Evaluation of Heavy Metal Contamination in Ground Water of Ambad Industrial Area of Nashik, Maharashtra, India

For the present study, twenty one ground water samples were collected from various sources (10dug wells, 8hand pumps and 3bore wells) of Ambad industrial area. To compare the data with surface water, 4 nalla samples were also collected from the same region. The study presents the comparison between concentrations of various heavy metals during pre monsoon and post monsoon seasons for 2 consecutive years. The analytical data shows that the concentration of heavy metals namely total Cr, Cr6+, Fe and Zn are beyond the acceptable limits of Bureau of Indian Standards, 2012 (BIS) in most of the collected water samples. However, among all these metals, concentration of Cr6+ was found highest in both type of water samples i. e. in nalla (90mg/l) as well as in ground water (218mg/l). Being carcinogenic in nature, hexavalent chromium may be fatal if ingested for a long time. Hence, the present study indicates that the ground water as well as surface water of Ambad area is getting contaminated with various harmful metals which may be due to untreated industrial wastewater discharge into various water streams or land in their vicinity. Therefore, an immediate check and necessary action is recommended to rectify the problem.