34

Chapter-02

Review of Literature

A lot of analytical work has been carried out on natural water

bodies, both fresh water and marine water, throughout the globe and

as such a voluminous literature is available on the subject. In view of

the above and to understand the topic of research in a better way,

appropriate information in the world wide scientific area was

collected through literature surveys by the detailed study of various

books, internet websites, national and international journals. For the

objective of the present research, a critical assess of literature was

carried out to gather information on various relevant aspects and the

considerable information was collected and reviewed the issues

written by the scientist pertaining to the research topic.

Finally literature review was done for collecting information

related to river water pollution including water quality and physico-

chemical aspects of water. Some information was also collected about

heavy metal pollution with their impact on aquatic biota and about

mathematical modeling in water.

The review of Literature shows the proof of work carried out

pertaining to the research topic. It was found that various researchers

have worked on different aspects related to river water pollution due

to heavy metals. There are various institutes and organizations who

are involved in the research and development in the field

hydrobiology and different kind of aspects related to river water

quality. The National and International institutes like WHO (World

35

Health Organization), CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board),

MPCB (Maharashtra Pollution Control Board) and NEERI (National

Environmental Engineering Research Institute), Central Water and

Power Research Station are also involved in the research and

development in the field of river water analysis and research.

The understandable thought about literature review at national

and international level is given below:-

Gautam, 1990 reported that India is a country having various

land forms and rivers. There are 14 major rivers in India. Water, the

universal solvent because of high dielectric constant has the property

of dissolving most of the substances but the access of these substances

leads to water pollution.

Trivedy J.R. et. al., 1992 mentioned in their study that most of

the cities and towns have developed along the banks of rivers because

of the multipurpose-use of river water. But unfortunately some rivers

are being polluted by indiscriminate disposal of sewage and industrial

wastes.

WHO, 1992 and 1997 report states that Europe and America

confront enormous water pollution. Over 90% of Europe's rivers have

high nitrate concentrations, mostly from agrochemicals, and 5% of

them have concentrations at least 200 times greater than nitrate levels

that occur in unpolluted rivers. In greater Sao Paulo, Brazil, 300

million tons of untreated effluents from 1,200 industries are dumped

into the Tiete River every day as it flows through the city. As a result,

the river flows with high concentrations of lead, cadmium, and other

36

heavy metals. The city also dumps some 1,000 metric tons of sewage

into the river each day, of which only 12% is estimated as treated

.water is essential for the survival of humans, animals and plants.

Water is also home to a very wide range of microflora and

microfauna, creating a fascinating environment of extreme biological

importance, but which attracts too little attention. Fresh water is

emerging as one of the most critical natural resource issues facing

humanity. Water is, literally, the source of life on earth. The human

body is 70% water. Human beings can survive for only a few days

without fresh water. It is estimated that 31 countries, accounting for

under 8% of the world population, face chronic fresh water shortages.

By the year 2025, however, 48 countries are expected to face

shortages, affecting more than 2.8 billion people -35% of world's

projected population. Among countries likely to run short of water in

the next 25 years are Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Nigeria, and Peru. Parts

of other large countries, such as China, already face chronic water

problems.

Nix and Merry, 1990 and Miyabara et. al., 1994 studied that

Urban rivers are also polluted with discharge from sewage treatment

plants, overflowing sewage causes by rainfall causing fecal

contamination which is a major concern in the river near the town area

where the surface water are used by local residents.

Crossette, 1995 study reveals that the supply of the freshwater

that is available to humanity is shrinking, in effect, because many

fresh water resources have become increasingly polluted or dried. In

37

some countries lakes and rivers have become receptacles for a vile

assortment of wastes, including untreated or partially treated

municipal sewage, toxic industrial effluents, and harmful chemicals

that leached into surface and ground waters from agricultural

activities. Caught between finite and increasingly polluted water

supplies on one hand and rapidly rising demand from population

growth and development on the other, many developing countries face

uneasy choices.

Serageldin, 1995 stated that the lack of freshwater is likely to

be one of the major factors limiting economic development in the

decades to come, warns the World.

According to Saxena and Chauhan, 1993 there are fourteen

major rivers in India and the CPCB 1996-97 report indicate that

majority of them are polluted. The river Yamuna, once a river of

mythical status, today breeds malaria, cholera and jaundice diseases

which claim the lives of thousands of living beings.

