Microbiological Quality Analysis of Groundwater in Mhadei River Watershed, Goa, India

Abstract

Author(s): M.M. Ibrampurkar*, V.D. Virginkar**, A. M. Rane*** and Y. Modassir****

Mhadei River watershed is an important watershed in the small coastal State of Goa. A large number of people living in the watershed depend on groundwater drawn from open dug wells for their daily water requirements. Twenty five groundwater samples were collected from the open dug wells to assess the microbiological quality of water. The water samples were analysed for total coliform, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella typhinurium bacteria. It was found that most of the water samples were contaminated by these pathogenic bacteria. The bacterial population was found to be having higher densities in the post-monsoon season water samples as compared to the pre-monsoon water samples. This implies that the high infiltration rates during rainy season facilitate transport of waste matter to the groundwater thereby polluting the same. Since most water samples collected showed luxuriant growth of microorganisms, they are unfit for drinking purpose.

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