Assessment of Water Quality of Ganga River - Haridwar
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International Journal of Research ISSN NO: 2236-6124 Assessment of Water Quality of Ganga River - Haridwar Dr. Raghavendra Prakash Dubedi Head of Department (HoD) Deptt. of Chemistry, Government Degree College Churiyala(Haridwar)-India Abstract In present research paper, an effort have been made to analyze the water of Ganga river is drinkable, bathable or irrigable. According to religious beliefs, the water of Ganga is known as Ganga-Jal or Devine Liquid or Brahma Dravya. When there is such great belief, it must be drinkable, bathable and irrigable. In this paper, I am going to discuss, how Ganga water is useful for human life . Ganga water contain many type of chemicals and bacteria, they don’t let it be worth drinking. But there is also a virus(Bactereophase) that named like bacteria, contributes to the purity of Ganga water by killing the Coliform bacteria. Apart from there, Dead bodies , the Ashes of Burnt bodies, Industrial effluents and Urban sewage dumped in the Ganga River. Dirty Water and excreta is also going into the Ganga River from towns on its way, Washermen’s are washing clothes and making the Ganga Dirty washing sites are also the sources of pollution. Keywords: Water Pollution, Ganga-Jal, Water Quality, River Ganga 1. Introduction The Ganga also referred to as the Ganges. The Quality of Water is very important aspect for mankind because it is directly linked with human welfare. Before understanding the quality of water, we need to know about the Ganga-history . Ganga River arises from Gangotri glacier approx 4100 meters above the sea level in the Garhwal Himalayas under the name Bhagirathi. Down the Himalayas, the river streams of Mandakini and Alaknanda meet at the place called Devprayag. It is below this confluence that the river gets it name Ganga. The Ganga runs its course of over 2526 km. from Gangotri in the Himalayas to Ganga Sagar in the way of Bengal. Approximately 25 km from Rishikesh, Haridwar has more of a significance for religious pilgrims, who come here to cremate their deceased, and wash away their sins by bathing in the holy water of the Ganga. The sheer number of people that flock here every day is phenomenal and gives the place a chaotic yet reverent feel. The head waters of Bhagirathi are formed at GOMUKH (Uttarakhand) at the foot of the Gangotri glacier and khatling glaciers in the Garhwal Himalayas. These two sacred rivers join to form the Ganga (Ganges) in Devprayag. Gangotri is called the origin of River Ganga and seat of the Goddess Ganga. Gangotri is one of the 4 sites in the char Dham pilgrimage circuit, other being Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath. The Gangotri glacier is located in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. The terminus of the Gangotri glacier is said to resemble a Cow’s mouth, and the place is called GOMUKH. The route of Ganges is given in Figure as under [1]. Volume 7, Issue IV, APRIL/2018 Page No:381 International Journal of Research ISSN NO: 2236-6124 2.Methods Water sampling was done at randomly located different Ghats of Haridwar (Uttarakhand). Water testing was done by dividing into several groups like Physical, Chemical and Biological Parameters. Physical Indicators like: Colour of Water, Odour of Water, Taste of Water, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and Turbidity are recorded. Chemical Indicators like: Chemicals, Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Dissolved Metals – Metalloids, pH of water and Total Hardness (TH) are estimated. Biological indicators are the Bacteriological tests are examined. Colorimetric Method is used to identify the colour of water. Organoleptic Method is used to identify the odour and taste of water. Gravimetric Method is used to determine the TDS. Biological Oxygen Demand is the amount of oxygen required by the phytoplankton’s of polluted water body to complete decomposition of organic wastes in one liter of polluted water is determined. pH of water can be easily checked by Universal Indicator. AAS is used to determine the total hardness in terms of CaCO3. Filtration Method is used to identify the bacteria in water samples. 