Anil Agarwal, 1997 mentioned in the study that India consumes

around 86311 tonnes of technical grade insecticides each year to cover

182.5 million hectares of cultivated lands. Some of these compounds,

such as DDT, have been banned from agricultural use, but are still

used for vector control under public health programmes. The

insecticide concentrations in the river water are, therefore, dependent

on agricultural practices. According to the IARI study, residues of

persistent organochlorines, which are still used in large quantities in

India, are found in many rivers, including the Yarnuna .

38

W. K. Kadongola, 1997 study reveals that most of the rivers in

the urban areas of the developing countries are the ends of effluents

discharged from the industries. African countries and Asian countries

experiencing rapid industrial growth and this are making

environmental conservation a difficult task.

Dhembare et. al., 1997 reported that Water of good quality is

required for living organisms. The quality of water is described by its

physical, chemical and microbial characteristics. But if, some

correlations were possible among these parameters, then significant

ones would be fairly useful to indicate the quality of water.

Klohn and Wolter, 1998 study reflects that agriculture forms

the biggest contributor for water pollution even more so than

industries and municipalities. Virtually in every country, where

agricultural fertilizers and pesticides are used, there are reports of

contaminations of groundwater aquifers as well as surface waters.

Animal wastes from another source of persistent pollution in some

areas. The water that goes back into rivers and streams after being

used for irrigation is often of degraded quality with excess nutrients,

salinity, pathogens and sediments that often render it unfit for any use,

unless cleaned-typically at great expense-by water purification plants.

Carty, 1991 and Allaoui, 1998 reported that pollution is a

vexing problem in developing countries where the population is

growing rapidly, development demands are increasing, and

governments have different investment priorities. In developing

countries, on an average, 90% to 95% of all domestic sewage and

39

75% of all industrial waste are discharged into surface waters without

any treatment.

Javed and Hayat, 1999 report showed that in an aquatic

ecosystem plankton showed a great tendency to accumulate metals in

their bodies from water and sediments. Some of these elements are

toxic to living organisms even at quite low concentration, whereas

others are biologically essential and natural constitutes of the aquatic

ecosystems and only become toxic at very high concentration. Studies

have demonstrated that the determination of metal concentration in

suspended matters and planktons are more sensitive than the dissolved

concentration when used as indicators of contamination in hydraulic

systems.

According to Stevenson and Pan, 1999 study shows that High

cost of complex chemical analysis, complicated and time consuming

procedures of sample preparation, analysts search for quicker and

more specific methods. Biological assessment or Bio- monitoring is a

valuable assessment tool that is receiving increased use in water

quality monitoring programs of all types and is a useful alternative for

assessing the ecological quality of aquatic ecosystems since biological

communities integrate the environmental effects of water chemistry,

in addition to the physical and geomorphological characteristics of

Rivers and lakes.

Reuters, 1999 highlighted that more than half of the World’s

major rivers are being seriously depleted and polluted, degrading the

surrounding ecosystem, thus threatening the health and livelihood of

40

the people who depend upon them for irrigation, drinking and

industry. As per the World Commission on water for the 21'' century,

25 million people fled their homes in 1998 because of the depletion,

pollution, degradation and poisoning of rivers, out numbering the war

related rehgees for the first time in history.

Koshy and Nayer, 1999 mentioned that river, though most

important water resources of the world are being polluted by

indiscriminate disposal of sewage, industrial wastes and a plethora of

human activities. Pollution of rivers first affecting its physicochemical

quality systematically destroys the biotic community disrupting 32 the

delicate food web. However pollution has several dimensions and the

effective monitoring and the control of river pollution requires the

expertise from various disciplines.

Reuters,1999, Koshy M. and Nayar T.V., 1999 study reveals

that Environmentalists bewail the degradation of the 1367 km of

Yamuna- the largest tributary of Indias holy river, the Ganges that

originates from 6387 meters high glacier in the Himalayas. The

environmental degradation gained momentum due to rapid

industrialization, poor sanitation and unscientific waste disposal

procedures which have absolutely no concern for the environment.

A. J. Horowitz, 1995 and G. F. Riedel et. al., 2000 report states

that people along the river use water for many purposes. However, the

surface water quality is deteriorating due to anthropogenic activities,

industrialization, farming activities, transportation, urbanization,

animal and human excretions and domestic wastes. Variation in the

41

quality and quantity of river water due to natural and anthropogenic

activities is widely studied in the case of several world rivers.

