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E-proceedings of the 36th IAHR World Congress

28 June 3 July, 2015, The Hague, the Netherlands

ASSESSMENT OF RIVER ECOSYSTEMS AND HUMAN-INDUCED STRESS ON HYDROLOGICAL


REGIME A CASE STUDY OF GOMTI RIVER BASIN, INDIA
(1)

V. DUTTA , U. SHARMA
(1)

(2)

& R. KUMAR

(3)

DST Centre for Policy Research, Department of Environmental Science, BBA Central University, Lucknow, India, dvenks@gmail.com
(2)

Department of Environmental Science, BBA Central University, Lucknow, India, urvashisharma33@gmail.com


(3)

WWF-India, New Delhi, India, ravindra53@yahoo.co.in

ABSTRACT
This paper attempt to evaluate the potential impact of human-induced interventions on hydrological regimes of Gomti
River, one of the important tributaries of the Ganges in India. LANDSAT satellite data of 1978 and IRS-1C/LISS-III
satellite data of 2008 are compared to study the changes that have had happened in the basin resulting in increase in
built up areas, decrease in forest and plantation cover and inland water bodies. Flow data from 1978 to 2012 is analysed
to study the patterns of flow regime in the different segments of the river. Water quality assessment is done to study the
quality of the water in different stretches of the river. The paper shows that significant changes have taken place in the
basin over the recent past and are still continuing. A steady increase in developed land area due to rapid urban sprawl has
occurred in recent decades, due to which forest cover and wetlands are decreasing, the river and floodplains are getting
fragmented, the hydromorphology changed considerably and several tributaries are getting dried as a result of
indiscriminate exploitation of groundwater. The paper has adopted an integrated approach to study the integrity of river
ecosystems and the potential pressures on them. The findings suggest that river Gomti and its floodplain offer multiple
ecosystem services and deserve an integrated approach for its conservation and restoration.
Keywords: Gomti River Basin, floodplain, land use, water quality, river ecosystems
1.

INTRODUCTION

River channels with their floodplains and adjoining ecosystems have to be addressed as interconnected ecological entity
in a holistic way. This requires comprehensive observations of the river systems and catchment characteristics using longterm data. In the present study an attempt has been made to evaluate the potential impact of human-induced intervention
on hydrological regimes of Gomti River, one of the important tributaries of the Ganga Alluvial Plain (GAP) in India aiming
at an overall assessment of the status quo. The information provided by the paper for Gomti River Basin (GRB) is
significant for the understanding of the basin and to formulate integrated management and development plan of the basin.
Significant changes have taken place in the GRB over the recent past and are still continuing. Because of the chosen river
basin and the site-specific research approach, the research results may lack generalisation. However, it provides a
general framework of analysis which could be applied to other river basins in India and elsewhere.
River and its floodplain offer multiple ecosystem services and deserve an integrated approach for their conservation and
restoration. Land surface processes and land-atmosphere interactions in changing environment with anthropogenic
interventions have bearing on hydrology and geo-morphology of a river basin resulting in an altered riverine landscapes
(Poff et al., 1997, Wohl, 2005, Sinha et al., 2013). Due to mounting human pressure, hydrologic processes can no longer
create and maintain the habitat and natural disturbance regimes necessary for ecosystem integrity (Palmer et al., 2009,
Nagy and Lockaby, 2012). The ecological integrity of river ecosystems depends on their natural dynamic character, but
there is a general tendency to view rivers as longitudinal channel networks by planners and land developers. All the large
and small river-floodplain ecosystems in India have been altered by human activities by different scales (Sinha et al.,
2012). Many of them are likely to be altered soon as land use intensifies, while a majority of them are in critical stage.
Currently, the regulatory bodies like Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) design the river monitoring programs from a
largely one-dimensional, channel-oriented perspective (i.e., to assess impacts of point sources of pollution along the
lengths of rivers), while ignoring the hydrological dynamics and river-floodplain connectivity of the river and its tributaries.
GRB is witnessing high water stress mainly due to the increase of human population along with an expansion of
agricultural activity. Significant changes have taken place in the GRB over the recent past and are still continuing. The
paper has adopted an integrated approach to study the integrity of river ecosystems and the potential pressures on them.
This paper has identified following major problems in the GRB: (a) drainage congestion and encroachment in the upper
segment; (b) extensive exploitation of groundwater in the entire GRB; (c) reduction in forest cover and wetlands; (d)
reduction in flow in the river and its tributaries; (e) water quality deterioration; and (f) decreasing biodiversity. These
problems are elaborated in the following sections after a short overview of the study area, basin morphology, sub-surface
geology and sediment profile.

