Assessment of drinking water in a rural area of Patna (Bihar) with special reference to human health

ABSTRACT

Water quality of rural area of Patna was studied. The water samples from rural area of Patna were collected to assess the quality of potable water. A laboratory test was conducted for assessment of water quality. The physico-chemical and bacteriological parameters were studied. The results obtained were compared with WHO/ICMR standard. Results showed high TDS, hardness at some locations and coliform counts were high at some sampling sites. Conductivity increases with increase of hardness of water. The pH of drinking water samples were followed by the standards recommended by the ICMR or WHO. TDS of water samples showed wide range of variations. Hard water is responsible for cardiovascular diseases. Such quality of water can cause various diseases like diarrhoea, jaundice, typhoid, dysentery etc.