Olajire and Impekperia, 2000 study reveals that pollution is a

serious problem as almost 70% of India’s surface water resources and

a growing number of its groundwater reserves have been

contaminated by biological, organic and inorganic pollutants. In South

Asian countries such as Nepal, India and Bangladesh, pollution of

rivers is more severe and critical near urban stretches due to huge

amounts of pollution load discharged by urban activities.

S. B. Jonnaladda et. al., 2001 reported that availability of good

quality water for drinking purpose is very essential for healthy human

society, the greatest danger to human health from water pollution.

Many rivers, stream in developing countries are heavily polluted due

to industrial and sewage discharge.

Hassan et. al., 1998a and 1998b, Shrestha, 2001, Ogbeibu and

Oribhabor, 2002 showed in their study that the construction of dam in

the riverine system changes the biological and ecological conditions

of rivers. Alteration occurs in the floral and faunal characteristics near

the dammed site. The developments like construction of dams and

barrages along the river results in low water flow. Dams causes

physical alteration of tail waters or downstream areas, changes in

water temperature, channel morphology or stream substrates and loss

of spawning and rearing habitat due to upstream flooding, thus

impacting indigenous fishes.

42

Pennington et. al., 2001 and Kistemann et. al., 2002 discussed

about river water pollution and stated that Water resources of highly

industrialized cities in India have been chronically polluted. Major

Indian rivers, such as Ganga, Yamuna, Tapti, Narmada, Sone,

Chambal Damodar, Krishna, Cauvery, Brahmaputra, Mahi and other

rivers are severely polluted. According to CPCB report, 90% of the

water supplied in India to the towns and cities is polluted, out of

which only 1.6% get treated. According to the Ministry of

Environment and Forest (MoEF), most of rivers in India are polluted,

mainly because of district inflow of untreated sewage resulting in

unacceptable levels in them of BOD, SS. Even high microbial growths

are noted with the aquatic systems that gradually increases

eutrophication of water bodies.

Dwivedi and Pandey, 2002 focused on algae which are

frequently found in polluted and unpolluted water and due to their

behavior they are generally considered useful to determine the quality

of water. These are very suitable organisms for the determination of

the impact of toxic substances on the aquatic environment because

any effect on the lower level of the food chain will also have

consequence on the higher level. Algae are used for assessing the

degree of pollution or as indicator of water pollution of different water

bodies.

According to Tong and Chen, 2002 view land use types fecal

contamination which is a major concern in the river correlate with

most water quality characteristic. Runoff from land surface carries the

43

residues from the land into river system which known as non-point

sources pollution. Expansion of urban areas in any river basin effect

the environment in terms of the increase of pollution load into river

system and changes to surface water quality. Nevertheless, substantial

modification on flood runoff and water quality found to be contributed

by urban development.

Sinha, 2002 Mentioned that a similar situation appears to exist

at Dalmianagar and this has caused great damage to the riverine biota,

particularly fish fauna as a result of alteration in the physico-chemical

parameters.

Costa et. al., 2003 found that the conversion of vegetation will

disrupt the hydrological cycle of a drainage basin by altering the

balance between rainfall and evaporation of the area.

Alemaw and Chaoka, 2003 reported that water, the unique

substance, occupies the three forth of world’s area for which earth is

indeed a watery planet. Its omnipresence divides the world into two

major environments viz; aquatic and terrestrial. The aquatic

environment, which according to the present know ledge, constitutes

about 26.6 trillion tons of water. Man’s lives is directly or indirectly

sustain by water and are intimately associated with it. The man and

biosphere program (MAB) of UNESCO has laid emphasis on the

studies on impact of various human activities in water and other

resources.

Unnisa and Khalilullah, 2004 work reveals that water is

constantly misused and abused by human kind. Definition of

44

freshwater is water containing less than 1,000 milligrams per liter of

dissolved solids often salt. Needless to mention here that growth in

human population in the last century has severely damaged the aquatic

resources as it has done to all other renewable resources. The longing

for more production has thus impelled the inputs of sophisticated

technologies leading to changes in their ecology. The change in water

course together with multiple uses far beyond their assimilation

capacities has severely affected their quality and availability. Natural

surface water bodies like rivers and streams are subjected to pollution

comprising of organic and inorganic constituent.

