Abstract
Assessing river water quality is crucial for human and ecological needs because of the deterioration of the river and escalated water pollution under the threats of anthropogenic activities. In order to assess river water quality, the Damodar River water was evaluated from the perspectives of spatio-temporal dynamics of ecological (organic pollution index or OPI and eutrophication index or EI), bacteriological (coliform count and comprehensive bathing water quality index or CBWQI), and overall water quality assessments (water quality index or WQI and comprehensive pollution index or CPI). The OPI reveals that 44.66% of water samples have heavy organic pollution; however, EI depicts that almost all water samples of Damodar River have severe eutrophication, especially in the pre- and post-monsoon seasons. Moreover, the fecal coliform count and CBWQI indicate the unsuitability of river water for bathing. The overall WQI portrays that 21.56%, 33.59%, and 22.47% of water samples have heavy pollution in pre-monsoon, monsoon, and post-monsoon, respectively. Moreover, 73.39% of water samples have low CPI indicating slight comprehensive pollution. This study also reveals that the pollution level in the Damodar River downstream of the Durgapur barrage is high among the other stations. The major reasons behind the severe contamination of Damodar River water are urban-industrial and agricultural effluents mixing into the river that lead to higher concentrations of BOD, DO, fecal coliform, COD, fluoride TSS, and turbidity in the river water. Thus, this study carries appreciated information on policy recommendations for the different stakeholders of the Damodar River basin including regional planners, agri-engineers, and ecological river engineers for sustainable river management.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
References
Aboyeji OO (2013) Freshwater pollution in some Nigerian local communities, causes, consequences and probable solutions. Acad J Interdiscip Stud 2(13):111. https://doi.org/10.5901/ajis.2013.v2n13p111
Al-Hadithi M, Hasan K, Algburi A, Al-Paruany K (2019) Groundwater quality assessment using irrigation water quality index and GIS in Baghdad, Iraq. Jordan J Earth Environ Sci 10(1):15–20
An XL, Wang JY, Pu Q, Li H, Pan T, Li HQ, ... Su JQ (2020) High-throughput diagnosis of human pathogens and fecal contamination in marine recreational water. Environ Res 190:109982. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2020.109982
Banerjee US, Gupta S (2010) Seasonal assessment of irrigation water suitability of river Damodar in West Bengal, India. J Crop Weed 6(1):6–12
Banerjee K, Banerjee R, Sen A, Mukhopadhyay S, Sen ACH, Singh D, Mandal B (2003) Damodar river pollution and health hazards. J Indian Med Assoc 101(2):104–106
Baron JS, Poff NL, Angermeier PL, Dahm CN, Gleick PH, Jr Hairston NG, ... Steinman AD (2002) Meeting ecological and societal needs for freshwater. Ecol Appl 12(5):1247–1260. https://doi.org/10.1890/1051-0761
Bhateria R, Jain D (2016) Water quality assessment of lake water: a review. Sustain Water Resour Manag 2:161–173. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40899-015-0014-7
Chen CW, Ju YR, Chen CF, Dong CD (2016) Evaluation of organic pollution and eutrophication status of Kaohsiung Harbor, Taiwan. Int Biodeterior Biodegrad 113:318–324. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibiod.2016.03.024
Chen Y (2021) Analysis on the evolution trend of seawater quality and eutrophication in Tianjin Hangu agricultural and fishery area from 2010 to 2019. In: E3S Web of Conferences, Vol. 245. EDP Sciences, p 02024. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202124502024
Das CR, Das S (2023) Assessment of surface water quality for drinking by combining three water quality indices with their usefulness: case of Damodar River in India. Water Air Soil Pollut 234(5):1–20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-023-06342-4
Dkhar EN, Dkhar PS, Anal JMH (2014) Trace elements analysis in drinking water of Meghalaya by using graphite furnace-atomic absorption spectroscopy and in relation to environmental and health issues. J Chem 2014. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/975810
Dufatanye I, Lee Y, Kim H, Lee S (2022) Industrial wastewater discharge and compliance investigation for environmentally resilient Rwanda. Water 14(19):3100. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14193100
Dutta T, Chaudhuri H, Maji C (2021) Water pollution in Damodar River Basin—a statistical analysis. In Advances in Water Resources Management for Sustainable Use. Springer, Singapore, pp 187–215. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6412-7_15
El Baba M, Kayastha P, Huysmans M, De Smedt F (2020) Evaluation of the groundwater quality using the water quality index and geostatistical analysis in the Dier al-Balah Governorate, Gaza Strip, Palestine. Water 12(1):262. https://doi.org/10.3390/w12010262
Falowo OO, Akindureni Y, Ojo O (2017) Irrigation and drinking water quality index determination for groundwater quality evaluation in Akoko Northwest and Northeast areas of Ondo State, Southwestern Nigeria. Am J Water Sci Eng 3(5):50–60. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajwse.20170305.11
