PHYSICO-CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF RIVER WATER OF GANGA IN MIDDLE GANGA PLAINS

摘要

The river Ganga, the life line of millions of people, provides water for the essential requirements of life. However, over the years it has been subject to tremendous pressure due to untreated sewage and industrial effluents being dumped in to the river at numerous places and the residues of pesticides and insecticides used in the farms are washed in to it. In this study, water samples from river Ganga were monitored for pH, dissolved oxygen, total hardness, nitrate nitrogen and phosphate phosphorous at three sampling locations for two consecutive years on monthly basis. The study of physico-chemical parameters indicates that the quality of its water has substantially declined. Detoriated water quality of river has potential health risks to drinking water consumers and organisms in Ganga river basin. Further work is needed to determine the bioaccumulation of these toxic elements in the food web and the associated risks to the ecosystem and human health. are compared.