Assessing the Safety and Quality of Underground Drinking Water in Faisalabad

Pakistan has many plentiful water sources, including ice caps, rainwater, and groundwater, but these sources are continuously polluted. Fast growth, development, and continued industrial growth, especially in Faisalabad, have imposed immense pressure on the city's water resources. Its groundwater quality is worsening rapidly because of untreated wastewater from municipal and textile industries. Fifteen samples were collected from different colonies of Faisalabad for physical, chemical, and biological analysis. To regulate the quality of drinking water, physio-chemical parameters such as color, Odor, Taste, electric conductivity, Total dissolved solids, and chemical parameters like Ca, Mg, carbonates, bicarbonates, and chlorides were examined. After examining all collected samples, they were linked with the WHO values, Pakistan standards, and quality control authority standards (PSQCA). Out of these 15 samples, four samples were unfit for human use owing to the occurrence of E. coli. The remaining 11 samples were biologically fit for human consumption. All samples are colorless, but four have a pungent smell, and five have a terrible taste. The pH of all the samples was within the WHO and PSQCA limits (6.50-8.50) except for one. The highest EC was found at 6.206 ds/m from Noorpur, and the lowest was 0.062 ds/m from Millet town. Our research shows that about 46% of the underground water of Faisalabad is unhealthy for human drinking due to the high TDS, TSS, chlorides, bicarbonates, and presence of microorganisms.