Geldreich EE (1996) Pathogenic agents in freshwater resources. Hydrol Process 10(2):315–333. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1085(199602)10:2%3c315::AID-HYP361%3e3.0.CO;2-H
George J, Thakur SK, Tripathi RC, Ram LC, Gupta A, Prasad S (2010) Impact of coal industries on the quality of Damodar river water. Toxicol Environ Chem 92(9):1649–1664. https://doi.org/10.1080/02772241003783737
Ghosh AR, Banerjee R (2012) Qualitative evaluation of the Damodar River water flowing over the coal mines and industrial area. Int J Sci Res Publ 2(10):1–6
Ghosh S, Sarkar B, Islam A, Shit PK, Quesada-Román A, Gazi HAR (2022a) Surface water and groundwater suitability for irrigation based on hydrochemical analysis in the Lower Mayurakshi River Basin, India. Geosciences 12(11):415. https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences12110415
Ghosh S, Hoque MM, Saha UD, Islam A (2022b) Assessment of dam-induced changes in ecogeomorphological behaviour and fluvial functionality in the Damodar River, West Bengal, India. AQUA Water Infrastruct Ecosyst Soc 71(6):722–750. https://doi.org/10.2166/aqua.2022.003
Ha NN, Huong TTT, Van TT (2021) Surface water pollution risk from Vietnam water quality index (VN-WQI) in the Ca Mau City, Mekong Delta. Nat Environ Pollut Technol 20(4). https://doi.org/10.46488/NEPT.2021.v20i04.007
Hoque MM, Islam A, Ghosh S (2022a) Environmental flow in the context of dams and development with special reference to the Damodar Valley Project, India: a review. Sustain Water Resour Manag 8(3):62. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40899-022-00646-9
Hoque MM, Islam A, Mahammad S (2022b) Assessing the surface and bottom river water quality for drinking purpose and human health risk analysis: a study of Damodar River, India. Arab J Geosci 15(23):1734. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-022-10987-6
Hoque MM, Islam A, Islam ARMT, Pal SC, Mahammad S, Alam E (2023) Assessment of soil heavy metal pollution and associated ecological risk of agriculture dominated mid-channel bars in a subtropical river basin. Sci Rep 13(1):11104. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-38058-0
Hoque MM, Islam A, Sarkar B, Saha UD (2022c) Assessing the surface and bottom river water quality for irrigation: a study of Damodar River, India. Int J Energy Water Resour 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42108-022-00206-z
Inyinbor Adejumoke A, Adebesin Babatunde O, Oluyori Abimbola P, Adelani Akande Tabitha A, Dada Adewumi O, Oreofe Toyin A (2018) Water pollution: effects, prevention, and climatic impact. Water Challenges Urban World 33:33–47. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.72018
Islam A, Sardar N, Mohinuddin S, Hoque MM, Sengupta S, Das BC, ... Sengupta B (2023) Quasi-equilibrium channel metamorphosis in planform of a subtropical river in India in post-dam period. CATENA 221:106793. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2022.106793
Jayaswal K, Sahu V, Gurjar BR (2018) Water pollution, human health and remediation. Water Remediat 11–27. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7551-3_2
Karataş A, Karataş E (2016) Environmental education as a solution tool for the prevention of water pollution. J Surv Fish Sci 61–70. https://doi.org/10.17762/sfs.v3i1.100
Leal MF, de Simone LRL, Lacerda ACF, da Silva EL, Pinheiro TG (2021) Current distribution of the invasive mollusk Corbicula fluminea (OF Müller, 1774)(Bivalvia, Cyrenidae) in Brazil, including a new record from the state of Piauí. Check List 17(1):151–157. https://doi.org/10.15560/17.1.151
Li HM, Tang HJ, Shi XY, Zhang CS, Wang XL (2014) Increased nutrient loads from the Changjiang (Yangtze) River have led to increased harmful algal blooms. Harmful Algae 39:92–101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hal.2014.07.002
Liu CW, Lin KH, Kuo YM (2003) Application of factor analysis in the assessment of groundwater quality in a blackfoot disease area in Taiwan. Sci Total Environ 313(1–3):77–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0048-9697(02)00683-6
Liu S, Lou S, Kuang C, Huang W, Chen W, Zhang J, Zhong G (2011) Water quality assessment by pollution-index method in the coastal waters of Hebei Province in western Bohai Sea, China. Mar Pollut Bull 62(10):2220–2229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2011.06.021
Mahammad S, Islam A, Shit PK (2022) Geospatial assessment of groundwater quality using entropy-based irrigation water quality index and heavy metal pollution indices. Environ Sci Pollut Res 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-20665-5
Mezbour R, Reggam A, Maazi MC, Houhamdi M (2018) Evaluation of organic pollution index and the bacteriological quality of the water of the Lake of birds (ELTarf East-Algerian). J Mater Environ Sci 9(3):971–979. https://doi.org/10.26872/jmes.2018.9.3.108
Mouhoumed EI, Abdillahi MMA, Elmi YM, Doubad CO, Dirieh EAN (2020) Classification of various bottled mineral waters marketed in Djibouti. World J Eng Technol 8(4):720–738. https://doi.org/10.4236/wjet.2020.84052
