~ 597 ~  ISSN Print: 2394-7500 ISSN Online: 2394-5869 Impact Factor: 5.2 IJAR 2015; 1(8):597-600 www.allresearchjournal.com Received: 21-05-2015 Accepted: 22-06-2015 S. Mallika Associate Professor, P.G. and Research Dept. of. Zoology, A.P.A College for Women, Palani, Tamil Nadu, India. R. Umamaheswari Assistant Professor, P.G. and Research Dept. of. Zoology, A.P.A College for Women, Palani, Tamil Nadu, India. S. Krishnamoorthy P.G. and Research Dept. of Zoology, the Madura College, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. Correspondence: R. Umamaheswari Assistant professor, P.G. and Research Dept. of. Zoology, A.P.A College for Women, Palani, Tamil Nadu, India. Physico-Chemical analysis of Vaigai River water quality in Madurai Dist. Tamil Nadu S. Mallika, R. Umamaheswari, S. Krishnamoorthy Abstract In this present study, analysis of Vaigai River water quality in seven locations was carried out to determine the physical and chemical characteristics of water. The sampling sites were selected on the basis of their distance, such as Sholavandan (S1), Thiruvedakam (S2), Thenur (S3), Kochadai (S4), Arappalayam (S5), Goripalayam (S6) and Teppakulam ((S7). The pH value 7.0 is considered as best and ideal. The pH is range from 7.38 to 7.87 which was the permissible limit. Total dissolved solids and Electrical conductivity were found moderate in S1 to S6 site and S7 were recorded maximum. The total hardness and alkalinity also recorded maximum in S7 site than that remains. The Calcium, Mg, and Fe were recorded maximum in S7 site rest of others were permissible limit. Free NH3 was found maximum in S5 (1.2mg/L), S6 (1.5mg/L) and S7 (2.5mg/L) site. Nitrite was observed high in S3 (1.5mg/L). Phosphate was found objectable limit in S3 (1.2mg/L) and S7 (2.0mg/L). Finally, the result was concluding that the surface running water was contaminated at few sampling sites namely S5 (Arappalayam), S6 (Goripalayam) and S7 (Teppakulam) due to the anthropogenic activity. But the sampling sites S1, S2, S3 and S4 are recommended for use to drinking and other purpose. Keywords: Vaigai River, Water Quality, Physico-chemical analysis. 1. Introduction Water is essential for life and access to clean drinking water is a necessity for good health. However, clean drinking water is not available everywhere, due to water scarcity and pollution of existing water resources. The pollution can be in the form of natural or anthropogenic activities (Trivey and Pandey, 1990) [13] . The quality of river water is influenced by various natural factors such as rainfall, temperature and weathering of rocks and anthropogenic activities which alter the hydrochemistry of river water (Indrani Gupta et al., 2011) [6] . Turbidity, nutrients and biological oxygen demand of river indicates the pollution level (Rajmohan and Elango, 2005) [9] . Unplanned urbanization and rapid growth of industrialization increase river pollution crisis in river ecosystem. The problem of water quality deterioration is mainly due to human activities such as discharge of industrial and sewage wastes and agricultural runoff which cause ecological damage and pose serious health hazards (Bhattacharya et al., 2012) [2] . Water sources available for drinking and other domestic purposes must possess high degree of purity, free from chemical contamination and microorganisms. The rapid growth of urban areas has further affected the water quality due to over exploitation of resources and improper waste disposal practices. The study on physico-chemical parameters of surface water in river Vaigai has been observed for the period of three months (October 2014 to March 2015). The physico- Chemical parameters like color, electrical conductivity, odor, total dissolved solids, pH, dissolved oxygen, BOD, COD, total alkalinity, calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Manganese, Free ammonia, Nitrate, Chloride, Fluoride, Sulphate, Phosphate were recorded in all seven samples. 2. Study Area Madurai is situated in South India of Tamil Nadu State. The city has grown on both sides of Vaigai River. The city is situated on 9°48’ N longitude and 78°06 E longitude. The sampling sites (Plate.1) were selected on the basis of their distance, such as Sholavandan (S1), Thiruvedakam (S2), Thenur (S3), Kochadai (S4), Arappalayam (S5), Goripalayam (S6) and Teppakulam ((S7). International Journal of Applied Research 2015; 1(8): 597-600