Analysis of the quality of groundwater in the Sverdlovsk region

Abstract

Introduction. The quality and availability of drinking water is a prerequisite for the protection of health and ensuring the necessary living conditions of modern man. The aim of this work is to assess the quality of groundwater from sources of non-centralized water supply in in the Sverdlovsk region. Materials and methods. Water samples were taken from various groundwater sources including springs, wells, boreholes in the Sverdlovsk region. Water quality was assessed by the following indicators: hardness, oxidizability, pH, content of heavy metals (copper, lead, cadmium, nickel and zinc), nitrate ions. The studies were carried out by titrimetry (hardness and oxidizability), potentiometry (pH and nitrate ion content) and inversion voltammetry (heavy metal content). The degree of contamination of these groundwater with heavy metals was estimated by the Cd pollution index. Results. The pH values in the studied water samples are within acceptable values. (except for one sample). The hardness values of the studied groundwater (with the exception of one sample) correspond to the maximum permissible concentration (MPC). A high content of nitrates due to the application of mineral fertilizers and industrial effluents was found in two samples studied. Excess of the standard values of oxidizability due to penetration of municipal wastewater into the groundwater was detected in three samples. The revealed strong contamination of a number of underground sources with lead, cadmium and zinc is caused by the action of various technogenic factors. Limitations. The number of analyzed samples, the variety of sampling sites, the number of indicators of the quality of the studied water samples, and methods of their determination are limited. Conclusion. Thus, the groundwater of the Sverdlovsk region from seven sources of non-centralized water supply were revealed to be contaminated with nitrates, organic pollutants, heavy metals (lead, zinc, cadmium) and characterized by increased rigidity. MPC of lead, cadmium and zinc was repeatedly found to be exceeded in three water samples. The anthropogenic nature of water pollution has been established, mainly due to the proximity of highways and industrial enterprises to water intake sources. The calculated indices of groundwater pollution allowed estimating the level of their pollution as high.