E-proceedings of the 36th IAHR World Congress,


28 June 3 July, 2015, The Hague, the Netherlands

2.

ABOUT THE STUDY AREA

The river Gomti originates at an elevation of 200 m amsl (28o34N 80o07E) about 55 km south of the Himalayas foothills)
from a lake Fulhar Jheel (Gomat Tal) in Madhotanda village about 30 km east of the Pilibhit town in Uttar Pradesh (UP)
and joins river Ganga after travelling for a distance of 960 km at an elevation of 62 m amsl (Figure 1). The total drainage
area of the river is 30,437 km2 contributing 12% area share of the state of UP and 3.53% of the Ganga Basin (NIH, 1998).
The river drains the area lying between Ramganga and Sarda rivers in the upper reaches and between the area of the
Ganga and Ghagra Rivers in the lower reaches. Initially, the river has a course of about 24 km in the Pilibhit district where
it is joined by the Gachion on its left bank. It traverses further through Shahjahanpur district for a length of about 56 km
and receives two more tributaries namely Jokni and Barua. Then the river Gomti flows through Khiri, Sitapur and Lucknow
districts where it receives small tributaries, namely Chhoha on its right bank and the Sarayan on its left bank. The river
passes through Lucknow city in a south-easterly direction. Leaving Lucknow city, the river flows through districts of
Barabanki, Sultanpur, Faizabad, Jaunpur, and finally before its confluence with the Ganga forms the boundary between
Varanasi and Gazipur districts. Sai River is its major tributary having drainage area of 12,900 km 2 covering approximately
43% of the total catchment area of the GRB. The other important tributaries are- Kathina, Bhainsi, Sarayan, Gon, Kalyani,
Reth, Sai, Pili, Loni, and Kandu, which are 3rd to 5th order groundwater-fed alluvial rivers having drainage area of 100
2000 km2 and drainage density of 0.37 1.04 km/km2 (Thakur, 2008).

Figure 1. Map of the Gomti River Basin showing basin and sub-basin boundary with average annual rainfall and evapotranspiration (after
Singh et al., 2013)

The climate of the basin varies between sub-humid to semi-arid tropical. The average annual rainfall is 100 cm, and about
85 % of it occurs during the monsoon season. July and August receive nearly 55 % of the total annual rainfall (CPCB,
2002). The primary source of water in the GRB is precipitation during the monsoon season; however, the rivers get major
flow from the groundwater. A recent study of environmental isotope studies of the river, lake and groundwater of the GRB
shows that rivers derive their water from different origins and mixtures of various proportions of different sources, namely
precipitation from the monsoon, the shallow aquifer zone of the alluvial plain and water from the artesian condition near
the northern margin of the GAP (Singh et al., 2013).
3.

METHODOLOGY

The study was done for three years during 2011 to 2014, with field observations in the entire river basin. A team of 4
researchers along with the project leader was responsible for collecting pre and post-monsson data. The research
methodology includes following four components, each of them is described in the subsequent sections followed by
detailing important observations and the association of data and conclusions:
(a) Study of basin morphology, sub-surface geology and sediments profile of Gomti River
(b) A comparison of LANDSAT satellite data of 1978 and IRS-1C/LISS-III satellite data of 2008 to study the changes
occurring in the built up area, forest and water bodies of the basin
(c) Study of flow patterns in different stretches of river Gomti from 1978 to 2012

E-proceedings of the 36th IAHR World Congress


28 June 3 July, 2015, The Hague, the Netherlands

(d) Water quality assessment at different sites from origin of the river to its confluence in the Ganges
4.

