(3rd International Conference on Water Quality Management, 6-8 February 2008, Nagpur, India, pp. 106-112)
Since laste decase, contamination of the shallow aquifers by the industrial waste effluents throughout their journey from the source are alarming in several industries ranging from automobiles, pharmaceutical to textiles in Pithampur industrial belt of Madhya Pradesh, about 45 km from Indore in Central India. The wastersheds of two rivers namely Gambhir and Chambal constitute the two study areas, which are sub-parallel to dendritic drainage pattern. Geologically, the area is covered by hard rock terrain of Deccan Traps of Upper Cretaceous to Palcocene age. The rocks have secondary porosity in the form of fractures and joints under the unconfined to semi confined aquifer conditions. Integrated geohydrological, remote sensing and geophysical investigations have been carried out to characterize the extent of contaminant migration and to delineate the aquifer geometry in hard rock terrain. Groundwater flow and mass transport modeling has been carried out to characterize the extent of contaminant plumes, if any for present scenario. The study revealed that there is no significant ground water contamination in the study area and very good scope for expansion of industrial units in the Pithampur industrial hub of central India.
