Seasonal Variation in Heavy Metal Pollution at Pallathuruthy, A Coverging Point of Pamba and Vembanad Lake, Kerala, South India

The present study was conducted at Pallathuruthy, were Pamba River meets with Vembanad Lake. The study deals with the heavy metal contamination status of water at Pallathuruthy over three seasons like pre monsoon, monsoon and post monsoon. The study had revealed that the level of heavy metals like copper, lead, cadmium and chromium in the water samples collected from this area were above the stipulated level prescribed by Indian Standard. When assessing the seasonal variation in the level of heavy metals it was found most of the heavy metal showed high values in pre monsoon. The results of One Way Analysis of Variance showed that the distribution of lead and cadmium between seasons showed significant difference. The major factors that plunge the water quality of this area to this condition were the indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and busy plying of house boats.