JournalofIndianWaterResourcesSociety,

J. Indian Water Resour. Soc., Vol.

32, No. 1-2, January-April, 2012
Vol32,No.12,JanuaryApril,2012

ASSESSMENT OF WATER QUALITY STATUS OF HOLY RIVER

KSHIPRA USING WATER QUALITY INDEX
R.C. Gupta1, Ajay K. Gupta2 and R.K. Shrivastava3
ABSTRACT
In this paper attempt is being made to assess the water quality of Kshipra, a holy river flowing
through Ujjain city. Parameters namely Temperature, pH, Turbidity, Total Solids, Dissolved
Oxygen (DO), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Phosphate, Ammonia and Fecal Coliform (
F.C.) were determined at important locations of River Khan and Kshipra for summer, monsoon
and winter seasons in the year 2010. Assessment was made through Water Quality Index (WQI),
a single number representing large quantities of data. US National Sanitation Foundation WQI
was calculated for each set of data with and without Phosphate parameter. The results shows that
Kshipra River water is of medium to bad quality and Khan River water is the major cause of
pollution in Kshipra River. The study also revealed that Kshipra River water is unsuitable even
for bathing.
Key words: Water Quality Parameter, Khan River, Kshipra River, Water Quality Intex.

INTRODUCTION
Pollution of river bodies has become a major
and global problem that is becoming critical
in developing nations of the world because
of inadequacy or non existence of surface
water quality protection measures and
sanitation. Lagoons, rivers and streams are
sinks for wastes. Wastes are most often
discharged into receiving water bodies with
little or no regard to their assimilative
capacities. This in effect makes pollution of
river bodies a global issue that has no
respect for national or international
boundaries. The degrees of pollution and
natural
purification
are
measurable
physically, biologically and chemically
(Longe and Omole 2008). Hence a
comprehensive
river
water
quality
monitoring programme is becoming a
necessity in order to safeguard public health
1. Selection Grade Lecturer, Civil Engineering,
Govt. Polytechnic College, Ujjain (M.P.)
Email: guptarc62@gmail.com
2. Associate Professor, Civil Engineering,Govt.
Engineering College, Ujjain (M.P.)
3. Professor, Civil Engg., S.G.S. Institute of
Technology and Science, Indore (M.P.)
Manuscript No.: 1309

and to protect the valuable fresh water

resources. Whereas water monitoring for
different purposes is well defined, the
overall water quality is sometimes difficult
to evaluate from a large number of samples
and parameters (Chapman 1992). Analysis
of any monitored parameter, either in alone
or group according to a common feature,
provides partial information on the overall
water quality (pesce and Wunderlin 2000).
Traditional approaches for assessing water
quality are based on the comparison of
experimentally determined parameter values
with the existing local normative. However,
it does not provide a global vision on the
spatial and temporal trends in the overall
water quality (Debels et al. 2005).
Mathematical computation modeling of river
water quality is possible but requires an
extensive validation. Besides it requires
previous knowledge of hydraulics and
hydrodynamics. To overcome these
difficulties, a water quality index (WQI) was
developed which is a numeric expression
transforming large quantities of water
characterization data into a single number,
representing water quality level (Sanchez et
al 2006; Bordalo et al. 2006). The WQI is a
dimensionless number with values ranging
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J. Indian Water Resour. Soc., Vol. 32, No. 1-2, January-April, 2012

between 0 and 100. A higher index value

represents a good water quality (Cude, 2001;
Pandey and Sundaram, 2002). This
numerical index can be used as a
management tool in water quality
assessment. WQI also permits the
assessment of changes in water quality and
to identify water quality trends (Chapman
1992). Based on the results of WQI, river
water can be classified for the purpose of
various uses.
The Kshipra River has been considered as
case study because it is a holy river of
Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh and
thousands of pilgrims take a holy dip all the
year round. The objective of this study is to
establish the water quality status of the river
for all seasons of a year. The results reported
here will provide base-line data for framing
suitable remedial action plan.
STUDY AREA
River Kshipra is one of the sacred rivers of
India. It originates from Kokri Bardi hills
(747metres high) about 11 km. east of
Indore. After travelling a distance of 70 km.
through Indore district, it enters Ujjain
district. It receives its tributary river Khan
just upstream of Ujjain and river Gambhir
near Mehidpur d/s of Ujjain before merging
with river Chambal. Total length of the river
is about 195 kms (Tyagi et al.2003). The
river is not perennial and flows only during
monsoons. During the course of the river
from the origin to just before the Ujjain city
i.e. up to a distance of about 70 Kms.,some
small villages are situated along the bank of
the river and there are normal additions and
abstractions of water. The real problem with
the river starts as soon as it enters the
territory of Ujjain city having a population
over five lacs. There, River Khan coming
from Indore city merges with it at Triveni
Sangam. River Khan is the biggest source
of contamination to River Kshipra carrying
high organic content, chemicals and heavy