3. Result and Discussion I tried to find out through this research paper, whether the water of Ganges is worth drinking or not, for this we’ve to understand the standards of drinkable water. Before coming to any conclusion, other reports’ have to be discussed. Drinking water quality standards describes the quality parameters set for drinking water . Despite the truth that every human on this planet needs drinking water to survive and that water may contain many harmful constituents, Volume 7, Issue IV, APRIL/2018 Page No:382 International Journal of Research ISSN NO: 2236-6124 there are no universally recognized and accepted international standards for drinking water [2]. Even standards do exist, and are applied; the permitted concentration of individual constituents may vary by one set of standards to another. The nature and form of drinking- water standards may vary among countries and regions. There is no single approach that is universally applicable. It is essential in the development and implementation of standards that the current and planned legislation relating to water, health and local government are taken into account and that the capacity to develop and implement regulations is assessed. Approaches that may work in one country or region will not necessarily transfer to other countries or regions. It is essential that each country review its needs and capacities in developing a regulatory framework [3]. Some people believe that, a dip in the Ganga may wash away your sins but the river’s water is also likely to make you sick. The Central Pollution Control Board’s reply to an RTI query put up by TOI has said that the water of the river along Haridwar is not even fit for bathing. The CPCB has said that water in Haridwar district fails almost all parameters of safety. According to official sources, nearly 50,000-1 lakh devotees bathe at the over 20 Ghats of Haridwar every day. Tests were done at 11 locations in Uttarakhand, from Gangotri to Haridwar, a distance of 294km along the river. The RTI filed sought details of water quality and locations from which samples are collected. RM Bhardwaj, senior scientist of the CPCB, stated that four main indicators of river water quality were taken into account when examining the 296 km stretch. These included temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), biological oxygen demand (BOD) and coli-form (bacteria). Clinical tests of water samples showed high levels of BOD, coliform and other toxic materials around Haridwar district. According to CPCB norms, BOD levels should be less than 3 mg per liter for bathing purposes. But the levels go up to 6.4 mg per litre in the river's water. Presence of high-level coliform further threw light on the severity of water pollution in Haridwar. The total coliform value here is between 90 MPN (Most Probable Number) per 100 ml to 1,600 MPN per 100 ml. According to the CPCB report, the coliform values should be 500 MPN/100ml or less for bathing purposes. Moreover, the acceptable limit for DO is 5 mg per litre or more but in Haridwar it is 4 mg to 10.6 mg per litre. Noted environmentalist Anil Joshi said, “Haridwar has emerged as an industrial and tourist hub and unless Sewage Treatment Plants (STP) are installed and water discharge quality is monitored strictly, the Ghats will continue to remain polluted.”[4]. The most important heavy metals from the point of view of water pollution are Zn, As, Cu, Pb, Cd, Hg, Ni, and Cr[5]. Some of these metals (e.g. Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, and Zn) are required as nutrients in trace amount for life processes in plants and microorganisms but become toxic at higher concentrations (given below in Table). Other such as Pb, Cr, and Cd has no known biological function, but are toxic elements [6], [7], [8], [9]. These heavy metals are not readily degradable in nature and accumulate in the animal as well as human bodies to a very high toxic amount leading to undesirable effects beyond a certain limit [10], [11], [12]. The fatal diseases such as eyelid edema, nephritis, renal tumor, extensive lesions in the kidneys, anuria, nasal mucous membranes and pharynx congestion, increase blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases, osteoporosis, cancer, headache and malfunctions of different systems of the body caused by heavy metals have been reported by several authors [13], [14], [15], [16]. They are also known to interfere with synthesis and metabolism of the hormones [17]. Volume 7, Issue IV, APRIL/2018 Page No:383 International Journal of Research ISSN NO: 2236-6124 Table : Permissible limits of heavy metals in drinking water [5]. Heavy metal Permissible limit WHO USEPA ISI CPCB ICMR Iron (mg/l) 0.1 – 0.3 1.0 1.0 Copper (mg/l) 1.0 1.3 0.05 1.5 1.5 Mercury (mg/l) 0.001 0.002 0.001 No relaxation 0.001 Cadmium (mg/l) 0.005 0.005 0.01 No relaxation 0.01 Arsenic (mg/l) 0.05 0.05 0.05 No relaxation 0.05 Lead (mg/l) 0.05 – 0.10 No relaxation 0.05 Zinc (mg/l) 5.0 – 5.0 15.0 0.10 Chromium (mg/l) 0.1 – 0.05 No relaxation – WHO: World Health Organization, USEPA: United States Environmental Protection Agency, ISI: Indian Standard Institution, CPCB: Central Pollution Control Board and ICMR: Indian Council of Medical Research [18] Let’s talk about the Physical Indicators of the Ganges Water. Yellow colour in water is mostly caused by small amounts of rust.