Tracking seasonal and tidal effects on wastewater pollutants in the
River Ganges
New insights into water quality could help inform guidelines for river
water usage

Date:
February 15, 2022
Source:
PLOS
Summary:
A new analysis of the River Ganges in West Bengal, India, highlights
how wastewater flowing into the river impacts its water quality,
and how that influence shifts with seasons and tides.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A new analysis of the River Ganges in West Bengal, India, highlights how wastewater flowing into the river impacts its water quality, and how
that influence shifts with seasons and tides. Sayanti Kar of Jadavpur University and Asutosh College in Kolkata, India, and colleagues present
these findings in the open-access journal PLOS Wateron February 15, 2022.


========================================================================== Flowing through India and Bangladesh, the Ganges is the most sacred river
in Hinduism. However, wastewater from nearby cities severely pollutes
the river.

The Ganges empties into the Bay of Bengal, in the Indian Ocean, and is therefore influenced by tides. Seasonal monsoons also affect the river.

To better understand the impact of tides and seasons on the River Ganges,
Kar and colleagues conducted a comprehensive water quality analysis
between 2014 and 2018. They focused specifically on a stretch of the
river in West Bengal, India, located between Howrah Station -- a major
railway station near Kolkata - - and Khardah, another city near Kolkata.

In 2014, after an extensive survey, the researchers selected five major outfalls where city wastewater flows into the Ganges. At each outfall,
for the next four years, they monitored river water quality according to several different parameters, including measurements known as dissolved
oxygen and biochemical oxygen demand, as well as concentrations of
various heavy metals and fecal coliform level -- an indicator of potential contamination by human feces.

The analysis, which included GIS mapping, showed that dissolved oxygen
and biochemical oxygen demand, as well as levels of nitrate nitrogen
and chloride, were significantly higher at each of the five sites prior
to monsoon season than during monsoon season. Additionally, heavy metal
and fecal coliform levels were strongly correlated with each other, and measurement of one could be used to predict the other. The researchers
were also able to use their data to mathematically model the influence
of tides on various water quality parameters at the five sites.

Overall, the analysis provides new insights into how outfall wastewater
impacts water quality in this stretch of the Ganges, depending on seasonal
and tidal conditions. This information could help inform new guidelines
for safe usage of river water.

The authors add: "River Ganges is not only a symbol of faith and hope
for millions of people but is also used for daily human usage and
livestock management. A collaboration between Asutosh College, Jadavpur University, and Navajo Technical University investigated the influence of
river flow, tidal dynamics, and seasons on distribution of pollutants
entering the river from different discharge points (city outfalls)
at selected river stretches to prepare river water usage guidelines."
special promotion Explore the latest scientific research on sleep and
dreams in this free online course from New Scientist -- Sign_up_now_>>> ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by PLOS. Note: Content may be edited
for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Sayanti Kar, Indrajit Ghosh, Pampiya Chowdhury, Amitava Ghosh,
Pritam
Aitch, Gupinath Bhandari, Abhishek RoyChowdhury. A model-based
prediction and analysis of seasonal and tidal influence on
pollutants distribution from city outfalls of river Ganges in West
Bengal, India and its mapping using GIS tool. PLOS Water, 2022;
1 (2): e0000008 DOI: 10.1371/ journal.pwat.0000008 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220215140807.htm
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