A Multivariate Approach for Water Quality Assessment of River Mandakini in Chitrakoot,India

摘要

The River Mandakini is one of the holy rivers of India, which flows across the Chitrakoot area of the eastern part of Bundelkhand region. Its water is shared by the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Water quality assessment of the river Mandakini from Sati Anusuya to Ramghat was carried out at various locations. Various water quality physico-chemical parameters, including temperature, pH, turbidity, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), total hardness, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, alkalinity, chloride, sulphate, fluoride, nitrate, dissolved oxygen (DO), and bio-chemical oxygen demand (BOD), were analyzed. Correlation analysis was done to identify the highly correlated and interrelated water-quality parameters. Concentrations of conductivity, TDS, hardness, alkalinity and fluoride higher than their prescribed standard were observed at some locations, while other parameters were observed within their prescribed limits. Higher values of turbidity, BOD, chloride and nitrate were observed at the downstream end of the river, which could be due to the cumulative pollution load from the sewerage discharge from nearby urban settlement, sacred mass bathing points, and agricultural runoff discharge into the river. A schematic diagram was used to trace point and non-point sources of pollutants responsible for governing the river water quality in a spatial scale.