FINDINGS OF THE RESEARCH


4.1 Basin morphology and sub-surface geology

In the Indian sub-continent, the Ganga Alluvial Plain (GAP) is one of the largest fluvial sedimentary basins of the world. It
is located between the worlds most tectonically active regions, the Himalaya in the north and stable Indian Craton in the
south. The Gomti River ows in the GAP, which is of Pleistocene-Holocene origin, and redistributes the weathered
sediments of the GAP derived from Himalaya (Kumar and Singh, 1978).
Fluvial incision is the most distinctive geomorphic characteristics shown by all active rivers of the GAP (Singh et al., 1990).
Monsoon-controlled climate of the GAP controls rainfall received by the GRB and discharge of the Gomti River. The river
flows through an incised valley before meeting the Ganga River in Kaithi, Ghazipur bordering Varanasi (at an elevation of
62 m) after traversing 960 km in south south-east direction. Majority of the surface area of the GRB is generally flat sloping
towards S and SE with altitude varying from 200 m to 62 m AMSL. After flowing southwards through the districts of
Sitapur, Lucknow, Barabanki, Sultanpur, and Jaunpur, it confluences with River Ganga in Kaithi, Ghazipur bordering
Varanasi. The GRB is divided into upper and lower stretches on the basis of change in the slope of the river and its
tributaries. For about 450 km from the origin, the difference in the elevation is about 100 m AMSL. For the remaining
stretch of 500 km, there is an elevation difference of 25 m.
The Gomti-Kalyani doab is a fertile area, irrigated by canals, tube wells and open wells. This doab lies in the Barabanki
district of UP and is bounded by Kalyani River on the north and the Gomti River and its tributary on the south covering an
area of about 146,526 ha. On the west, the area extends up to the Sarda Sahayak feeder channel and on the east up to
the confluence of the Gomti and Kalyani rivers.
The valley margins of Gomti river show prominent bluff or escarpment (sometimes referred to as banks). Escarpment
height is basically height of the vertical cliff along the margin of the river channel and river valley. The downstream
increasing trend of escarpment heights of the both river margins is primarily related to incision of the river and controlled
by the lowering of base level of the Ganga River (Thakur et al., 2009). Longitudinal profile of the Gomti River runs from
200 to 62 m AMSL and shows three breaks in slope. The conspicuous convexity in the profile is located above the subsurface Faizabad Ridge and may be related to the movement along this ridge.
Downstream wave-like variation in average escarpment height reveals undulating topography with prominent upwarps and
downwarps attributed to the compressional tectonics of the GAP. The Gomti River provides the expression of base level
linked (2 to 10 m deep) fluvial incision associated with the Ganga River, and tectonically-driven (6 to 15 m deep) incision is
connected with intra-basinal tectonics of the Ganga Plain Foreland Basin. The tectonic-driven incision is younger and
superimposed over the base level-linked incision. The role of climate-derived factors in fluvial incision is secondary and
not easy to evaluate.
Valley morphological feature of the Gomti river shows highly sinuous active channel in the upper segment, river valley
margins with discontinuous and dissected high escarpment in the middle segment and the lower segment shows sinuous
river valley showing 10 to 12 m deep incision on the Ganga Plain before merging with Ganga at Kaithi. The impact of
tectonics and climate change is noteworthy and effective, which may lead to incision of river channel and rejuvenation of
entire drainage network in the past.
The discharge of the Gomti River increases downstream due to contributions from surface runoff and groundwater. In the
upper segment of the Gomti River, incision is low, although rainfall is high; on the contrary in the middle and lower
segments, incision is high, while rainfall is low. In the middle segment, water discharge is less than in the lower segment,
but it shows maximum incision. Further, there is wave-like pattern of incision indicating that rainfall alone cannot explain
the incision pattern of the Gomti River.
In the GRB, the regional upland surface, rivers and lakes are connected to the groundwater and constitute an integrated
groundwater flow system (Kumar et al., 2013). Extensive aquifers occur in the quaternary alluvium formations at various
depths. The hydraulic gradient is 2.53.5 m/km in the alluvial plain area and 6.57.5 m/km in the river valley area
(Mehrotra, 2004). A groundwater depression exists along the Gomti River valley, and groundwater flows towards this
depression from the valley margins to the active river channel (Mehrotra, 2004, Kumar et al., 2013).The phreatic aquifers
are unconfined in nature and main source of water for drinking purposes. These are classified as follows:
a). Phreatic aquifers up to depth of 50 m below the ground level
b). Shallow aquifers between 50 m to 150 m below the ground level
c). Medium depth aquifers between 150 m to 300 m below the ground level
d). Deep aquifers between 300 m to 500 m below the ground level
4.2 Sediments profile of Gomti River
The entire GRB is underlain by thick alluvial sediments of the Quaternary age. The alluvial sediments consist of boulders,
pebbles, gravels, sand, silt, clay and occasional kankar bands. The unconsolidated unit may be further subdivided into
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E-proceedings of the 36th IAHR World Congress,


