Abstract

                                Spentwash is a highly concentrated liquid waste discharged from distillery industry. This effluent is used as liquid fertilizer by many farmers due to its high load of nutrients. But, due to continuous spentwash irrigation the salts and nutrients present in the effluent leach to ground water creating environmental issue. Piezometers were installed in farmers field at a depth of 0.5 m in both spentwash applied and control fields and the leachates were collected on 30, 60, 90 and 120th day after spent wash application to monitor the groundwater leaching. The results indicated that, EC and salt content of the leachate increased initially at 30th day and it was found to be decreased from 60th day. Hence, spentwash must be applied judiciously according to crop requirements and soil fertility status to prevent groundwater contamination with nitrate, salts and other toxic ions.

Key words : Spentwash, Piezometer, Groundwater quality