Tiwari, 2004 study highlight that the pollution potential of river

Pandu contaminated heavily by the discharge of various industries.

Elizabeth Ngoye and John F. Machiwa, 2004, work reflects that

river water pollution in India are serious issues like Bagmati River in

the Kathmandu valley, Yamuna River at Dehli, Buriganga River of

Dhaka, Tamiraparani River and Ruva River suffer from severe

pollution. Water of River Hindon was also found to be more polluted

than river Narmada.

A. C. Chindah et. al., 2004, V. Emongor et. al., 2005, A. A. L.

Furtado et. al., 1998, C. N. C. Ugochukwu, 2004 reported that water is

the commonest fluid in nature. Water is also a vital resource for

agriculture, manufacturing and other human activities. In urban areas,

the careless disposal of industrial effluents and other wastes in rivers

& lacks may contribute greatly to the poor quality of river water.

45

Eletta and Adekola, 2005 stated that the pollution of rivers

and streams with chemical contaminants has become one of the most

critical environmental problems of the century. It is estimated that

each year 10 million people die from drinking contaminated water.

Water is one of the most common and precious resources on the earth

without there would be no life on earth.

Mustapha and Omotosho, 2005 stated that the interactions of

both the physical and chemical properties of water play a significant

role in composition, distribution and abundance of aquatic organisms.

Sundaray et. al., 2006 studied on water quality of the Narmada

river basin, river Bagmati and the Mahanadi basin.

Sivakumar et. al., 2000, Sachidanandamurthy and Yajurvedi,

2006, Krishnan et. al., 2007, Duran and Suicmez, 2007, Smitha et. al.,

2007 stated that during the last several decades, the water quality of

the Indian rivers has been deteriorating due to continuous discharge of

industrial wastes and domestic sewage.

Jain et. al., 2004 highlight on evidence from the studies on the

rivers like Mahanadi, Narmada, Uppanar, Gola and the Gangas

supports the view. They also mentioned that Rapid urbanization and

industrialization, intensive agriculture and growing demand for energy

during the last few decades has affected the physico-chemical

parameter and biological attributes of ground and surface water.

Saxena et. al., 2001, Singh et. al., 2007, V. K. Gaur et. al., 2005,

Singh et. al., 2005, according to their evidences tributaries of the

Ganges, including the rivers Yamuna and they have been documented

46

different physico-chemical aspects. Among Indian rivers, those

flowing through the Indo- Gangetic Plains.

Singh and Singh, 2007, and D. Mukherjee et. al., 1993

documented the physical, chemical and biological aspects of the

Ganga River.

Purushothaman and Chakrapani, 2007 and Singh et. al., 2002

have studied and analysed heavy metals such as Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni,

Cu, Zn, and Pb in the sediments of the Ganga river basin.

Singh et. al., 2004, Y. Ouyang et. al., 2006,Cidu and Biddau,

2007 have stated that seasonal variations in agricultural activity, storm

water runoff, interflow and atmospheric deposition have strong

effects on river water quality Thus, characterization of seasonal

variability in surface water quality is imperative for evaluating

temporal variations of river pollution from natural or anthropogenic

contributions.

According to Tiwary and Dhar, 1994 & Chang, 2008 opinion

anthropogenic activities in the river basin affect the physico-chemical

properties of river which have indirect effect on the biological

resources interacting with each other, apart from degrading the

environment. Pollution of a river first affects its chemical quality and

then systematically destroys the community disrupting the delicate

food web. Evidence related to impact caused due to industrialization

and increased populations on the aquatic environmental conditions

have been noted from different rivers around the globe.

47

B. Padmanabha and S. L. Belagali, 2007, Karthi A. Geetha and

Geeta Divvakar, 2008 according to their point of view Indian

agriculture receives most of its water from surface sources like river,

reservoir, dam etc. However, now a day the river water is largely

influenced by discharge of industrial as well as domestic waste while

flowing through big towns and increases the water pollution in rivers.

This changes the physical and chemical characteristics of river water

and hence the quality of river water for different use.

Saksena et. al., 2008 study shows that the wastes discharge

from sewage, industry, agriculture and anthropogenic activities are

seriously polluting the water which promotes the growth of

pathogenic microorganisms. Pollution is as old as man himself. Water

the most vital source for all kinds of life on this planet, is also the

resource adversely affected both qualitatively and quantitatively by all

kinds of human activities on land, in air or in water. Pollution of river

in India has now reached to a point of crisis due to unplanned

urbanization and rapid growth of industrialization.

