Integrated geospatial techniques to assess environmental degradation due to industries in and around Vellore South India

Abstract

Water is an important essential renewal resource, without which life cannot exist on the earth. Water scarcity problems are increasing day by day throughout the world due to the increasing needs for various applications like domestic, agriculture and industries. Unpredictable variation in the occurrence of precipitation with respect to space and time creates droughts and floods in many places. It greatly affects groundwater fluctuation also. Therefore, it is important to study the disparity in the precipitation for various planning activities. Severe water scarcity problem exist in Vellore district of Tamil Nadu, India. The area of the present study (1727 km2) is bounded between the latitudes 12and#730;35 00 12and#730;55 00 N and the longitudes 78and#730;30 00 - 78and#730;50 00 E. The ground elevation varies from 179 to 572 m with respect to the Mean Sea Level (MSL). This area is hard rock terrain chiefly occupied by Charnockite, Peninsular gneiss and Alkali rocks. Alluvial formations are available only along the river channels. This region mainly depends on rainfall for various water requirements. The river Palar passing through the study area is mostly dry due to monsoon failure and construction of many check dams by the neighboring sate Andhra Pradesh. As the surface water resources are not enough for various demands of the people of this region groundwater resources are largely extracted. In addition to water scarcity problems, quality of the water including groundwater resources is contaminated by the industrial discharge especially by the leather tanneries. The toxic hexavalent chromium present in the tannery effluents is one of the major threats to the human health and environment. newline