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Journal of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research, 2012, 4(9):4231-4234

ISSN : 0975-7384
Research Article CODEN(USA) : JCPRC5

Assessment of physico-chemical properties of water:

River Ramganga at Bareilly, U.P
Ravi Kumar Gangwara, Puneet Khareb, Jaspal Singha* and A. P. Singha
a
Department of Environmental Science, Bareilly College, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, 243005
INDIA
b
Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Lucknow, INDIA
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ABSTRACT

Ramganga is an important river of Bareilly (U.P). Three sampling stations viz., Station A- near Angoori village,
Station B-near Ramganga Bridge and Station C-near Choubari village were established for the collection of water
samples during july, 2011 to june, 2012. Monitoring of water of River Ramganga includes physico-chemical
parameters. The temperature was 20.4°C to 35.9°C, pH of river water ranges from 8.1 to 8.8, Total solids were
ranged from 330 mg/l to 396 mg/l, Turbidity ranging between 22 to 72 NTU, Hardness of water was 192 to 219
mg/l, Alkalinity was 96 mg/l to 202 mg/l, organic pollution is mild as indicated by DO ranged from 5.8 mg/l to 6.3
mg/l, BOD was 5.0 mg/l to 5.8 mg/l and COD was 33.5 mg/l to 41 mg/l. In this paper the results of one year study
are presented.

Keywords: Physico-chemical parameters, River Ramganga, DO, BOD, COD.

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INTRODUCTION

Rivers play an important role in the development of nation and sustenance of life, which are being polluted due to
rapid industrialization, urbanization and other developmental activities [1, 2]. Indian agriculture receives most of its
water from surface sources like river, reservoir, dam etc [3]. Ramganga is an important river in Uttar Pradesh, it
originates from the hills of Garhwal and traverses through Kalagarh, Moradabad and Bareilly and finally merges
into River Ganga at Farukhabad, covering a distance of about 480 km. Recently, great concern has been universally
voiced regarding environmental pollution arising as a side effect of rapid industrialization and subsequent
urbanization. Today, the main concern with environmental pollution is with its impact on the health of the present
generation and the future ones. Our culture is completely river oriented and most of our important towns and urban
areas are located on the bank of major rivers. Untreated domestic waste way into the rivers through sewage, outfalls
drains etc [4] and increases the water pollution in rivers [2].

The interactions of both the physical and chemical properties of water play a significant role in composition,
distribution and abundance of aquatic organisms [5, 6]. The degree of pollution is generally assessed by studying
physical and chemical characteristics of the water bodies [7, 8]. Studies related to water pollution of river like Ganga
[9], Godavari [10], Chambal [11] and Yamuna [12], have received greater attention during recent years. The present
study was aimed to monitor the changes in physico-chemical parameters of river Ramganga in Bareilly district.

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EXPERIMENTAL SECTION

Water samples were collected for physico-chemical analysis from three sampling stations namely Angoori village,
Ramganga Bridge and Choubari village respectively. As per the norms of the APHA [13], wide mouthed plastic
bottles of one liter size was used for collecting the samples. These are analysed using standard methods for physico-
chemical examination of water. Samples were collected monthly in a routing manner from the river bank. Samples
were analysed for following physico-chemical and biological parameters viz. Temperature, pH, Total Solids,
Turbidity, Total Hardness (EDTA Titration method), Total Alkalinity (by simple titration method), Dissolved
Oxygen (Winkler method), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (5 days incubation method) and Chemical Oxygen
Demand (by dichromate titration method) [13]. All the experiment was done with in 24 hr of sampling.

RESULT AND DISSCUSSION

Result for physico-chemical analysis was given as follows (TABLE 1):-

TABLE 1: Physico-chemical parameters of Ramganga River, Bareilly

  Temperature (°C) Ph Total solids (mg/L)

W S R W S R W S R
Station 1 21.7 34.2 31.9 8.7 8.6 8.5 361 381 396
Station 2 20.4 33.4 30.1 8.2 8.1 8.1 330 348 374
Station 3 21.2 35.9 31.4 8.8 8.4 8.3 346 342 382
Turbidity (NTU) Hardness (mg/L) Alkalinity (mg/L)
W S R W S R W S R
Station 1 29 38 72 213 217 207 200 158 116
Station 2 22 31 70 197 196 192 163 131 96
Station 3 26 33 71 219 215 213 202 158 103
DO (mg/L) BOD (mg/L) COD (mg/L)
W S R W S R W S R
Station 1 5.8 6.3 6.3 5.4 5.2 5.3 40.0 36.0 38.0
Station 2 6.1 6.1 5.7 5.8 5.3 5.4 38.0 33.5 35.0
Station 3 6.0 5.9 5.8 5.7 5.0 5.5 41.0 38.0 37.5
W: Winter (Nov. to Feb.), S: Summer (Mar. to Jun.), R: Rainy (Jul. to Oct.)
Station 1: Angoori village, Station 2 : Ramganga bridge, Station 3: Choubari village

