Physico-chemical and microbiological status of River Asan in Dehradun Uttarakhand

Abstract

India is rich in water resources, being endowed with a network of rivers and blessed with snow cover in the Himalayan range that can meet a variety of water requirements of the country. However, with the rapid increase in the population of the country and the need to meet the increasing demands of irrigation, human and industrial consumption, the available water resources in many parts of the country are getting depleted and the water quality has deteriorated. In the present study physico-chemical and microbiological characteristics of the water of River Asan in Doon valley of Uttarakhand India were determined seasonally during April 2011 to March 2012.Turbidity, TS, TDS and TSS values were maximum on all the sites in rainy season which may be due to the gradual disturbances in sedimentation of solids as well as dust particlesdeposited along with runoff rainwater. High temperature, Total alkalinity, Total hardness, Calcium, Magnesium, BOD and low velocity and DO showed high load of pollution in river Asan. The microbiological studies include Total Colliform/ml (462±113.13),Faecal Colliform/ml (294.5±47.37) and SPC/ml (16×102) gives a clear indication of poor water quality. The results of bacterial parameters studies exceed the drinking water permissible limits suggested by WHO, ICMR and ISI.