Many workers studied on various aspects of rivers based on

physico-chemical and bacteriological parameters of Chambal River at

Madhya Pradesh by Saksena et. al., 2008, Kor River at Fars, Iran by

Shayestehfar et. al., 2008, Atharabanki River at Paradip by Barik and

patel, 2004, Ganaga River from Narora to Kannauj by Gaur et. al.,

1997 and underground water along river Vaigai in Madurai city by

Rajasekaran et. al., 2004.These research is carried out on water quality

of river in different places and in each places it has received greater

48

attention. For good and long life the good quality of water is very

important.

Rita N. Kumar et. al., (2009), Tiwari T. N. and Mishra M.,

1985, Ashwani Kumar and Anish Dua, 2009 have assessed the water

quality variation to evaluate the water quality index of Rivers.

According to A. Begum et. al., 2009 view in India the riverine

systems are getting polluted day by day. Their study reveals that today

acute pollution prevails in many rivers such as Krishna, Tapti,

Bramhaputra, Ganga, Hoogly and Brahmani etc. As the water flows

downstream, it picks up silt, minerals and mineral salts from the soil

and rock in the river bed. Many other pollutants enter river water as it

flows downstream, including animal waste, human sewage,

agricultural runoff, urban runoff, industrial effluents, and mining

effluents, due to which unfortunately, most of the rivers are facing

pollution problem or under threat of pollution.

A. Begum et. al., 2009 reported that life cannot exist without

water because it is the major component of all living things. It is

important both physiologically and ecologically as it plays an

essential role in temperature control and also is the medium in which

many organisms live. Now a day due to rapid growing urbanization,

the quality of land water is being deteriorated by mixing up of

industrial wastes and domestic sewage in our rivers.

There are several studies related to the assessment of water

quality of Rivers. Nikhil Raj and P. A. Azeez 2009, Muhamed Ashraf

P. and M. K. Mukundan, 2007, A. G. Murugesan, 2007, Najafpour

49

Sh., 2008, Priyanka Trivedi, 2009, N. Singkran, 2010 and many others

have conducted studies related to water quality in India. Rivers and

streams are highly heterogeneous in spatial as well as temporal scales

and several investigators have studied the physico-chemical dynamics

of rivers.

Singh 2010 studied that the impact of the industrial effluents

and domestic sewage on river Ganga at Allahabad and reported that

all the pollution parameters are beyond the permissible limits and

unfit for human consumption.

Islam et. al., 2010 reported that especially in urban areas, the

careless disposal of industrial effluents and other wastes contributes

greatly to the contamination of the water.

Yadav and Kumar, 2011 have studied on the impact of

industrial effluents on water quality of Kosi River in Rampur district

(India) which showed physico-chemical parameters are above the

permissible limits. Increased pollution load in fresh water bodies

increases the nutrient level of water and causes a violent alteration in

pH, reduction in oxygen content and high osmotic pressure.

Moscow et. al., 2011 are of opinion that most of the rivers

flowing in urban areas are at the end point of effluents discharge and

if not treated and properly controlled can also pollute the ground

water.

Broman et. al., 1991 findings reflect the heavy metal toxicity in

Mytilus and algae respectively. The magnitude of the danger of

environmental pollution by heavy metals was realized from the

50

Minamata disaster caused by Hg and ltai-ltai incidence by Cd. For any

organism to grow and reproduce normally, micronutrients or trace

elemenrs are necessary in at least very low concentrations and these

elements cannot be replaced by any other mineral factors. The

micronutrients needed by various algal species are iron, manganese,

zinc, copper, molybdium, cobalt, vanadium, boron etc. Many of the

trace elements are normal constituents of aquatic organisms and are

essential for their metabolism by having definite functional roles.

Each of the trace metals either singly or in combination, along with

the major environmental parameters can affect the biota as a whole

and the food chain in particular. Apart from the existence of these

elements in natural conditions, there is considerable input from land

run-off especially if there is a discharge point from manmade sources.

These trace metals which form essential nutrients enhancing the

growth at threshold levels can pose problems of toxicity when there is

a subtle increase in concentrations resu ting in impairment of growth

kinetics, physiological activity as well as intracellular changes.

