Fluoride and other Quality Parameters in the Groundwater Samples of Pettaivaithalai and Kulithalai Areas of Tamil Nadu, Southern India

The present study was carried out to evaluate the status of the potable quality of the water samples in the Pettavaithalai and Kulithalai areas of Tamil Nadu, Southern India. In the month of January 2007, a total of 90 water samples from 12 locations, which include dug wells, bore wells, ponds and canals, were collected and investigated for Fluoride and other water quality parameters, viz., pH, Electrical conductivity (EC), Total dissolved solids (TDS), Total alkalinity (TA), Salinity (SY), Calcium hardness (CH), Magnesium hardness (MH), Total hardness (TH), Bicarbonate (BC) and Chloride (Cl). The pH values of the pond water samples were observed to be alkaline. A fluoride content of 29% of the water samples in Station 1 and 13% in Station 2, was assessed above the recommended limit (1.5 mg/l) of WHO. A positive correlation was observed for CH, EC, Salinity and BC, against the TDS content. The positive values of the Langeleir Saturation Index (LSI) indicate that most of the water samples have the tendency to cause the precipitation of the CaCO3. The Principal Component Analysis using the SPSS package was also done to determine the major ionic contributors of the water samples.