Trace element contamination in ground waters of Miyapur and Bollaram, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India

Environmental geochemical studies were carried out to find out the extent of contamination in ground water with respect to trace elements in Miyapur and Bollaram areas of the Greater Hyderabad, Medak district, Andhra Pradesh, India. Nineteen water samples were collected from the study area and analyzed for trace elements including Al, Ba, Cd, Cr, Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn. The study area has many industries related to production of battery, metal plating, drugs, chemicals, oil, dying and plastic etc. The annual rainfall in the area is 600–800 mm. The ground water in both the areas is contaminated with respect to these elements. Many industries discharge their effluents either on open land or directly into the streams as there are no effluent plants. Solid waste from the urbanized area of Miyapur is also dumped on the road side or near open ground making the ground water contaminated with toxic elements which are hazardous to health and environment. Hence, there is a need to stop the indiscriminate dumping of effluent, solid waste etc to restore and conserve the ground water resources for future generation.