Schnoor et. al., 1997 showed that metals in natural waters can

exist in many different chemical forms, including the free ion (e.g.

Cu2+), dissolved inorganic forms (e.g. hydroxides, carbonates,

sulfates), organic complexes (metal bound to dissolved organic

matter), and variety of particulate forms bound to clays or

incorporated into the matrix of soil particles. The relative distribution

of these forms is a function of environmental conditions including pH,

51

hardness, and the presence of organic matter and/or inorganic

particulates.

According to Singh, 1994 and Fazeli, 1998 views heavy metal

pollution mainly arises from the effluents of industrial units. There are

various common industrial units releasing toxic heavy metals into

environment. Irrigation by effluents released from paper mills and

fertilizer factories are adding various alkalies, ammonia, cyanides and

heavy metals into the water resources. Among all the pollutants,

heavy metals are most dangerous one as these are non –biodegradable

and persist in environment. These enter into the water resources

through both natural and anthropogenic sources.

Javed and Hayat, 1999 mentioned that many trace elements

such as arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead and selenium can be toxic to

aquatic biota because plankton has the ability to concentrate heavy

metals from their aquatic environment.

Investigators like Angadi, 1996, Graham, 1996, Knauer, 1996

and Bhattacharyya, 2000 found out that the tolerance limit of various

phytoplankton to different trace metals like Cu, Zn, Pb, Ni, Mn and

Cd. Phytoplankton species vary in their tolerance to trace metals.

They furnish little information regarding the significance of trace

elements in algal nutrition.

G. B. MacFarlane et. al., 2000 stated that the pollution of the

aquatic environment with heavy metals has become a worldwide

problem during recent years, because they are indestructible and most

of them have toxic effects on organisms.

52

Augusthy et. al., 2000 highlight on heavy metals in the sewage

water and reported that the water contains large quantities of zinc, iron

and copper. It appears that indiscriminative discharge of industrial

effluent into sewerage system has led to high concentration of heavy

metals.

Nogami et. al., 2000 reported that food in the form of plankton

is also an important source for heavy metal enrichment in fish body

potentially leading to bio-magnification, the increase of pollutants up

the food chain.

According to Chow et. al., 1998 and Katiyar and Katiyar, 2000

observation in spite of the importance of these trace elements in algal

growth and metabolism, a little attention has been paid on them on the

nutritional point of view. Most of the reports available focus on the

toxicological impacts of trace elements especially those belonging to

the class heavy metals.

Volesky, 1990 and Bishop, 2002 observations shows that more

attention is being given to the potential health hazards posed due to

heavy metals. The term heavy metal refers to any metallic chemical

element that has a relatively high density. The density of heavy metals

is usually more than 5.0 g/cm3.

Rainbow, 1997 and Rainbow, 2002 study reveals that all

aquatic organisms take up trace metals either from the surrounding

aquatic medium or from food, whether or not these metals are

essential to metabolism, Thus, metal bioaccumulation is a good

53

integrative indicator of the chemical exposures of organisms in

ecosystems.

Hodson and Spargue, 1998, Phillip, 2002 study focused on that

the toxic effects of metal on aquatic ecosystems ranged from a

complete loss of biota to subtle effects on rates of reproduction,

growth and mortality of organisms. However, total metal

concentrations in sediments do not necessarily reflect concentrations

that are available to biota. Aquatic organisms have been used in

comparative monitoring of pollution effects in different systems and

to locate source of toxicants.

Kaushik A., 2002 finding reflects on heavy metal pollution of

river Yamuna in the industrially developing state of Hariyan. Metal

like that Fe, Ni & Co concentration exceeded the maximum

permissible limits prescribes for drinking all along the river. In India

C.G.W.B., 1999 report states that water demand is increasing year by

year. In the year 1997 – 1998, water demand was 629 Km3/year

which is projected to be 1180 Km3/year in 2050.

Sponza D. and Karaoglue N., 2002 reported that environmental

geochemistry and pollution studies of Aliga metal industry district.

Rawat M. et. al., 2003 assessment report states that inventory

compilation and distribution of heavy metals in waste water from

small scale industrial areas of Delhi, India and also detected heavy

metals such as Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Ni, Cr, Cd, Co & Pb using a GBC 902

atomic absorption spectrometer. The result indicates that SSI could be

one of the point sources of metal pollution in the river system.