28 June 3 July, 2015, The Hague, the Netherlands

younger alluvium. The younger alluvium occupies the present day floodplains while the older group occupies elevated
portions mainly the doab portions. The older alluvium is characterized by kankar nodules at depth otherwise it is similar to
the younger alluvium. Most of the sediments are transported during high river discharge, in monsoon period. The structure
and thickness of sand beds are such that these form extensive aquifer systems.
The channels in the Gomti are oored by sinuous-crested dunes and sand bars (Kumar and Singh, 1978) which deposit
sets of trough cross beds. Rapid migration of sinuous-crested dunes with coarse bed-load, gives rise to poorly dened
trough cross-bedding. During ood events, depth as well as ow velocity rises and coarse sediments are transported in
the channels, then at low stages. The deep channel deposits, therefore, consist of trough cross-bedded coarse
sandstones similar to that observed at the base of Siwalik sequences.
Almost monotonous spatial distribution of various chemical species is observed in the sediments, especially because of
uniform presence of alluvium Dun gravels throughout the basin (Gupta and Subramanian, 1994). The river annually
transports 0.34106 tonne of total suspended material (TSM) and 3.0106 tonne of total dissolved solids (TDS), 69 percent
of which is accounted for by bicarbonate ions only. Samples collected downstream of the city of Lucknow showed the
influence of anthropogenic loadings for a considerable distance in the river water. Na+, Cl-, and SO42- concentrations build
up downstream. The bed sediment chemistry is dominated by Si (36 percent), reflecting a high percentage of detrital
quartz, which makes up about 74 percent of the mineralogy of the bed sediments in the Gomti River. The average Kjeldahl
nitrogen concentration (234g/g) indicated indirectly the amount of organic matter in the sediments. The Hg concentration
in sediments has been found to be higher (average 904 ppb) than the background value. The suspended sediments are
well sorted, very finely skewed, and extremely leptokurtic, indicating a low energy condition of flow in the Gomti River.
4.3

Drainage congestion and encroachment in the upper segment

The upper stretch of the river is heavily encroached by the agricultural fields and has sluggish flow condition. As per
revenue records, encroachment in to the river and its floodplain has left limited fields in the name of Gomti River in each
village in the upper stretches and no land in the name of river in Navadia todarpur, Biharipur M. rampur fukire, Navdia
maksudpur, Panchpera prahladpur, Udaiksanpur villages. About 10% of the rivers channel is available in the name of
Gramsamaj (a local body at the village) or farm road. The upper and middle segment of the river is severely affected by
flooding during monsoons due to drainage congestion. Deforestation along the banks has also led to runoff depositing silt
in the stream bed leading to low channel capacity.

Figure 2. Marshy land area along the Gomti river in its upper segment near Shahjahanpur district

Gomti River doesnt look like a river or not even a stream near its origin from a lake called Fulhaar Jheel near
Madhotanda east of Pilibhit district. There are isolated patches of lakes with very little water. In one of the lakes which is
actually referred to as, Fulhar Jheel, remains filled with water round the year, though even its water goes down during the
summer. Groundwater-fed alluvial rivers are common features of the GAP. These rivers originate in the interfluve regions
of the major Himalayan rivers such as the Yamuna, Ganga, Ghaghara, Gandak, the Kosi Rivers etc, and are entrenched
into the Ganga Plain. Fluvial incision or the vertical down cutting of river channel of Gomti into alluvium must have been
controlled by the sediment/discharge ratio brought by the run-off from the Himalayas. However, external factors such as
tectonic, climate and base level changes also contributed to the incision of the river. Due to massive run-off from the
Himalayas in the foothills, water used to gush through once heavily forested area which used to extend till Puranpur. The
heavy discharge in the river must have silted heavily downstream resulting into low channel capacity through thousands of
years of time span. This also facilitated change of river course and development of huge aquifers. This could be a reason
for development of huge marsh land area of about 25 Km along the river stream in Shahjahanpur district (Figure 2). The
local farmers and villagers have also started growing crops in the depressed land which otherwise seems to be connected
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E-proceedings of the 36th IAHR World Congress


