Abstract
The present study is an in depth analysis of groundwater pollution along the industrial zones of Lahore, Kasur and Kala Shah Kaku. A total of forty (40) ground water samples were collected randomly from study area out of which twenty(20) were taken from Lahore, ten (10) were gathered from Kasur while ten(10) from Kala Shah Kaku. In order to evaluate the groundwater quality, different physical parameters (pH, TDS and Electric Conductivity) chemical (Calcium-magnesium, Sodium, Bicarbonates, Chloride) and metals (Cr, Cd, Zn, Pb, Mg and Ni) were analyzed and were compared with the prescribed limits of (WHO, 2011). The deduced results revealed that all the physio-chemical parameters were within the prescribed range of WHO, except EC that exceeded the permissible range of WHO. Based on mean values heavy metals in ground water samples followed the declining concentration (Mn> Zn>Cu>Cd>Cr>Pb>Ni). Manganese and Zinc were found to be in magnified concentrations. The results demonstrated that effluents discharged from various industries without treatment are a potential threat to underground water contamination. Thus, it is recommended that waste water treatment plants should be installed by these industries. Furthermore, strict government actions, effective environmental laws and social awareness programs must be undertaken.
Keyword(s)
Groundwater Pollution, Industrial Zones, Lahore, Kasur, Kala Shah Kaku, analysis