INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES Volume 6, No 6, Copyright by the authors - Licensee IPA- Under Creative Commons license 3.

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1 INTRNATIONA JOURNA OF NVIRONMNTA SCINCS Volume 6, No 6, 2016 Copyright by the authors - icensee IPA- Under Creative Commons license 3.0 Research article ISSN Analysis of physico-chemical properties of rain water in Calicut and Malappuram districts of Kerala state for 1, Anil Kumar.T 2 2- Department of Chemical ngineering, National Institute of Technology Calicut, Calicut District, Kerala, India. 2- Junior Research Officer, Regional Analytical aboratory, Calicut District, Kerala, India. anil.vku@gmail.com doi: /ijes.6086 ABST Water is one of the most important components for sustaining life on this planet. ven though water is available in plenty, water which can be used for is getting reduced day by day. In this study, various physico chemical parameters like colour, p H, total solids, total alkalinity, total hardness, nitrate, iron, chloride, bacteriological analysis of rain water and open well water sampled from different places are analyzed to determine whether rain water is fit for drinking. These parameters where compared to the standard limits setup by the BIS, WHO and USPH. Keywords: Rain water, Physico-chemical parameters, Open well water, Kerala, drinking water. 1. Introduction The quality of fresh ground water, surface water and oceanic water is decreasing day by day. So an increasing concern has been put into this matter because humans on earth can t survive without the intake of water. Other than this water quality is very important to the marine aquatic life, plants, animals etc. To look upon the quantity of water, certain criteria has been setup by organizations like BIS, WHO, USPH. (Faust et al, 1981). Although 70% is covered by water on earth surface only 1% of this is utilizable fresh water and rest 97% is sea water, 3% is glaciers and 2% is icecaps. As water is known as Universal Solvent, due to this unique nature it dissolves all pollutants very easily in it and get polluted. Our treatment on the available water on the earth s surface and in the atmosphere, can influence the amount of replenishment and conservation of water on the land. (Vander eeden Frits, 1987) So to find an alternate source of drinking water we arrive at the rain water harvesting technique. Rain water harvesting is the gathering or accumulation of rain water and it can be used for various purposes like drinking, irrigation etc. This harvested rain water can be of good quality and may not require treatment before consumption. However some roof top material may make the rain water harmful for consumption, like it can contain pollutants like animal and bird feces, mosses, lichens, particulates from urban pollution, pesticides, inorganic etc. So the purpose of this analysis is to determine the potential fitness of rain water for and comparing it to well water, which is carried out by the measurement of the parameters like colour, odour, ph, total solids, conductivity, turbidity etc. These parameters are very critical in monitoring the water supplies in any place, because they are simple and inexpensive to monitor the water quality. (Guidelines for drinking water quality, 1987). Received on January 2016 Published on May

2 2. xperimental In this project rain water and open well water from 20 places in and around Calicut and Malappuram districts where sampled. Sampling was done in four days and the samples were collected in clean dry glass containers which were labelled. All the chemicals used were of analytical grade and distilled water was used for the preparation of the chemical reagents at standard condition. Nitric acid was used to clean the glass wares. The p H was measured using comparator disc method. Gravimetric method was used to determine the total solids where the water was heated to a temperature of C. DTA titration was carried out to determine the hardness of water (K Jothivenkatachalam et al, 2010;De AK, 2006). Volumetric titration was used to estimate the total alkalinity. Chloride was estimated by argentrometric titration.(n Manivasagam, 1984) Turbidity was determined spectrophotometrically at 450 nm and a light path of 4 to 5 cm by Systronics Nephelo Tubidimetric meter and sulphate concentration was estimated by comparing the turbidity reading with a calibration curve prepared by carrying sulphate standard through the entire procedure.(apha, 1985). Standards having concentration 10,20,30,40ppm were prepared and absorbance was measures and this was plotted against concentration. A straight line graph was obtained and the concentration of sulphate was determined by knowing the absorbance of sample. Presence of ammonia was determined by appearance of millions base iodide. Iron was estimated by colour comparison method or thiocyanante method where standard iron solutions of different concentrations were prepared and the colour of the so formed complex in the sample and standard solution on addition of thiocyanate was compared to get the concentration of iron in the water sample. Nitrite was determined qualitatively and quantitative test was carried out only for samples having abnormal amount present in it. Nitrate was also estimated by colour comparison method by preparing standard nitrate solutions and thereby comparing it with the colour given by both sample and standard nitrate solution on addition of 2,4-phenol di sulphonic acid in alkaline medium( N.C Aery,2010). Bacteriological analysis were done by calculating standard plate count where bacteria where allowed to develop colonies on nutrient agar medium and by multiple tube method using Mac Conkeybroth.( B. Kotaiah and N. Kumaraswamy, 1994; N.C Aery,2010) 3. Result The physico-chemical analysis of the samples collected from open well water and rain water are presented in the table 1 and table 2 respectively. Table 1: Result of analysis of physico-chemical parameters of open well water Parameters Colour C C C C C C C C C C ph Solids(ppm) Alkalinity(ppm ) International Journal of nvironmental Sciences Volume 6 No