28 June 3 July, 2015, The Hague, the Netherlands

with the lake. To ensure that adequate water was available in the lake during the summer, the Irrigation Department had
connected the lake with the main branch of Sharda canal, though a minor canal called Madhotanda distributary (Figure 3).
The plan was to release water in the main branch to maintain water table of the lake. Later the irrigation department
stopped releasing water from the Sharda canal into the minor canal. Slowly, the local farmers encroached on the canal
and started cultivation. The irrigation department of UP is currently releasing 100 cusec water.

Figure 3. LANDSAT image (1977) of the upper segment showing the drainage of the Gomti river

For first 60 kilometers, the river is intermittent of its course, becoming perennial only after meeting with Jhukna river. At
several places, the river is non-existent and farmers have encroached upon the riverbed for cropping which goes for 7
months in a year when there is no water. Around 75 km away from the point of its origin, this stream is joined by
tributaries like Sukheta, Choha and Andhra Choha near Mohammadi Kheri, a tehsil of Lakhimpur Kheri (Figure 4). Choha
and Andhra Choha were found to be completely dry during the river expedition by the authors in summer of 2011. At one
or two places, small ponds were visible with very little water.

Figure 4. The upper and middle segment showing major tributaries from origin to Lucknow district

4.4

Extensive exploration of groundwater

The GRB has witnessed extreme population pressure and intensive agriculture with cropping intensity of 155.62% (net
sown area 2.34 million ha, i.e. 65.77%). To meet the irrigation water demand in Uttar Pradesh, groundwater has been
exploited extensively by constructing a number of state and private, deep and shallow tube-wells and minor irrigation
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E-proceedings of the 36th IAHR World Congress,


28 June 3 July, 2015, The Hague, the Netherlands

works (Table 1). As river Gomti continues to be the main source of water supply to Lucknow, Jaunpur and other
habitations downstream including many farmers, a number of tube-wells have been also bored near the river-bed to
exploit groundwater. There is a declining trend of groundwater levels in the entire GRB 59.85% of basin areas had pre
monsoon groundwater levels between 0-5 m in 1984 which decreased to 21.64% in 2006 (Table 2, Figure 5).
Table 1. Groundwater extraction in GRB
Departments

Deep Tube wells

Medium Tube well

Shallow Tube wells

Total

Minor Irrigation

554

2191

655945

658690

Jal Nigam

620

620*

Irrigation department

3000

3000

Total

4174

2191

655945

662310

*About 2,27,282 hand pumps are also being maintained by Jal Nigam, which use groundwater for domestic purposes.
This table does not include number of private tube wells which are operated by individuals at the household levels.

Table 2. Declining trend of groundwater table in the GRB (data from pre-and post-monsoon of year 1984 and 2006)
Groundwater level
in meters below the
ground (mbg)
Pre-monsoon
year 1984

