Girish Chopra, Anita Bhatnagar and Deepak Kumar
Department of Zoology, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra-136 119 (Haryana), India
*(email : anitabhatnagar@gmail.com; Mobile : 9896634580)
(Received : August 25, 2020; Accepted : October 12, 2020)
ABSTRACT
Water quality index (WQI) is one of the most commonly used methods for the detection and evaluation of water pollution. The Kali Bein is a tributary of the river Beas which receives polluted water from various sources. During the present course of work, an attempt was made to assess the water quality of this religiously significant rivulet. Monthly water samples were collected from four different sites i. e. S1, S2, S3 and S4 for a period of one year from March, 2017 to February, 2018. Different parameters like temperature, pH, conductivity, total dissolved solids, free CO2, dissolved oxygen, BOD, total alkalinity, chlorides, hardness, calcium, magnesium, phosphates and nitrates were analyzed. During the course of study, it was observed that water quality index of the site S3 was very poor as it received maximum industrial effluents, sewerage water from adjoining villages and cities, agricultural runoff water and other solid waste material which rendered it unfit for any consumption and very fatal for the aquatic biodiversity. It was concluded that Kali Bein needed urgent conservation and management efforts.
Key words : Kali Bein, water quality index, physico-chemical parameters, effluents and aquatic biodiversity