3 Hardness(ppm) Ammonia Nitrate(ppm) A A C C 52 Nitrite(ppm) A A A A C C C C Chloride(ppm) Iron(ppm) A A A A C C C C 4 Sulphate(ntu) Turbidity(ntu) Table 2: Result of analysis of physico-chemical parameters of open well water Parameters Colour C C C C C C C C C C ph Solids(ppm) Alkalinity(ppm) Hardness(ppm) Ammonia A A C C Nitrate(ppm) A C Nitrite(ppm) A A A C C C Chloride(ppm) Iron(ppm) A 0. A C 4 C 2 Sulphate(ntu) Turbidity(ntu) Table 3: Result of analysis of physico-chemical parameters of rain water Parameters Colour C C C C C C C C C C Ph solids(ppm) Alkalinity(ppm) hardness(ppm) International Journal of nvironmental Sciences Volume 6 No

4 Ammonia Nitrate(ppm) Nitrite(ppm) Chloride(ppm) Iron(ppm) Sulphate(ntu) Turbidity(ntu) Table 4: Result of analysis of physico-chemical parameters of rain water Parameters Colour C C C C C C C C C C ph Solids(ppm) 5 Alkalinity(ppm) Hardness(ppm) Ammonia Nitrate(ppm) Nitrite(ppm) Chloride(ppm) Iron(ppm) Sulphate (ntu) Turbidity(ntu) The rain water and open well water analyzed where colourless and odourless. 3.1 p H It is a measure of hydrogen ions present in the sample. p H of drinking water indicates how much acidic or alkaline the water is. (K Jothivenkatachalam et al, 2010) As per the standards set by WHO and USPH the permissible ph range for drinking water is (De AK, 2006) International Journal of nvironmental Sciences Volume 6 No

5 From the analysis it was found that the ph of the water ranges from 6-8 which are within the permissible limits. Figure 1: ph of open well water samples. 3.2 Alkalinity Figure 2: ph of rain water samples. Alkalinity is the measure of ability of water to neutralize acids present in it. (K Jothivenkatachalam et al, 2010) The standard desired limit of alkalinity of water is 120mg/ and the maximum allowed limit is 600mg/. (Indian Standard For Drinking Water,1991; R Shyamala et al, 2008) The alkalinity of well water ranges from 4 to144mg/ and that of rain water ranges from 30 to 178mg/. From the observation, it was found that the total alkalinity of the collected samples are within the desirable limits. Figure 3: alkalinity of open well water samples. International Journal of nvironmental Sciences Volume 6 No

6 3.3 Solids Figure 4: alkalinity of rain water samples. The total solids of all the samples collected are found to be within the limit laid down by the WHO. The maximum permissible limit is 1500mg/. all the samples collected were found to be within these limits. 3.4 Hardness hardness measures the amount of calcium and magnesium in water. All the water samples collected where found to be within the desirable limits of total hardness. As per BIS the water quality standards for total hardness is 300mg/. (Indian Standard For Drinking Water, 1991; K Jothivenkatachalam et al, 2010) 3.5 Iron The present studies show that the iron content of the sample 7 of open well was 6 ppm and of sample 1 was 3ppm. Both the samples are unfit for drinking. The samples should be subjected to iron removal make it fir for drinking. The permissible limit of iron is only 0.3mg/. (Indian Standard For Drinking Water, 1991) The iron content in rain water is only seen in trace amounts. 3.6 Sulphate: The permissible limits of sulphate are 200mg/-400mg/. (Indian Standard For Drinking Water, 1991; K Jothivenkatachalam et al, 2010) It is seen that the sulphate content in open well water for certain samples exceeds the limits. But most of the samples do not contain sulphate. It is also noted that the rain water samples do not contain sulphate. 3.7 Turbidity Both the rain and open well water is not turbid. The turbidity of the water is an important factor in determination of harmful concentration of potential toxicants or the desired concentrations of other environmental factors because some toxicants are adsorbed or absorbed on particulate organic matter, suspended solids and settle able solids. International Journal of nvironmental Sciences Volume 6 No

