stand Results: The color, odor, turbidity and temperature of collected samples across the two seasons was assessed and tabulated. Conclusion: The ground water in Swarna river basin was found acceptable for human consumption with various trace elements within reasonable limits in maximum sampled sites in the pre monsoon season. But excessive lead contamination was seen at all the sampled sites in the monsoon phase, the reason for which needs to be ascertained with further focused studies