Assessment of underground water resources of Gharo city, Sindh, Pakistan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2281-4485/15314Keywords:
underground water, Gharo, public health quality, contamination, SindhAbstract
This investigation focuses on the extent of public health quality of underground water available in Gharo city, Sindh Pakistan that represents a very poor socioeconomic profile. The city has a very limited piped water supply and the people mostly rely on well water. Underground water samples were collected from 28 different locations and the water quality was assessed through a deterministic sampling programme followed by an intense physicochemical and bacteriological analysis. The results of these analyses disclosed that the underground water is grossly polluted due to domestic and agricultural discharges. The problem is further aggravated by poor sanitation conditions. None of the water samples met the water quality criteria set by NSDWQ and WHO. The groundwater was found to be fecally contaminated and poses serious human health hazards. Effective measures are urgently required for water quality management in the city.
References
ALAMGIR A., KHAN M. A., SCHILLING J., SHAUKAT S. S., SHAHAB S. (2016) Assessment of groundwater quality in the coastal area of Sindh province. Pakistan Environmental monitoring and assessment, (188): 78.
ALCAMO J., HENRICHS T. (2002) Critical regions: A model-based estimation of world water resources sensitive to global changes. Aquatic Sciences, (64): 352-362.
APHA (2005) Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater. American Public Health Association 21th edition. Washington DC., USA.
ARNELL N. W. (2004) Climate change and global water resources: SRES emissions and socio-economic scenarios Global environmental change, (14): 31-52.
AZAD A. (2003) Sindh water resources management: issues and options Food and Agriculture Organization of the United, Nations–Rome, Investment Centre Division, FAO/World Bank Cooperative Programme.
AZIZ J. A. (2005) Management of source and drinking- water quality in Pakistan. EMHJ-Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, 11 (5-6): 1087-1098.
BILOTTA G., BRAZIER R. (2008) Understanding the influence of suspended solids on water quality and aquatic biota Water research (42):2849-2861. DOI: 10.1016/j. watres.2008.03.018
BRISCOE J., QAMAR U. (2006) Pakistan’s water economy: running dry. Oxford University Press World Bank document, (52914): 1-638.
DAWSON E., MACKLIN M. (1998) Speciation of heavy metals on suspended sediment under high flow conditions in the River Aire, West Yorkshire, UK Hydrological Processes (12): 1483-1494.
FAROOQ A. B., KHAN A.H. (2004) Climate change of Sindh, Pakistan. Perspective in Pakistan. In: Proceedings of Workshop on Capacity Building on Global Climate Change Research. June 8-10. Islamabad Pakistan.
FAROOQ M. A., SHAUKAT S. S., ZAFAR M. U., ABBAS Q. (2012) Variation pattern of heavy metal concentrations during pre-and post-monsoon seasons in the surface water of river Indus (Sindh Province) World Applied Sciences Journal, (19): 582-587. DOI: 10.5829/ idosi.wasj.2012.19.04.64233
FUENTES R., PFÜTZE T., SECK P. (2006) Does access to water and sanitation affect child survival? A five country analysis (No. HDOCPA-2006-04). Human Development Report Office (HDRO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
GUMBO F. J. (1985) Water quality monitoring in Tanzania Water quality bulletinEnvironment Canada, (10): 174-180.
HARROD T., THEURER F., HAYGARTH P., JARVIS S. (2002) Sediment Agriculture, hydrology and water quality, 155-170.
HAYGARTH P. (2006) Processes affecting transfer of sediment and colloids, with associated phosphorus, from intensively farmed grasslands: an overview of key issues Hydrological Processes, (20): 4407-4413.
HAYGARTH P. M., BILOTTA G. S., BOL R., BRAZIER R. E., BUTLER P. J., FREER J., GIMBERT L. J., GRANGER S. J., KRUEGER T., MACLEOD C. J. A., NADEN P., OLD G., QUINTON J. N., SMITH B., WORSFOLD P. (2006) Processes affecting transfer of sediment and colloids, with associated phosphorus, from intensively farmed grasslands: an overview of key issues. Hydrological Processes, 20 (20): 4407–4413.
KARUNAKARAN K., THAMILARASU P., SHARMILA R. (2009) Statistical study on physicochemical characteristics of groundwater in and around Namakkal, Tamilnadu, India Journal of Chemistry, 6: 909-914. DOI: 10.1155/2009/290720
KRONVANG B., LAUBEL A., LARSEN S. E., FRIBERG N. (2003) Pesticides and heavy metals in Danish streambed sediment. In: The Interactions between Sediments and Water. Springer, 93-101.
LANGTON N., PRASAI S. (2012) Will conflicts over water scarcity shape South Asia’s future Issue Perspect, (2): 1-2.
LLOYD D. S., KOENINGS J. P., LAPERRIERE J. D. (1987) Effects of turbidity in fresh waters of Alaska North American Journal of Fisheries Management, (7): 18-33.
MAHMOOD K., ALAMGIR A., KHAN M. A., SHAUKAT S. S., ANWAR M., SHERWANI S. K. (2014) Seasonal variation in water quality of lower Sindh, Pakistan FUUAST Journal of Biology, (4): 147.
MEMON M., SOOMRO M. S., AKHTAR M. S., MEMON K. S. (2011) Drinking water quality assessment in Southern Sindh (Pakistan) Environmental monitoring and assessment, (177): 39-50.
MEYBERK M. (1985) The GEMS/Water Programme (1978-1983). Water quality bulletin Environment Canada, (10): 167-173.
PANHWAR M. (2002) Water Requirement of Riverain Area of Sindh Sindh Education Trust Hyderabad, Sindh.
QUADIR D. A., HUSSAIN M. A., HOSSAIN M. A. (2004) The Status of Climate Habitation in Pakistan and its Impacts, SAARC Metrological Resource Centre (SMRC), Dhaka Bangladesh.
RANJANA A. (2010) Physico-chemical analysis of some groundwater samples of Kotputli town Jaipur, Rajasthan International Journal of Chemical Environmental and Pharmaceutical Research, 1(2):111-113.
RYAN P. A. (1991) Environmental effects of sediment on New Zealand streams: a review New Zealand journal of marine and freshwater research, (25): 207-221.
SAMDANI Z. (1995) Salinization Threatens Irrigation Economic and Business Review, Daily Dawn, Karachi, (3): 3-9.
SARGAONKAR A., DESHPANDE V. (2003) Development of an overall index of pollution for surface water based on a general classification scheme in Indian context Environmental monitoring and assessment, (89): 43-67.
SIDDIQUI M., MAAJID S. (2004) Monitoring of geomorphological changes for planning reclamation work in coastal area of Karachi, Pakistan Advances in Space Research, (33): 1200-1205.
SOOMRO F.C.A., MEMON A., TALPUR M. (2011) Influence of Watertable Depth on Soil Sodicity and Salinity World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, International Journal of Environmental, Chemical, Ecological, Geological and Geophysical Engineering, (5): 416-420.
WHO (2011) Guidelines for drinking-water quality Geneva. WHO, 104-108.
WORLD WIDE FUND FOR NATURE (WWF) (2005) Keti Bunder (Final Report): Study on knowledge, attitudes and practices of fisher folk communities about fisheries and mangrove resources, 606-607.
Downloads
Published
Versions
- 2022-08-01 (2)
- 2022-07-29 (1)
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2022 Aamir Alamgir, Moazzam Ali Khan, Syed Shahid Shaukat, Salman Zubair
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