Percentage variation in area in the GRB


Pre-monsoon
year 2006

Post-monsoon
year 1984

Post-monsoon
year 2006

0-3

6.38

0.52

46.12

13.86

3-5

53.47

21.12

45.33

38.40

5-8

36.38

61.99

8.28

39.64

>8

3.78

16.36

0.27

8.11

4.4.1 Inter-basin water transfer and groundwater recharge in the GRB


The GRB has extensive canal network measuring about 10,000 km in length. Water from Sharda and Ghagra River basin
is transferred to meet the irrigation requirement that also contributes to groundwater recharge. The canal network is
comprised mainly of Khiri, Hardoi and Lucknow branches of Sarda canal and Dariabad, Sultanpur, Allahabad branches of
Sarda Sahayak canal system. The seepage and irrigation water (return flow) provide groundwater recharge in the canal
command areas to the extent of 58.26 mm annually and 29.47 mm in the GRB. In Gomti-Sai doab 16931 check dams and
84647 ponds along with roof top rain water harvesting systems provide ground water recharge of 16929.4, 3386.2 and
102.8182 Hectare meter/year respectively. In total estimated recharge from all these conservation means in Gomti-Sai
doab is 0.84 mm/Year.
4.4.2 River-aquifer interaction and base-flow behavior in the GRB
The base flow behavior has been studied at major urban stretches in the mid and lower segments of the GRB. In the mid
segment of the GRB between Lucknow and Sultanpur, the annual average flow is 0.53 MCM/sq. km whereas in the lower
segment between Sultanpur-Jaunpur is 0.10 MCM/sq. km. It is observed that in the lower segment between SultanpurJaunpur reach, the base flow contribution is low as compared to the Jalalpur-Raibareli reach. The yearly average flow
between Sultanpur-Jaunpur reach has negative base flow contribution of the order of -208 MCM during monsoon months
(June-September) and -42 MCM during non-monsoon months, though the overall total flow is positive. Because of the
negative base flow contribution during certain months of the year in monsoon and non-monsoon seasons respectively, the
Jalalpur-Raibareli reach contributes to groundwater recharge significantly as compared to Sultanpur-Jaunpur reach.
4.5

Reduction in forest cover and wetlands

There has been severe reduction in forest cover and wetlands in the entire GRB due to rapid land use change and
increasing demand of pristine land from urbanization. This has affected flow of water in Gomti River adversely as most of
the tributaries originate from water bodies or forests and reduction in their density has caused reduction in water
availability in the river. Except Pilibhit and Kheri, all the districts falling under the basin are deficient in forest cover.

E-proceedings of the 36th IAHR World Congress


28 June 3 July, 2015, The Hague, the Netherlands

Figure 5. Decling trend of groundwater levels in the GRB 59.85% of basin areas had pre monsoon groundwater levels between 0-5 m in
1984 which decreased to 21.64% in 2006 (A) Groundwater levels in pre-monsoon in 1984 (B) Groundwater levels in post-monsoon in
1984 (C) Groundwater levels in pre-monsoon in 2006 (D) Groundwater levels in post-monsoon in 2006

LANDSAT satellite data of 1978 and IRS-1C/LISS III sensor data of 2008 shows that, built up area has increased while the
forest and plantation area including water bodies has decreased. This trend further increased and the forest cover and
water bodies have decreased substantially due to increasing demand and urbanization. This has affected flow of water in
Gomti River adversely. Most of the tributaries originate from water bodies or forests and reduction in their density has
caused reduction in water availability in the river. In the Gomti basin, majority of forests are of open types and less dense.
While the amount of forest cover in UP is 9.01% of the total geographical area, the total forest cover including the
plantation/orchards the GRB is 7.19%. Except Pilibhit and Kheri, all the districts falling under the basin are deficient in
green cover (Table 3). This indicates that the basin is deficient in total green cover, which ideally could be increased to
12% using the barren and fallow land.
4.6 Reduction in flow in the river and its tributaries
The river is characterized by sluggish ow throughout the year, except during the monsoon season, when heavy rainfall
causes a manifold increase (20 50 times) in the discharge (Singh et al. 2013). 75% dependable flow in September has
been recorded as 450 cumec at Maighat (after Sai-Gomti confluence) and 125 cumec at Hanuman Setu, Lucknow. The
average lean flow recorded for the month of April, has been 25 cumec and 15 cumec for these locations respectively
6
3
(CWC, 2011). About 7390 x 10 m water of the Gomti River is annually discharged into the Ganga River. About 80 per
cent of the discharge flows during the monsoon season (Rao, 1975). Average annual water yields due to rainfall in the
Gomti basin has been found to be 7390 million cubic meter with specific yield/discharge of 244,000 m 3/km2 and 234
m3/sec.

