Abstract
Faisalabad is one of the biggest industrial cities in Pakistan but drinking water quality is declining day-by-day. In the present study a total of 92 samples including drinking water samples, industrial wastewater samples and soil samples along the sewage drains of Faisalabad city and surrounding region were collected from different sampling points. The pH, total dissolved substances (TDS)and conductivity of the samples were 7.9, 2153 ppm and 2847 µS, respectively. The concentration of Pb ranges from 5.16 ppm to 34 ppm with an average concentration of 15.4 ppm while the concentration of As ranges from 8.09 ppm to 54.4 ppm with an average concentration of 17.24 ppm The concentration of Cr ranges from 7 ppm to 140 ppm with an average concentration of 46.8 ppm. The average concentrations of Na+, K+, Ca2+ and Mg2+ were found to be 768.5 ppm, 38.7 ppm, 62.4 ppm and 91.5 ppm respectively. Sodium ion was the major cation while the chloride ion was the major anion making the Faisalabad water undesirable for drinking and domestic purposes. The type of water in such alluvial aquifers is mostly sodium chloride, sodium sulfate and magnesium bicarbonate.
Keywords: Physicochemical parameters, Drinking water, Heavy metal ions, Water pollution