Ochir A, Davaa G (2011) Application of index analysis to evaluate the water quality of the Tuul River in Mongolia. J Water Resour Prot 2011. https://doi.org/10.4236/jwarp.2011.36050
Perret SR (2002) Water policies and smallholding irrigation schemes in South Africa: a history and new institutional challenges. Water Policy 4(3):283–300. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1366-7017(02)00031-4
Rainwaterharvesting (2022) Pollution of River Damodar. Accessed on 2 March 2022. http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org/Crisis/Damodar.htm
Sarkar B, Islam A (2019) Assessing the suitability of water for irrigation using major physical parameters and ion chemistry: a study of the Churni River, India. Arab J Geosci 12:1–16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-019-4827-9
Sarkar B, Islam A, Majumder A (2021a) Seawater intrusion into groundwater and its impact on irrigation and agriculture: evidence from the coastal region of West Bengal, India. Reg Stud Mar Sci 44:101751. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2021.101751
Sarkar B, Islam A, Das BC (2021b) Role of declining discharge and water pollution on habitat suitability of fish community in the Mathabhanga-Churni River, India. J Clean Prod 326:129426. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.129426
Sarkar B, Islam A, Shit PK, Ghosh S (2022) Assessment of water pollution and aquatic toxicity of the Churni River, India. River Health Ecol South Asia: Pollution, Restoration, and Conservation 303–327. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-83553-8_13
Singh AK, Mondal GC, Kumar S, Singh TB, Tewary BK, Sinha A (2008) Major ion chemistry, weathering processes and water quality assessment in upper catchment of Damodar River basin, India. Environ Geol 54(4):745–758. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-007-0860-1
Singh A, Deo B, Singh SP (2014) Risk analysis on the use of Damodar river water for drinking purposes. Inte J Curr Eng ogy 4(1):560
Singh RK, Chaturvedi A, Kumari K (2019) Water-quality assessment of Damodar River and its tributaries and subtributaries in Dhanbad Coal mining areas of India based on WQI. Sustain Water Resour ement 5:381–386. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40899-017-0159-7
Some S, Mondal R, Mitra D, Jain D, Verma D, Das S (2021) Microbial pollution of water with special reference to coliform bacteria and their nexus with environment. Energy Nexus 1:100008. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nexus.2021.100008
Son CT, Giang NTH, Thao TP, Nui NH, Lam NT, Cong VH (2020) Assessment of Cau River water quality assessment using a combination of water quality and pollution indices. J Water Supply Res Technol AQUA 69(2):160–172. https://doi.org/10.2166/aqua.2020.122
Sulthonuddin I, Hartono DM, Said CAA, Utomo SW (2019) River water pollution indication in the Cimanuk river downstream, Indramayu District. In: IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 239(1):012010, IOP Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/239/1/012010
Sunitha V, Reddy YS, Suvarna B, Reddy BM (2021) Human health risk assessment (HHRA) of fluoride and nitrate using pollution index of groundwater (PIG) in and around hard rock terrain of Cuddapah, AP South India. Environ Chem Ecotoxicol 4:113–123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enceco.2021.12.002
Thi Minh Hanh P, Sthiannopkao S, The Ba D, Kim KW (2011) Development of water quality indexes to identify pollutants in Vietnam’s surface water. J Environ Eng 137(4):273–283. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0000314
WBPCB (2022) Water Quality: West Bengal Pollution Control Board Water Quality Information System. Accessed 2 June 2022. https://www.wbpcb.gov.in/
WBPCB (2023) Surface Water Quality Criteria: West Bengal Pollution Control Board Water Quality Information System. Accessed 15 December 2023. https://www.wbpcb.gov.in/
Acknowledgements
We would acknowledge the data support provided by the West Bengal Pollution Control Board, Kolkata, India.
Funding
This study was funded by the University Grants Commission (UGC) Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), Govt. of India vide letter number 3286/(OBC)(NET-JAN 2017) dated September 1, 2017, to carry out the Ph.D. work of the first author (Md. Mofizul Hoque) of this paper.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Md. Mofizul Hoque: conceptualization, data curation, formal analysis, investigation, methodology, software, and writing—original draft; Aznarul Islam: formal analysis, investigation, methodology, writing—original draft, and supervision.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethics approval and consent to participate
Not applicable.
Consent for publication
Not applicable.
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Responsible Editor: Xianliang Yi
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Hoque, M., Islam, A. Spatio-temporal dynamics of ecological, bacteriological, and overall water quality of the Damodar River, India. Environ Sci Pollut Res 31, 18465–18484 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-32185-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-32185-5