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28 June 3 July, 2015, The Hague, the Netherlands

Table 3. Land use categories and their percentage share in the GRB based on 2011 satellite data
Land use categories
Sandy area

Area (sq. km)

% share

11.201

0.04

Scrub land

1416.894

4.91

Salt-affected land

1459.456

5.06

Crop land

18955.42

65.69

Barren land

42.651

0.15

2244.628

7.78

48.163

0.17

Inland wetlands

701.166

2.43

Urban built-up

690.592

2.39

Rural built-up

928.601

3.22

River/stream/canal

349.463

1.21

Gullied/Ravinous

433.469

1.50

Plantation

1522.18

5.28

97.043

0.34

453.542

1.57

16.72

0.06

Fallow
Water bodies

Scrub forests
Deciduous forests
Grass/Grazing land

There is no flow in the initial 60 km stretch of the river with wide encroachment of active floodplains. The rainfall pattern in
the GRB shows a decreasing trend with reduction in river flows (Figure 6). As all the tributaries of the Gomti River
originate from water bodies or forests, reduction in their density has caused reduction in water flow in the river. Another
factor which has contributed significantly to reducing flow in the river is excessive withdrawal of groundwater. As part of
the water cycle, groundwater is a major contributor to Gomti Rivers flow and its tributaries. The precipitation during the
monsoon season is the dominant source of water for groundwater recharge in the GRB. If extent of extraction is lowered
to river bed depth, the maintenance of ecological flow becomes difficult in that reach. In fact at times in the dry season, the
river water level goes down to such an extent that there is need to request the State Irrigation Department to augment
supplies to meet the drinking water needs.

Figure 6. Average of annual flow (AF) and summer monsoon flow (SMAF) (June to September) in Gomti river from 1978 to 2012 shows a
declining trend (based on flow data from four locations Sitapur, Lucknow, Sultanpur and Jaunpur)

4.7 Water quality deterioration

E-proceedings of the 36th IAHR World Congress


28 June 3 July, 2015, The Hague, the Netherlands

The quality of the water in Gomti River has deteriorated due to discharge of untreated wastewater from about 45 major
drains in its entire course of 960 km. For a lot of effluent and sewage generated, there are no effluent treatments or
inadequate treatments. The stretch between Lucknow and Barabanki, and between Sultanpur and Jauanpur on the basis
of CPCB (1978) surface water quality standards was categorized as class E. On the banks of the river, Sitapur, Lucknow,
Sultanpur, and Jaunpur, are the four major urban settlements. Throughout its stretch, there are a many tributaries such asKathina, Bhainsi, Sarayan, Gon, Kalyani, Reth, Sai, Pili, Loni, and Kandu, originating within short distances and carrying
the wastewater and industrial efuents from different towns and industrial units in the basin. Jaunpur city in the lower
stretch of the river also contributes pollution in a significant way as there is no functional sewage treatment scheme for the
city.
Table 4. Water pollution in Gomti river in Lucknow stretch as monitored during March-April 2011
Location
Ghalia
Gaughat
Kudiaghat
Mohan
Meakins
Shahid
Smarak
Daliganj
Hanuman
Setu
Barrage
Haider Canal
Pipraghat