7 3.8 Ammonia All the samples collected were found to be ammonia free. 3.9 Bacteriological Analysis Almost all the open well samples were found to be bacteriologically contaminated. But for the rain water samples contamination of bacteria was less Chloride According to the BIS limits,the desirable limits of chloride in drinking water is 250mg/. (Indian Standard For Drinking Water, 1991; K Jothivenkatachalam et al, 2010) After the observation, it was found that all the samples collected were within the desirable limits. Figure 5: Chloride content of open well water samples Nitrate and Nitrite-N Figure 6: Chloride content of rain water samples. The recommended limit for nitrate nitrogen as per as U.S.Public Health Service is 10mg/. It is seen that the nitrate content for open wells is within the desirable limits. But the nitrate content for certain rain water samples were found to be high. But the nitrite content in both the set of samples is found to be within the limits. Nitrate is the primary form of nitrogen International Journal of nvironmental Sciences Volume 6 No

8 used by plants as a nutrient to stimulate growth. Nitrate as such presents no particular health problems but when nitrate, which when converted into nitrite in the body by certain bacteria can cause many health problems. Figure 7: Nitrate content of open well water samples. 4. Discussion Figure 8: Nitrate content of rain water samples. Water samples collected from 20 open wells and 20 rain water sources of various regions of Kozhikode and malappuram were subjected to physico-chemical and bacteriological analysis. A comparison of these two shows that the major water quality problem associated with the rain water is the increase seen in the nitrate and ph of the water. If these two parameters are controlled then the rain water could be used for safely. xcess nitrate is one of the most frequently reported drinking water regulation violation and it is certainly a major problem for small communities, agricultural area utilizing rain water for. Boiling actually increases the nitrate concentration in the remaining water. Also boiling water in aluminum pan can cause the conversion of nitrate to nitrite. Simple International Journal of nvironmental Sciences Volume 6 No

9 house hold treatment procedure such as boiling, filtrate disinfection and water softening do not remove nitrate from drinking water. Methods such as distillation, adsorption of nitrate by wheat straw as substrate, adsorption using bamboo powder charcoal (Kei Mizuta et al, 2004) etc are to employed to remove the excess nitrate in the water. The maximum contaminant level goal (MCG) for nitrate is 10ppm and for nitrite is 1ppm of nitrate nitrogen. If the levels of nitrate increases the desired level it could have adverse effects such as blue baby syndrome, in which heamoglobin converts into methemoglobin and loose the capacity to carry oxygen in the new born babies. 5. Conclusion The study here deals with the collection and analysis of open well water and rain water samples from various places of Kozhikode and Malappuram districts. The following parameters such as ph, turbidity, electrical conductivity, total solids, hardness, chloride, sulphate, iron, alkalinity, ammonia, nitrate and nitrite. Bacterial quality of water were also analyzed. The results of the analysis show that all physico-chemical parameters except nitrate and ph content of the rain water are in the desirable limits of BIS. Oxides of nitrogen, sulphate etc combine with rain water making it more acidic. Addition of lime (250g in 4000), can bring down the ph of rain water and addition of 10g of bleaching powder can reduce the bacterial contamination of the water. The excess nitrate can be removed by passing the water through bamboo powder charcoal filter. If these two parameters like the ph and the nitrate of the rain water are checked then rain water is an excellent source of drinking water. 6. References 1. APHA, Standard method for the examination of water and waste water, (1985), 14 th ed, American Public Health Association, Washington, DC, New York. 2. B. Kotaiah and N. Kumaraswamy (1994), nvironmental engineering laboratory Manual (5th ed.). Charotar Publishing House, India. 3. De. A.K, (2006), nvironmental chemistry, 6 th ed, Indian new age international publishers. 4. Faust, Samuel D and Aly, Osman M, (1981), Chemistry of natural waters ann, Arbor science publishers, Inc. 5. Guidelines for drinking water quality health criteria and other supporting information 1 and 2 (1987), American health association Washington DC. 6. ISI, Indian standard for drinking water- specification, (1991), IS 10500, Indian standard institution, New Delhi. 7. K Jothivenkatachalam, A Nithya, S Chandra Mohan, (2010), Correlation analysis of drinking water quality in and around Perur block Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu, Rasayan journal of chemistry,3(4), pp International Journal of nvironmental Sciences Volume 6 No

10 8. Kei Mizuta, Toshitatsu Matsumato, Yasuo Hatate, Keiichi Nishihara and Tomoki Nakanishi, (2004), Removal of nitrate- nitrogen from drinking water using bamboo powder charcoal, Bioresource technology, 95(3), pp N. Manivasagam,(1984), Physico-chemical examination of water, sewage and industrial effluents, Pragati Prakashan, Meerut. 10. N.C Aery (2010), Manual of environmental analysis, Ane Books Pvt td, India. 11. R Shyamala, M Shanthi, P alitha, (2008), Physicochemical analysis of borewell water in samples of Telungupalayam area in Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu, India 5(4), pp Vander eeden Frits, (1984), Water resources of the world. International Journal of nvironmental Sciences Volume 6 No