Water pollution of Sabarmati River—a Harbinger to potential disaster

• Published in: Environmental monitoring and assessment 2014-04, Vol.186 (4), p.2231-2242
• Main Authors: Haldar, Soumya, Mandal, Subir Kumar, Thorat, R. B, Goel, Sangita, Baxi, Krushnakant D, Parmer, Navalsang P, Patel, Vipul, Basha, S, Mody, K. H
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arabian Sea; Assessments; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Bacteria; Biochemical oxygen demand; Biochemistry; Chlorides; cities; Disasters; Dissolution; Dissolved oxygen; drainage; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecology; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Management; Environmental Monitoring; Estuaries; Hydrocarbons; Industrial effluents; Industrial wastewater; industry; Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; petroleum; Petroleum hydrocarbons; phenol; Phenols; Phytoplankton; Plankton; plate count; Rivers; Rivers - chemistry; Rivers - microbiology; salinity; Saudi Arabia; Studies; Sustainability management; Sustainable development; Total dissolved solids; Turbidity; Water Pollutants - analysis; Water pollution; Water Pollution - statistics & numerical data; Water quality
• ISSN: 0167-6369; 1573-2959
• DOI: 10.1007/s10661-013-3532-5

River Sabarmati is one of the biggest and major river of Gujarat that runs through two major cities of Gujarat, Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad and finally meets the Gulf of Khambhat (GoK) in the Arabian Sea. A study was conducted to evaluate the water quality of this river, as it could possibly be one of the major sources for filling up Kalpasar, the proposed man-made freshwater reservoir supposed to be the biggest one in the world. A total of nine sampling stations were established covering 163 km stretch of the river from upstream of Gandhinagar city to Vataman near Sabarmati estuary. Physicochemical (temprature, pH, salinity, chloride, total dissolved solids, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, phenol, and petroleum hydrocarbons), biological (phytoplankton), and microbiological (total and selective bacterial count) analyses indicated that the river stretch from Ahmedabad-Vasana barriage to Vataman was highly polluted due to perennial waste discharges mainly from municipal drainage and industries. An implementation of sustainable management plan with proper treatment of both municipal and industrial effluents is essential to prevent further deterioration of the water quality of this river.