Abstract—An attempt is made to accentuate the accumulation of heavy metals in ground water on the peripherals of river Musi from the eastern part of Hyderabad urban to Valigonda village to a length of about 70kms. The heavy metals like Al, As, Co, Cr, Cu, Zn, Pb, Ni, Mn are determined from ground water to assess the water quality. High concentration of heavy metals to their standard limits threatening the sustainability of animal, plant and human life. The source of heavy metals in ground water along Musi River is due to indiscriminate discharge of industrial effluents and domestic sewage, and being carried along the river far off places from the source. The slow movement of water in the river leads to accumulate and precipitate the heavy metals both vertically and moves laterally. The untreated and or partially treated waste water used for irrigation is expected to have adverse impacts on local and shallow aquifers, which makes the ground water in the vicinity unsuitable for domestic, drinking and irrigation purposes. There is an urgent need to handle the problem with a suitable plan and strategy. Excessive plantation along the river banks may solve to some extent the seriousness of the problem. Bio-remediation in the surface water bodies may check the depletion of aquifers.

Index Terms—Heavy metals, Water quality, aquifers, River Musi, Bio-remediation

Cite:Blessy Ganduri, Udayalaxmi G, and Vidyasagarachary D, "Deleterious Concentrations of Heavy Metals in Ground Water along River Musi, Telangana State, India," International Journal of Geology and Earth Science, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 146-158, June 2019. doi: 10.18178/ijges.5.2.146-158