Quantification of Ions Fluxes in Groundwater of Semi-Urban and Urban Settings of Baddi Tehsil of Solan District, Himachal Pradesh, India

This study quantifies the heavy metals content of groundwater for domestic purposes in the Baddi tehsil of Solan district in terms of spatial variations in the heavy metal fluxes. The monitoring was done for the post-monsoon session 2011 and considering ten ions. The mean Cd²⁺, Hg²⁺, Pb²⁺, Fe²⁺, Cu²⁺, F^-, Cr⁶⁺, Se²⁺, Mn²⁺, and Zn²⁺ content at forty sampling locations were found in the range of 0-0.023, 0-0.007, 0-0.088, 0-0.11, 0.001-0.028, 0.21-0.72, 0-0.05, 0-0.003, 0.012-0.191, 0-0.531 mg/l respectively. The total ions fluxes in the groundwater of the study area were found to be 25.93 mg/l. The presence of heavy metal ions in the groundwater samples suggests that, assessment of water quality parameters as well as water quality management practices should be carried out periodically in order to protect the valuable limited water resources. Principal component analysis was used to identify the major contributing factor of contamination and also to examine the spatial changes of groundwater quality of the study area.