Water Quality Study on Giant Tank Situated in Mannar, Sri Lanka during the Rainy Season: Prediction towards Its Domestic Utility

Abstract

The quality of surface and ground water rely on various chemical components and their concentration that are mostly derived from the biological data of the particular region. However, these water sources are being contaminated due to the improper disposal of industrial waste, runoff from the agricultural farm land and the municipal solid wastes. Therefore, water scarcity problem arises in many countries all over the world. In many parts of Sri Lanka, available water is rendered non-potable because of the presence of excess chemical and biological matters. Water quality is an important parameter to be studied when the overall focus is sustainable development of a country. In this regard, this study mainly focuses on the water quality study of one of the largest ponds, Kaddukarai pond (Giant tank), which is situated in the Mannar district of Sri Lanka. Although this pond contains enough water, it is not consumed for any domestic purposes. Further none of the studies available regarding the quality of this pond water. Thus, this study aims the water quality test by evaluating the physico-chemical parameters and the coliform count. Our result indicates that the physico-chemical parameters of this pond water are in the desirable range, whereas the coliform count found to be higher than normal. Although the physical parameter shows a good agreement with the standards, the coliform count found to be higher in the samples obtained from the Kaddukarai pond. Therefore, if the biological quality is improved, this Giant tank water could also be used for domestic and sustainable agricultural purposes.