Drinking Water Quality by Water Quality Index Method in Pre and Post Monsoon in Araku Valley Region, Visakhapatnam District, Andhra Pradesh, India

Drinking water samples from different sources like bore well, open wells, springs and taps were collected from different villages of Araku valley Mandal and analysed for physicochemical characteristics. The samples were collected and studied during pre and post monsoon seasons in 2014 in 12 locations across the tribal villages of Araku Valley Mandal. The present study was intended to calculate the water quality index (WQI) for drinking water by using eleven water quality parameters pH, Chloride (Cl), Calcium Hardness (CH), Magnesium hardness (Mgh), Total hardness (TH), Total dissolved solids (TDS), turbidity (T), Sulphate (SO4), nitrates (NO3), Fluoride (F), Total Alkalinity (TA). Each parameter was compared with the standard permissible limit as prescribed by World Health Organization (WHO) and ISO (100500). The Water Quality Index (WQI) of the samples assessed from different sources in two seasons, pre and post monsoon period. It reflected that almost all the 12 water samples were in the range of very poor quality, (69.065) in pre monsoon and ranged to be in unsuitable for drinking range (178.50) in post-monsoon. Hence it was resulted that, the water is found to be poor in quality and unsuitable for drinking needed to treat before it is consumed.