VARIATIONS IN THE GROUND WATER QUALITY FORM THE AREA SURROUNDING THE SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL SITE PUNE, MAHARASHTRA, (INDIA)

Water is one of the precious natural resources (next to air) available on earth and when its quality or composition is changed (due to natural /or anthropogenic causes) is said to be unsuitable for drinking and domestic purposes. Pune city has been experiencing urbanization due to rapid economical development resulting in dramatic changes in the land-use pattern imposing a negative impact on groundwater quality. The unplanned deposal of solid waste on land surface leads to downward movement of pollutants from the surface causing degradation of groundwater quality. The seasonal variations in the quality of ground water from the dug wells surrounding the solid waste disposal site from the SE of Pune city has been assessed by calculating the water quality index (WQI) using physico-chemical parameters like pH, Ca, Mg, COD, BOD, DO, B, TDS, alkalinity, chloride, sulphate and hardness. The results indicate that the groundwater from the wells nearing the waste disposal site show consistent increase in the pollution from monsoon to summer through winter as the WQI values are more than 100 in the summer season for most of the wells, thus designating the water unsuitable for the domestic use. The water samples from the wells, which are quite away from the disposal site, show pollution effects mostly during the monsoon season which could be due to the pollutants carried by the stream coming from the disposal site. The study further demonstrates that the wells near the site are severely polluted due to decaying of solid wastes. Further exponential deterioration of the groundwater quality of the dug wells from the area and hence adequate steps are urgently needed to prevent the further aggravation of the problem which could impact on human health of nearby resident.