Abstract
Water is a most important element for life. Water pollution is the most common threat concerning to public health in Pakistan.
In order to check groundwater quality for drinking purpose, research was conducted in Lyallpur town which is an industrial
area of District Faisalabad. The area was divided into four zones for sampling and groundwater quality evaluation. Sixty water
samples from existing sources along with coordinates and four soil samples were taken to understand the mobility behavior of
contaminants. Paharrang drain passing through research area was expected to be the main source of soil and groundwater
contamination. Therefore sampling points for drinking water samples were selected keeping in consideration the relative
position from the drain. The collected samples were analyzed for physio-chemical parameters such as pH, EC, TDS, Ca, Mg,
Cl, bicarbonates. The results obtained from these samples were compared with WHO guidelines. The values of these results
were represented by a mapping of quality parameters using ArcView GIS v9.3 and IDW was used for raster interpolation. The
long term trends of all the groundwater quality parameters revealed that there is an increasing effect of contamination with
respect to time. Soil analysis of the study area showed sandy loam soil texture overall consequently showing high rates of
infiltration through soil. It was concluded that water is partially not fit for drinking specifically due to increased concentration
of TDS, Chlorine, and hardness. Direct use of this groundwater for drinking purpose may cause health issues gastrointestinal
illness, nausea, eye/nose irritation etc.
