RESUMO
Amini Island is one of the 10 inhabited islands in Lakshadweep. Built on the ancient volcanic formations Lakshadweep is the the tiniest Union Territory of India. The major problem experienced by the islanders is the acute scarcity of fresh drinking water. Groundwater is the only source of fresh water and the availability of the same is very restricted due to peculiar hydrologic, geologic, geomorphic and demographic features. Hence, proper understanding of the groundwater quality, with reference to temporal and spatial variations, is very important to meet the increasing demand and also to formulate future plans for groundwater development. In this context, the assessment of groundwater quality status was carried out in Amini Island. All the available information on water quality, present groundwater usage pattern, etc. was collected and analyzed. Total hardness and salinity are found to be the most critical water quality parameters exceeding the permissible limits of drinking water standards. Spatial variation diagrams of salinity and hardness have been prepared for different seasons. It is also observed from these maps that the salinity and hardness are comparatively better on the lagoon side compared to the seaside. These maps also suggest that the salinity and the hardness problem is more in the southern tip compared to northern portion.