TEMPERATURE- Temperature is mainly depending on the atmosphere and weather condition. It is basically
important for its effects on certain chemical and biological reactions taking place in water and aquatic organisms
[14]. Temperature of the river water was recorded average in winter, summer and rainy season which vary from
20.4°C to 21.7°C, 33.4°C to 35.9°C and 30.1°C to 31.9°C respectively. Higher temperature during summer was due
to heating.

pH- pH of River water ranges from 8.2 to 8.8 in winter, 8.1 to 8.6 in summer and 8.1 to 8.5 in rainy season. pH of
river water was maximum in winter season. The variation can be due to the exposure of river water to atmosphere,
biological activities and temperature changes [15, 16]. It was observed that the pollutant water directly influenced
the pH of river.
TOTAL SOLIDS- The total solids (TS) determined in these studies ranged between 330 to 361 mg/l in winter, 342
to 381 mg/l in summer 374 to 396 mg/l in rainy season. Total solids analysis has great implications in the control of
biological and physical waste water treatment processes. The largest amount of total solids adds to the highest
turbidity [17].

TURBIDITY- Turbidity values ranges between 22 to 29 NTU in winter, 31 to 38 NTU in summer and 70 to 72
NTU in rainy season The increased turbidity during rainy months was attributed to soil erosion in the nearby
catchment and massive contribution of suspended solids from sewage. Surface runoffs and domestic wastes mainly
contribute to the increased turbidity [18].

TOTAL HARDNESS- Cation of calcium, magnesium, iron and manganese contribute to the hardness of water
[14]. It ranges between 197 to 219 mg/l in winter, 196 to 217 mg/l in summer and 192 to 213 mg/l in rainy season.
Although hard water has no effect on health but it is unsuitable for domestic use. It also forms heat insulating scales
in the boilers reducing their efficiency [17].

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ALKALINITY- Alkalinity is influenced with carbonate and bicarbonate and other ions. Shrivastava and Patil [14]
suggested that the alkalinity is directly related to the abundance of phytoplankton which dissociates bicarbonate into
carbonates and carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide, thus, released is used in photosynthesis. The value of alkalinity
varies from 163 mg/l to 202 mg/l in winter, 131 mg/l to 158 mg/l in summer and 96 mg/l to 116 mg/l in rainy
season. The high concentration of sewage and industrial waste may be the cause of high alkalinity.

DISSOLVED OXYGEN- Dissolved Oxygen is a factor which determines whether the biological changes are
brought about by aerobic or anaerobic organisms. It reflects the physical and biological processes prevailing in the
water. The oxygen present in water can be dissolved from air or produced by photosynthetic organisms [17].
Oxygen is generally reduced in the water due to respiration of biota, decomposition of organic matter, rise in
temperature, oxygen demanding wastes and inorganic reductant such as hydrogen sulphide, ammonia, nitrites,
ferrous iron, etc. [9]. DO vary from 5.8 to 6.1 mg/l in winter, 5.9 to 6.3 mg/l in summer and 5.7 to 6.3 mg/l in rainy
season. These values indicate relatively mild organic pollution. Thus, water of river can be used for fish culture as
fishes needs at least 5 mg/l DO to survive.

BIOLOGICAL OXYGEN DEMAND – BOD is the measure of degradable organic matter present in a water
sample and it can be defined as the amount of oxygen required by micro-organisms in stabilizing the biodegradable
organic matter under aerobic condition. The aim of BOD test is to determine the amount of biochemically oxidisable
carbonaceous matter [19]. The BOD observation was recorded 5.4 to 5.8 mg/l in winter, 5.0 to 5.3 mg/l in summer
and 5.3 to 5.5 mg/l in rainy season these variations are due to the addition of little amount of organic matter.

CHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND – COD is the amount of oxygen consumed during the chemical oxidation of
organic matter. Chemical oxygen demand (COD) gives us a reliable parameter for judging the extent of pollution in
water [14]. The COD observations were recorded 38 to 41 mg/l in winter, 33.5 to 38 mg/l in summer and 35 to 38
mg/l in rainy season.

The water characteristics considered for the study indicates the mild pollution level in river.

CONCLUSION

On the basis of various parameters studied it was concluded that the water quality of River Ramganga is not good.
Due to high alkalinity the river water was not suitable for agricultural purposes. COD is much higher than BOD, it
indicates that most of the pollution in Ramganga, in the study zone, is caused by industrial discharge. The main
sources of organic pollution are non-point sources like agricultural run-off, cattle-dropping etc.

Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my colleagues for their valuable help during above assessment work at each step and
Department of Environmental Science, Bareilly, U.P. for providing me facilities for above study smoothly.

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