STUDIES ON PHYSICOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS TO ASSESS THE WATER QUALITY OF RIVER GANGA FOR DRINKING PURPOSE IN HARIDWAR DISTRICT

Abstract

A systematic study has been carried out to assess the water quality index of River Ganga in Haridwar District. 90 water samples from five sampling stations were collected and analysed for physico-chemical parameters (Temp, velocity, pH, dissolved oxygen, free CO2, C.O.D., B.O.D., Carbonate, Bicarbonate, total alkalinity, hardness, turbidity, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, nitrate, phosphate, chloride, sulphate, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids and total suspended solids.) The study area experiences a seasonal climate and broadly divided into three seasons as winter (November to February), Summer (March to June) and rainy (July to October). The samples were collected and analysed for two consecutive years 2007 and 2008. Each parameter was compared with the standard desirable limit of that parameter in river water as prescribed by different agencies. The analytical data of various physicochemical parameters indicates that some parameters like pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids , total suspended solids, turbidity and sodium are found to be in excess than the prescribed limit in some water samples of the study areas. The WQI value indicates that water samples of some sampling stations are quite unfit for drinking purpose because of high value of dissolved solids and sodium. It was also observed that the water in the year 2007 was of a better quality than in the year 2008. Suitable suggestions were made to improve the quality of river water.