Physiochemical properties of contaminated soil under the influence of industrial and municipal wastewater

Due to urbanization, there is a large increase in industries; these industries produce effluent. This effluent will alter the physical and chemical characteristics of the soil and water. A laboratory study was attempted to understand its physiochemical change in soil and water through a column study: it was conducted under the variable head condition for two different soils (in situ and sandy soil) and four different wastewater samples (RO water, treated and untreated municipal water, untreated industrial wastewater) for one cycle. The time taken for sandy soil is 3 h, and for in situ soil, it is around 6 days. The pH, specific gravity, conductivity, permeability and shear strength properties were all studied. There was not much change in the chemical properties of the water upon passing it through the column medium. But the soil contaminated with untreated wastewater shows a reduction in bearing capacity by almost 50%, making it unfit for construction.