54

Singh and Mosley, 2003 report shows that Contaminants such

as bacteria, viruses, heavy metals, nitrates and salt have found their

way into water supplies as a result of inadequate treatment and

disposal of waste (human and livestock), industrial discharges, and

over-use of limited water resources.

Vijver et. al., 2004 reported that all metals have the potential to

cause toxic effects. As a result, metal accumulation is closely linked

with toxicity.

Kabala and Singh, 2001, Pueyo et. al., 2003 study reveals that

the overall behavior of heavy metals in an aquatic environment is

strongly influenced by the associations of metals with various

geochemical phases in sediments. Geochemical distribution results

have also been used as an aid in predicting potential contaminant

mobility and bioavailability.

Rainbow, 1997, Luoma and Rainbow, 2005 study reveals that

although in a complex manner, because metal accumulation is

influenced by a variety of factors, such as multiple routes of exposure

i.e. diet and solution, chemical composition of the surrounding

medium and physiological or biochemical effects on bioavailability.

The metal accumulation levels vary widely among metals, organisms,

and have different distributions between tissues and organs in the

body. Aquatic organisms living in the same habitat may have very

different body concentrations of trace metals, even within closely

related species.

55

Lark et. al., 2006 examined the spatio-temporal variation in

trace elements in Patuxent River, Maryland and reported the

variations in nutrient level in the Nemunas river of Russia.

Various researchers viz; K. De, 1989, Dara, 1995, V. P.

Kudesia, 2000, Obodo, 2001and Waheed et. al., 2007 were studied on

heavy metals. According to their opinion disposal of solid waste into

open dumps is the normal practices by municipalities of our

country. During the rainy season leachate formation takes place from

the wastes which enter nearby water resources and penetrate deep

down in to ground water. Leachates are composed of high

concentration of organic substances, soluble salts and other

constituents including toxic heavy metals etc .

According to Jain, 1978, Shrivastav, 2001 and Duruibe et. al.,

2007 reported some finding that some metals like Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Zn

are essential for life, many other metals like Cd, Cr, Pb have

very detrimental effects if present beyond a certain limit.

Woitke et. al., 2003, S. Oliveres-Rieumont et. al., 2005, Farkas

et. al., 2007, S. Li. et. al., 2009 were highlighted on trace metal

pollution. According to their opinion trace metals pollution in aqueous

system can hardly be eliminated and are often recycled via

physiochemical and biological processes, which continue to pose a

risk of adverse effects on human health and aqueous ecosystem.

Therefore, reaches worldwide focus their attention on quantitative

investigation of the trace metals in aquatic ecosystem.

56

Kar et. al., 2008 has studied on Ganga River pollution and the

contamination of inorganic and heavy metals in Ganga River.

Jain, 2004 and Nwuche and Ugoji, 2008 highlighted on heavy

metal pollution and their impact on environment. Their study reveals

that heavy metals are sensitive indicators for monitoring changes in

the water environment. However, to assess the environmental impact

of contaminated sediments, information on total concentrations is not

sufficient and particular interest is the fraction of the total heavy metal

content that may take part in further biological processes.

Begam et . al., 2009 were analyzed heavy metal concentration

in soil and lichens from various localities of Hosur road of Banglore

and shown the presence of significant amount of heavy metal.

Dassenakis et. al., 1998, Miller et. al., 2003, Harikumar et. al.,

2009 researchers commented on heavy metal pollution. According

their opinion heavy metals like chromium, lead, cadmium, arsenic,

etc. exhibit extreme toxicity even at trace levels. Rivers are a

dominant pathway for metals transport and heavy metals become

significant pollutants of many river systems.

J. O. Nriagu, 1996, Sekhar et. al., 2005, K. Bengraine and T. F.

Marhaba, 2009, Pertsemli and Voutsa, 2007, S. Li et. al., 2008, S. Li

et. al., 2009, H. Feng et. al., 2004, Krishna et. al., 2009 have focused

on quantifying the trace metals and their assessments on the aqueous

environment. Pollutions of surface water with toxic heavy metals and

elevated nutrients due to natural processes such as atmospheric

deposition, erosion and mineral weathering as well as anthropogenic

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activities such as urban, industry and agriculture are of great concern

worldwide. The accumulation of heavy metals in aquatic ecosystems

can lead to hazards on human and wildlife.

