Comparative study of Drinking Water Quality Parameters of three Manmade Reservoirs i.e. Kolar, Kaliasote and Kerwa Dam

A physico-chemical study of the Kerwa dam, Kolar dam and Kaliasote dam of Bhopal has been carried out to examine the suitability of surface water for drinking purposes. Water Samples were collected from two sampling stations of each dam and analyzed (APHA, AWWA, WEF, 1998) for the physico–chemical parameters such as temperature, pH, electrical conductivity, total hardness, calcium hardness, magnesium hardness, sulphate, fluoride and chemical oxygen demand (COD) to know the present status of the water bodies. The concentrations of investigated parameters in the water samples were within the permissible limits of the World Health Organization drinking water quality guidelines except for the values of COD and total hardness. The value of COD was found in the range of 18 mg/ l to 30 mg/l which was much higher than the maximum permissible limits as prescribed by WHO standards (1993). The value of total hardness ranges from 118 mg/l to 170 mg/l which is also above the permissible limit as prescribed by WHO standards.