An overview of groundwater quality in Tamil nadu

Ground water is considered to be very clean and safe in past days but in recent decades rapid industrialization causes severe environmental problems in most of the countries, due to the discharge of effluents into groundwater by industries like textile, dyeing, leather, tannery, pulp and paper processing industries etc., The effluent discharged by these industries leads to serious pollution which altered the geochemical parameters of surface water and ground water. Since the quality of public health depends to a greater extent on the quality of drinking water. Safe drinking water is primary need of every human being. Pollution of groundwater has been growing increasingly in several parts of India, particularly in areas of industrial development. Over burden of population pressure, unplanned urbanization, over exploitation of groundwater resources, dumping of polluted water at inappropriate place enhance the infiltration of harmful compounds to the groundwater. With the increasing demand for groundwater resources caused by an acute shortage of surface water, there is a noteworthy depletion of groundwater levels and quality due to geogenic as well as anthropogenic activities. The tanning industry is one of the oldest and fastest growing industries in south and south-east Asia. The states of Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh together have 88% of the tannery units of the country. About 55% of total leather processed in the county is from Tamil Nadu and tannery units mainly spreads over Ranipet, Ambur, Vaniyambadi, Pernambut of Vellore district, Pallavaram and Chrompet in Chennai, Dindigul, parts of Erode district and Sembattu in Trichy district (CLRI, 1990). Water, due to its great solvent power, is constantly threatened to get polluted easily.