metals.
Another
major
source
of
contamination is the domestic wastewater
generated from Ujjain city. About half of
110 MLD of wastewater generated is
discharged directly into the river. Thus
about 20 Km stretch of the river is highly
polluted and even unsuitable for bathing.
Many of the important ghats like Triveni
ghat, Ramghat and Siddhvat ghat are
situated in this stretch where hundreds of
pilgrims take a holy dip daily. During
Simhastha fair which is organized every
twelve years, about two crores of pilgrims
visit Ujjain in a months time to take a holy
dip in the river. Thus about 20 km stretch of
the river in the vicinity of the Ujjain city has
been chosen under study because of its
religious importance. Fig.1 shows the
location of important ghats and sampling
points on the course of the river.
Sampling Points
Sampling points have been decided in such a
way so as to cover all important points and
ghats so that results obtained will depict the
true status of the river and impact of
tributaries on it. Fig.1 shows the details of
the sampling stations.
Samplin

Description

g Station
1

At Khan River
(before the
confluence with
Kshipra River)

At Kshipra River
(before the
confluence with
Khan River)

At Triveni Sangam
(confluence of
Khan River and
Kshipra River)

At Gaughat

At Ramghat

At Siddhwat Ghat

Fig 1: Location of Important Ghats and

Sampling Stations
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J. Indian Water Resour. Soc., Vol. 32, No. 1-2, January-April, 2012

Station 1 and 2 will depict the true status of

Khan River and Kshipra River respectively
before confluence while station 3 will depict
the influence of Khan River on Kshipra
River. Station 3, 4, 5 and 6 are the important
bathing ghats on river Kshipra. Samples
were collected for three seasons i.e. summer,
monsoon and winter in the year 2010 to
assess the variation of characteristics over
the full year. Samples were collected and
examined strictly in accordance with the
Standard Methods for the Examination of
Water and Wastewater (APHA 1998).
Water Quality Index
There are various water quality indices to
compare various physico chemical and
biological parameters such as Bhargava
method, Hortons method, Delphi method
etc.(Pandey and Sundaram 2002; Chetana
and Somshekhar 1997; Ram and Anandh
1996). However most of these indices are
based on the first water quality index
developed by Brown, et al. (1970) which
was later supported by the US National
Sanitation Foundation (NSF). For this
reason Browns index is also referred as
NSFWQI. This index is similar in structure
to Hortons index but with much greater
vigour in selecting parameters, developing a
common scale and assigning weights for
which elaborate Delphic exercise were
performed. This is a multiplicative form of
index and has been widely field tested and
applied to data from a number of
geographical areas all over the world to
calculate WQI of various water bodies for
which critical pollution parameters were
considered. NSF WQI is an excellent
management and general administrative tool
in communicating water quality information
(Samantray et al. 2009). The mathematical
expression for NSF WQI is given by:

p
NSF WQI = Wi Ii
i=1
Where
Ii is the sub index for ith water quality
parameter,
Wi is the weight (in terms of importance)
associated with ith water quality parameter
p is the number of water quality parameters.
The NSF Water Quality Legend is given in
Table1. Table 2 shows the parameters
considered for calculating WQI and there
relative weights. When test results from
fewer than nine measurements are available,
relative weights for each parameter is
preserved and scaled the total so that the
range remains 0-100.

RESULTS
Physical parameters namely Temp.,
Turbidity and Total Solids, chemical
parameters namely pH, DO, BOD,
Phosphate, Ammonia and biological
parameter namely Fecal Coliform have been
analyzed at locations shown in Fig 1.
Parameters were selected for assessing the
bathing water quality status at important
ghats of the river. Seven parameters namely
pH, Turbidity, T.S., DO, BOD, Phosphate
and F.C. has been considered for calculating
WQI. Table 3 shows the water quality data
at each station during summer (S), monsoon
(M) and winter (W) seasons. Further NSF
WQI was calculated for each station with
and without Phosphate parameter. This was
done in order to assess the impact of
phosphate on overall water quality. Presence
of Phosphate indicates the use of fertilizers
in catchment area of the river. Table 4
summarizes the WQI.

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J. Indian Water Resour. Soc., Vol. 32, No. 1-2, January-April, 2012
Table 1: NSF Water Quality Legend

Range

0-25

25-50

50-70

70-90

90-100

Quality

Very Bad

Bad

Medium

Good

Excellent

Table 2: Water Quality Parameters and Weigths

Parameter

D.O. F.C.

Weight

0.17

pH

0.16

B.O.D.

0.11

Temp.