DO
(mg/l)
6.8
6.5
6.1
2.1

pH

EC

Ca

Mg

HCO3

Cl

NO3

460
484
495
2230

Total
Hardness
195
201
190
850

7.30
7.54
7.22
8.11

26
26
28
276

35
32
31
109

214
220
220
1397

14
14
12
35

ND
0.6
0.9
55

ND
0.2
ND
2.8

2.4

8.00

690

250

52

32

262

19

25

0.4

3.4
2.8

8.01
7.90

855
880

325
315

64
68

29
45

415
488

14
48

18
15

0.5
0.7

2.3
2.1
4.9

7.82
7.90
7.74

678
1217
640

255
378
240

52
73
55

33
37
28

329
488
275

34
84
28

9
20
6

0.4
0.4
0.2

According to studies carried out by several researchers on Gomti River, it has been observed that, the water quality has
degraded over a period of time considerably showing lower value of DO (dissolved oxygen) and higher values of BOD
(biological oxygen demand) at many places ( Bhaskaran et al., 1963, Arora et al., 1973, Bhargava and Tirath, 1982,
Pathak, 1991, Bhatt and Pathak, 1992, Mishra and Mishra, 2008, Prakash et al., 2011). While water quality at upstream of
Gaughat remains good for almost all beneficial uses, its quality declines once the river enters Lucknow because most of
the drainage are directly drained into the Gomti River. River water quality degrades as it proceeds from Ghalia to
Pipraghat. Pollution level was recorded highest at Mohan Meakins (distillery industry) followed by Haider canal. High
concentration of six heavy metals namely Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn were noticed in water and sediments in rainy season
compared to summer and winter ( Gaur and Gupta, 2003, Mishra and Mishra, 2008).
4.8 Decreasing biodiversity
In Gomti River, habitat deficiencies in river channels and floodplains arising due to large scale land use change, reducing
wetlands and forest cover and deteriorating water quality downstream due to discharge of domestic and industrial
wastewater are having a cumulative impact on water quality and quantity of the river. In many segments, there have been
drastic drop in rivers biodiversity with decreasing variety of fishes and aquatic plants. There have been major drop in
population of freshwater turtles. Aquatic life is severely affected because of reduced levels of dissolved oxygen. Fish die
and whatever planktons (water plants) are left in the river are slowly destroyed.
Extensive surveys were conducted to explore the diversity of fishes, distribution patterns, abundance, threat, and habitat
status in the upper, middle, and lower stretch of Gomti River by Sarkar et al. (2012). Altogether 56 fish species belonging
to 20 families and 42 genera were collected from various sampling sites. Of the 56 species, five belonged to the
endangered (EN) category and 11 belonged to the vulnerable (VU) category. Six major categories of habitat were
identified and pattern of fish assemblage and dominant genera in each habitat studied. Considerable differences were
observed in the fish species richness and relative abundance of the species in the different sampling sites of river Gomti.
Indiscriminate catch, poisoning, using of fine mesh sized nets, dumping of sewage, siltation, water abstraction, changing
land use pattern, decreased water discharge, and exotic species threaten the fish diversity.
5.

CONCLUSIONS

River channels with their floodplains and adjoining ecosystems have to be addressed as interconnected ecological entity
in a holistic way. Conservation and protection of ecologically intact river-floodplain systems is extremely important and
urgently needs integrated planning and management. This requires comprehensive observations of the river systems and
catchment characteristics using long-term data. The paper shows that over the years, the water source in the tributaries
feeding the river Gomti has shrunk, reducing the flow in the river. A steady increase in developed land area due to rapid
urban sprawl has occurred in recent decades, due to which forest cover and wetlands are decreasing, the river and
floodplains are getting fragmented, the hydromorphology changed considerably and several tributaries are getting dried as
a result of indiscriminate exploitation of groundwater. Groundwater is a major component of river flows, maintaining
sufficient flow for ecological purposes and for surface water abstractions. When groundwater levels fall as aquifer storage
is depleted during low-flow periods and in high demands for agricultural and drinking water purposes, river bed is visible at
several stretches. As water stress is rapidly increasing in the GRB, understanding of the hydrological processes that

E-proceedings of the 36th IAHR World Congress,


28 June 3 July, 2015, The Hague, the Netherlands

define and control the relationship between river water, shallow groundwater and monsoon precipitation is critical for
sustainable groundwater-resource management in the GRB.
Current management strategy has isolated focus which ignores river and river processes. Most of the restoration is
proposed by the land development authority under riverfront development project in the relatively short segments of the
river (in the urban segment of Lucknow district) that are perceived to be unsightly. Such projects ignore the alluvial
floodplains and adjoining ecosystems (tributaries, groundwater, forests, wetlands, etc) which have to be addressed as
interconnected ecological unities. There is an urgent need to improve the current management of river systems in the
GRB and improve the overall ecological situation. A basin-wide planning and management strategy should take an
ecosystem approach with adequate protection and management of riparian zone-recognizing that river and river
processes are dynamic over space and time, any single management intervention has implications for the river as a
whole. Basin-wide planning should include cumulative effects of various pressures (biodiversity, ground and surface water
quality, forest cover, etc.) and their adequate evaluation. Therefore, the need and support of further research is essential.
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