Hydrobiogeochemistry and Pollution Control Laboratory, Department of Environmental Sciences, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, 1342, Bangladesh.
Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, 03760, Republic of Korea.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2020 Dec;27(34):42582-42599. doi: 10.1007/s11356-020-10060-3. Epub 2020 Jul 25.
The Ganges River is one of the biggest transboundary streams in the Indian sub-continent. The significant part of this waterway channel drains one of the most densely populated areas on the planet so it is unequivocally influenced by human activities. Unprecedented high-temporal-resolution samples were collected for investigating the seasonal variability of water quality. Water quality index (WQI) reveals large seasonal variation among three major seasons and also indicates that the river water is not suitable for drinking and other household uses. The dominant water facies is bicarbonate (HCO). The water quality indices, %Na, Kelley's ratio (KR), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), and magnesium adsorption ratio (MAR), reveal that the water is appropriate for irrigation. The permeability index (PI) indicated that the water is moderate to poorly useable for agricultural purposes. Heavy metals concentrations demonstrated significant seasonal variations with high concentrations during the monsoon due to flushing of pollutants from catchment areas by intense monsoonal precipitations. In addition, local activities such as oil spills from the boat, vehicle washing water, and agricultural runoff may also added pollutants. The single-factor pollution index (Ii) and Nemerow pollution index (Ni) exhibits minor pollution. The values of heavy metal pollution index (HPI) are far below than the critical limit (100) for the studied month, although relatively higher HPI values found for April, August, and November than other months might come from domestic wastes and agricultural activities. The heavy metal evaluation index (HEI) values of all the months indicated a low degree of pollution. Even though the river water pollution level is low, the authority should take proper management and monitoring strategy for sustainable use.
恒河是印度次大陆最大的跨界河流之一。这条水道的重要部分流经地球上人口最密集的地区之一，因此受到人类活动的强烈影响。为了研究水质的季节性变化，采集了具有空前高时间分辨率的样本。水质指数（WQI）表明三个主要季节之间存在很大的季节性差异，也表明河水不适宜饮用和其他家庭用途。主要的水相是碳酸氢盐（HCO）。水质指数、%Na、凯利比（KR）、钠吸附比（SAR）和镁吸附比（MAR）表明水适合灌溉。渗透率指数（PI）表明水对于农业用途中等至较差。重金属浓度表现出显著的季节性变化，由于季风期间强烈的季风雨从集水区冲洗污染物，浓度在季风期间较高。此外，当地的活动，如船只漏油、车辆洗车水和农业径流，也可能会增加污染物。单因素污染指数（Ii）和内梅罗污染指数（Ni）显示出轻微污染。重金属污染指数（HPI）的值远低于研究月份的临界限值（100），尽管 4 月、8 月和 11 月的 HPI 值相对较高，可能是来自家庭废物和农业活动。所有月份的重金属评估指数（HEI）值都表明污染程度较低。即使河水污染水平较低，当局也应采取适当的管理和监测策略，以实现可持续利用。