Cataldo et. al., 2001, Hobbelen et. al., 2004, Koukal et. al.,

2004, Okafor and Opuene, 2007, Mohiuddin et. al., 2010 have stated

that heavy metals are among the most common environmental

pollutants, and their occurrence in waters and biota indicate the

presence of natural or anthropogenic sources. Their accumulation and

distribution in soil, water and environment are increasing at an

alarming rate causing deposition and sedimentation in water reservoirs

and affecting aquatic organisms as well.

According to report of Dassenakis et. al., 1998, Akcay et. al.,

2003, Abdel- Ghani and Elchaghby, 2007, Nicolau et. al., 2006, Nouri

et. al., 2009 the behavior of metals in natural waters is a function of

the substrate sediment composition, the suspended sediment

composition and the water chemistry. During their transport, the

heavy metals undergo numerous changes in their speciation due to

dissolution, precipitation, sorption and complexation phenomena

which affect their behavior and bioavailability.

The review on mathematical model in the water chemistry had

been done by number of scientists and engineers have worked on the

mathematical model related to water and waste water treatment

technology (Horton, 1965, Brown, 1970, Orlob, 1983, Halfon, 1983,

Tchobanoglous and Schroeder, 1985).

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Thompson et. al., 2001 and Juahir et. al., 2004 studied on MLR.

According to their opinion generally, multiple linear regression

(MLR), may lead to incorrect identification of most the predictor due

to collinearity between the input variables. MLR also allows the

reduction of the dimensionality of non-linear data set by correction

amongst a large number of variables in terms of underlying factors

without neglecting any information from the original data set.

Aertsen et. al., 2010 mentioned that although linear regression

was one of the oldest statistical modeling techniques, their

applications were still widely used in many linear relationships works.

Despite the fact that many studies performed concluded that there is

no general best modeling techniques, it still depends on the scope and

objectives of the studies.

The Central Pollution Control Board in monitoring water

quality at 340 locations on various rivers has conducted detailed river

basin studies and has identified 18 grossly polluted stretches, 14 less

polluted stretches along 22 rivers based on the designated best use of

primary water quality criteria. It is seen that grossly polluted stretches

fall in 'D' and 'E' categories where water is not suitable for drinking

even after conventional treatment and is almost not suitable for

bathing, 6 stretches of less grossly polluted are of category 'D' which

is only fit for propagation of wild life and fisheries. Industrial

production globally has grown more than 50 fold over the past

century. This rapid industrialization has a profound impact on the

environment especially on water resources. Severe water pollution

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coupled with depletion of ground water reserves is a serious and

immediate environmental challenge in India. For example, in India

industries relating to Tanning, Paper and Pulp, Fertilizer, Oil

refineries, steel and Fermentation generate about 850 to 1300 million

cubic meters of effluents per year. The total pollutant load levels from

these sectors are estimated at 24594 tons per day BOD, 34759.22 ton

per day COD excluding fertilizer Industry. Though the country has

made appreciable progress in conventional wastewater treatment

technologies, the access to advanced/sophisticated technologies

pertaining to specialized physico-chemical and biological treatment of

wastewater, floatation technologies, absorption and adsorption

technologies etc. are limited. India has initiated wastewater treatment

of highly organic wastewaters from distilleries, food processing units,

diary, pulp and paper units and the like. In the small scale industry,

the need is more of state-of-the-art, technologies that are practical i.e.

with less operational problems and also treat most obvious pollutants

cost effectively coupled with energy generation. It is a common sight

to see large number of people easing themselves along the banks of

rivers, streams and nallas which finally flow in the rivers. Dumping

dead bodies and half burnt bodies is another cause of river

contamination No data of these pollutants is available. However, there

IS no doubt that these pollutants contribute to substantial organic as

well as bacterial pollution. But there is a need to address these issues,

wherever any river cleaning programme is under taken.

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Water quality monitoring of all the natural water bodies in the

State is carried out by the MPCB primarily under the national and

international schemes, Monitoring of Indian National Aquatic

Resources (MINAR) and the Global Environmental Monitoring

Scheme (GEMS), respectively. Samples are taken regularly each

month from marked water sampling stations long the rivers and lakes

for studies (Ignatius Pereira, 2002). Providing clean supplies of water

and ensuring proper sanitation facilities would save millions of lives

by reducing the prevalence of water related diseases. Thus, finding

solutions to these problems should become a high priority for

developing countries and assistance agencies.