Assessment of Heavy Metal Fluxes in Groundwater of Semi-Urban and Urban Settings of Nalagarh Tehsil of Solan District, Himachal Pradesh, India

This study assessed the heavy metal concentration in groundwater for domestic purposes in the Nalagarh tehsil of Solan district in terms of spatial variations in the heavy metal ions fluxes. The monitoring was done for the pre-monsoon season of 2012 and eight heavy metals was considered. The mean Cd²⁺, Hg²⁺, Pb²⁺, Fe²⁺, Cu²⁺, Cr⁶⁺, Mn²⁺, and Zn²⁺ content at twenty-five sampling locations were found in the range of 0.02-0.068, 0-0.0035, 0.013-0.139, 0.002-0.06, 0.001-0.09, 0.003-0.08, 0.075-0.488, 0,001-0.389 mg/l respectively. The total heavy metal ions flux in the groundwater of the study area was found to be 11.104 mg/l. The presence of heavy metal ions in the groundwater samples suggests that, assessment of water quality parameters and water quality management practices should be done periodically in order to protect the valuable but limited fresh 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.