Water Quality Assessment of Pamba River of Kerala, India in Relation to Pilgrimage Season

Abstract

In the present study microbiological and physico-chemical water quality of the River Pamba, Kerala, India was determined during Sabarimala Pilgrimage season and off seasons. Pamba River with a length of 176 kms is a major river of Kerala. Sabarimala, one of the major pilgrimage centers of South India is located on the banks of the river Pamba. The pilgrimage season is from December to February every year. Pilgrims use river water for various sanitary purposes. The river water is also influenced by various other anthropogenic activities. The microbiological and physico-chemical characteristics like Total Plate Count (TPC), Total Coliform Count (TC), Temperature, pH, Dissolved Oxygen and Free Carbon dioxide were studied and analyzed during July 2010 - April 2011 using standard procedures. The water samples were collected from three different sites, Upstream - Triveni, Midstream - Chenganoor and down stream - Veeyapuram of the river channel. The results revealed that all the studied sites showed more pollution during the pilgrimage season (post monsoon) than the off seasons (monsoon and summer) and also showed fluctuations in microbiological and physico-chemical parameters. Triveni segment of Pamba showed most pollution and Veeyapuram showed least. Pollution of river water can be reduced by providing proper sanitation facility to pilgrims and by providing proper methods for dumping of sewage and wastes. Almost all parameters showed significant (P<0.05) seasonal variation between segments and was determined by analysis of variance (ANOVA).