Hydrochemistry of drinking water sources and water purifiers in relation to epidemiological study in Hisar, North‐West India

Abstract

AbstractThe concern related to the drinking of reverse osmosis (RO) water containing low levels of minerals is growing day by day. This study involves the analysis of water samples from various drinking water sources in a rural site, Mirchpur village, an Indus Valley civilization site (grid location: 29° 18′ 42.3″ N, 76° 10′ 33.0″ E) of Hisar, India, along with the health survey of human subjects. The hydrochemistry of water collected from hand pumps, river canals, tube wells, submersibles, and the RO systems installed in various homes was explored for pH, EC, TH, TDS, turbidity, cations (Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+), anions (CO32−, HCO3−, Cl−, SO42−, NO3−, F−), and elements (Fe, Pb, Se) employing the ion chromatography, flame photometry, and ICP‐AES techniques. Lead (Pb) and Selenium (Se) were detected in trace amounts (0.30–2.6 μg L−1; 0.10–4.1 μg L−1, respectively) in all the samples, including the samples collected from RO purifiers, but Iron (Fe) was not detected in RO samples even in trace amounts. The F‐levels in hand pump water (HPW) and submersible water (SW) (1.9  and 1.7 mg L−1, respectively) and TDS levels in SW (3048 mg L−1) were found to be above WHO and BIS safe limits. TDS levels in the river canal (900 mg L−1), tube well (1104 mg L−1), hand pump (1170 mg L−1), and submersible samples (3048 mg L−1) were found significantly higher as compared to the RO personal water (ROPW; 216 mg L−1) and RO supply water (ROSW; 90 mg L−1). The collected epidemiological data reveals that 21%, 19%, 13%, and 12% of natives reported skin, kidney, hair fall, liver, and stomach issues, respectively, suspecting the crucial role of high TDS and fluoride levels in the area. This study also provides a comparison between the quality of RO and the direct supply water, along with correlation matrices for different parameters, which gives a rationale for the limitations of drinking direct supply water without any purification and RO water containing low mineral content.