WATER QUALITY INDEX FOR ASSESSMENT OF RAW WATER AT DIFFERENT CITIES IN M.P., INDIA

The paper aims at determining the suitability of ground water of different zones in four cities with five sampling stations each of Madhya Pradesh with reference to index also termed as Water Quality Index (WQI). The objective of the index is to convert complex data pertaining to water quality into the most comprehensible and simple data that can be understood by general public and policy makers as a whole. The objective was to study different parameters viz. physicochemical, mineral, demand, nutrient, bacteriological and metals to check the pollution levels in the region using Water Quality Index (WQI). The WQI for few of the samples ranges between 25 – 50 indicating its bad quality while for other samples it was between 50 – 70, showing bad to medium water quality. The study revealed that all the groundwater sources studied are somewhat contaminated and are unfit for human consumption and requires assessment to some degree of purification before it is used for drinking and domestic purposes.