Groundwater monitoring in four major cities namely Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Faridabad and Kanpur was carried-out at 8 to 10 locations during pre- and post- monsoon seasons. The observations are as below:

· Groundwater in all the four cities has shown high conductivity. Other parameters exceeding the BIS norm of drinking water include Fluoride and Chloride. There has been a specific observation that at one location in Ghaziabad excessive colour has been found.

· In all the four cities groundwater has reported high coliform counts. Presence of faecal coliform at various locations in all the four cities has been a serious concern indicating poor hygienic conditions in and around the drinking water source.

· While presence of high iron content has been a general observation, the presence of high chromium has also been noted at 6 locations in Ghaziabad, 4 in Faridabad and 2 in Lucknow. In Kanpur the presence of hexavalent chromium has been recorded at one location.

Strategy for prevention and control of groundwater pollution in Kanpur city

Groundwater quality in Kanpur is in significantly bad state especially in terms of chromium. The pollution is observed to concentrate in some localized areas. One such area is Noraiakheda (Panki), where the state of pollution is serious. CPCB Kanpur has taken up a project to take up detailed investigation in the area. In the course of the designated activities envisaged in the project, four piezometers (depth 50-120m) were drilled in different parts of the study area. These piezometers shall facilitate vertical groundwater quality profiling in terms of chromium.

CPCB Kanpur is also procuring Groundwater Pollution Modelling software (Visual Modflow) which shall be utilized in tracking the flow of chromium and its inter-relation with the hydrological regime. The study is poised to suggest control strategies to decide on the best-suited measures for checking groundwater pollution.

Arsenic Contamination in Ground Water in Eastern Region


Bihar

The ground water samples were collected from the four arsenic affected villages of Bhojpur district in Bihar. Arsenic was found more than permissible level in 91 tube pumps. In Semuria, 64 samples were found to be beyond 0.05 mg/l of Arsenic. As per WHO guidelines with 0.01 mg/l, 78% of the tube wells were at threat.

West Bengal

In the state of West Bengal, 9 out of total 18 districts are effected by arsenic. In the effected area, people are suffering from different arsenic related diseases. The people are drinking arsenic contaminated water without knowing the level of arsenic content in water. For awareness of the people, a facility has been developed to test the tube well water collected by owner of the tube well with a advertisement in leading newspaper. 461 samples were received for analysis of which 250 samples were analysed and the results were reported to owner of the tube wells.

Status of Mercury in Ground Water of NCT - Delhi

Ground water table in Delhi is low and depleting fast due to over exploitation. Ground water flows from the eastern side of the Ridge to the Yamuna River and from western side towards the Najafgarh Drains side. As per the statistics of Central Ground Water Board, the total ground water available in NCT - Delhi is about 291.54 mcm/year. About 237 mcm of water is withdrawn annually for different uses. Approximately 142 mcm withdrawal of ground water is for drinking and industrial uses while 110 mcm for irrigation purposes.