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Evaluation of frequently used water quality indices (WQIs) depending on their effectiveness in measuring river pollution: A case study on River Churni, West Bengal

Avijit Bakshi
Assistant Teacher, Debagram Netaji Vidyalaya (HS), Gangapur, Nadia, West Bengal

Ashis Kumar Panigrahi
Professor, Department of Zoology, University of Kalyani, Kalyani, India

Published online:8 August, 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.52756/boesd.2024.e03.020

Keywords: Water quality Parameters, index, pollution, River Churni, monitoring

Abstract:

Water quality is highly dynamic attribute of any water body that varies depending on time and space. It is a complex measurable character calculated based on various water quality parameters. The parameters maybe physical parameters (Colour, temperature, turbidity, odour etc.), chemical parameters (pH, hardness, alkalinity, chloride, phosphate, nitrates etc.), and biological parameters (nutrient, virus and microorganisms). Individually, these parameters are not adequate to provide clear idea about water quality of any water body thus, a reporting tool of water quality is very much needed to consolidate the impact of all parameters into a single number. Water quality index (WQI) does the same job. Many researchers have used several WQIs to validate the researches but these indices differ in their effectiveness as well as in construction procedure. The main objective of the present study is to evaluate the usefulness of some frequently used WQIs in measuring the pollution level of a river. River Churni, a river of Nadia district of a West Bengal is selected for the case study. Our findings suggest that water quality index given by Canadian council of ministers of the environment (CCMEWQI) is the most valuable mathematical tool with high potentiality and flexibility having highest power of interpretation of pollution level in a river. This finding may be useful to many researchers and stakeholders for monitoring and testing the water quality of any river over the time.

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A Basic Overview of Environment and Sustainable Development
[Volume: 3]

How to Cite
Avijit Bakshi and Ashis Kumar Panigrahi (2024). Evaluation of frequently used water quality indices (WQIs) depending on their effectiveness in measuring river pollution: A case study on River Churni, West Bengal © International Academic Publishing House (IAPH), Dr. Nithar Ranjan Madhu, Dr. Tanmay Sanyal, Dr. Koushik Sen, Professor Biswajit (Bob) Ganguly and Professor Roger I.C. Hansell (eds.), A Basic Overview of Environment and Sustainable Development [Volume: 3], pp. 292-304. ISBN: 978-81-969828-3-6
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52756/boesd.2024.e03.020

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