Assessment of Water Quality of Groundwater of Thar Desert, Sindh, Pakistan

The work examines water quality of Thar Desert, Sindh, Pakistan, by investigating 2193 dug wells. The samples were collected from August to December 2015. All the 2170 samples were divided in three categories on the basis of their (TDS). TDS above 3000 mg/L, TDS within 1500-3000 mg/L, TDS below 1500 mg/L. The 1247 (57.5%) were observed with TDS above 3000 mg/L, 320 (14.7%) were with TDS within 1500 – 3000 mg/L and 588 (27.1%) samples with TDS below 1500 mg/L. Among 588 samples suitable for drinking with TDS less than 1500 mg/L, chloride was above WHO permissible level in 91 (15.5%), alkalinity in 78 (13.3%) samples, sulphate in 85 (14.5%) samples, arsenic in 64 (10.9%) samples, and fluorides in 100 (17.0%) samples. The Tharparkar 27.1% samples which were considered safe and were within maximum permissible limits of WHO, indicated arsenic and fluoride contamination in the range of 11-17%.