Total

change

Phosphate

0.10

0.10

0.11

Nitrates

Turb

T.S.

idity
0.10

0.08

0.07

Table 3: Water Quality Data at Sampling Stations

Locati
on

Season

Temp.

pH

( C)

Turbidity

T. S.

DO

BOD

Phosphate

Ammonia

F. C.

(NTU)

(Mg/l)

(Mg/l)

(Mg/l)

(Mg/l)

(Mg/l)

(MPN/
100ML)

34

8.2

56

1200

4.3

36

5.9

7.2

2000

26

7.5

210

1500

7.8

28

4.5

8.2

650

26

7.5

48

1050

6.1

18

5.1

6.2

2550

34

7.5

16

650

6.0

7.0

0.85

3.2

940

26

7.3

500

1150

6.8

4.2

1.1

3.6

310

25

8.0

32

800

7.3

8.0

1.2

2.8

1400

35

8.3

26

950

5.2

12.0

1.2

5.8

1200

27

7.4

600

1200

5.8

6.8

1.6

4.6

460

26

8.4

40

950

6.2

13.6

2.1

3.4

2500

35

8.4

23

1070

4.8

13.2

1.6

5.8

1750

26

7.6

650

1320

6.0

6.7

1.9

6.6

470

26

8.3

45

950

6.4

15.1

2.1

5.9

2480

34

26

1150

4.8

14

2.1

5.6

2000

27

8.5
7.6

650

1400

6.2

6.2

1.8

7.2

500

27

8.5

46

900

7.3

15.6

2.2

5.7

2440

34

8.5

28

1150

3.9

15.0

1.9

6.2

2000

27

8.2

600

1450

6.3

7.2

2.0

6.8

500

26

8.5

50

2480

7.0

15.8

2.2

6.1

2480

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J. Indian Water Resour. Soc., Vol. 32, No. 1-2, January-April, 2012

Table 4: Water Quality Indices with and without Phosphate Parameter

Station
1

5
6

Season

WQI

S
M
W

With Phosphate
32
44
42

Without Phosphate
36
48
47

S
M
W
S
M
W
S
M
W
S
M
W
S
M
W

56
54
52
45
48
43
41
47
44
40
49
44
36
46
43

58
56
55
47
50
45
43
50
46
42
52
47
37
49
46

The water quality index data are plotted

station wise and season wise. Fig. 2 & 3
shows the variation of WQI at each station
with respect to seasons. Fig. 4 & 5 shows
the variation of WQI for each season with
respect to stations 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 pertaining
to River Kshipra. Following observations
are made looking to these data and charts:
Fig 3: Variation of WQI at each station
w.r.t. season (Without Phosphate)

Fig 2: Variation of WQI at each station

w.r.t. season (With Phosphate)

Fig 4: Variation of WQI for each season

w.r.t. stations (With Phosphate)
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J. Indian Water Resour. Soc., Vol. 32, No. 1-2, January-April, 2012

5) Phosphate is responsible for algal

formation. The effect of phosphate is
more or less constant at all stations and
during all seasons in Kshipra River.
Water quality gets lowered to the extent
of 5-10% due to the presence of
phosphate. However Phosphate effect is
more predominant in Khan River. Hence
remedial action should be taken to control
phosphate input.
Fig 5: Variation of WQI for each season
w.r.t. stations (Without Phosphate)

DISCUSSION
1) As per NSF water quality legend (Table
1), Khan River water is of bad quality and
the Kshipra River water is of medium to
bad quality.
2) A close look at the water quality data of
Kshipra River at all ghats indicates that
except pH & DO other parameters like
BOD & F. C. do not satisfy the class B
water quality standards as prescribed by
CPCB (pH = 6-8.5, DO > 5 mg/l, BOD <
3 mg/l & MPN/100ml < 500). Hence
river water in territory of Ujjain city is
unsuitable even for bathing.
3) Water quality at station 2 is of medium
quality because in that stretch there is no
heavy input of waste water. Water quality
at stations 3, 4, 5 and 6 is of bad quality
indicating sudden deteriotion. This is due
to merging of River Khan at triveni
sangam whose water is of bad quality. At
stations 4, 5 and 6 there is further input of
domestic waste water from Ujjain city.
4) Water quality at station 2 slightly
deteriotes during winter season. At
station 3, 4, and 5 water quality is poor in
summer. It improves significantly during
monsoon and then again deteriotes during
winter.

CONCLUSION
River kshipra was considered as case study
because of its religious importance. The
sampling was done at six important
locations of the river and its tributory. Nine
parameters namely pH, Temp, Turbidity,
T.S., DO, BOD, Phosphate, Ammonia and
F.C. were analyzed for three seasons i.e.
summer, monsoon and winter. NSF water
quality index was calculated for each set of
data. WQI was calculated with and without
phosphate parameter. The study revealed
that WQI for khan river water ranges
between 32 and 42 while WQI for kshipra
river water after Triveni Sangam ranges
between 36 and 49 indicating their bad
quality. The study also confirmed that khan
river solely and drains to some extent are
responsible for water quality deteriotion in
river Kshipra. The river water is unsuitable
even for bathing as though pH and DO are
within acceptable limits but BOD and FC
values are far above the minimum
acceptable limits. Hence there is an urgent
need to implement suitable pollution control
measures in River Khan and Kshipra
including maintaining minimum dilution
flow, reaeration and disinfection so as to
keep the pollutants within limit and to
restore its old age glory.

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J. Indian Water Resour. Soc., Vol. 32, No. 1-2, January-April, 2012

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