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Incidence of heavy metals and river restoration assessment of a major South Asian transboundary river

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Abstract

Heavy metal contamination of river water has become a major issue affecting environmental and human health worldwide. This study makes an effort to observe the heavy metal incidence of River Brahmaputra, India, and its river restoration assessment for 2 years, 2017–2018 and 2018–2019. River Brahmaputra is the second longest and a major transboundary river of the South Asian region, which transcends the political boundaries of China, India and Bangladesh. The Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyse the interrelationships between physico-chemical parameters (which was also analysed during our study) and heavy metals. Heavy metal pollution index and multivariate analyses such as hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis were used to establish our scientific observations. An assessment involving people’s willingness to pay for river restoration was also done. Arsenic (As), lead (Pb), antimony (Sb), nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr), mercury (Hg) and cadmium (Cd) were monitored in three stations, namely, Dibrugarh Town (Tinkunia Ghat), Guwahati City (Bharalumukh) and Dhubri Town (Jahajghat), for the periods 2017–2018 and 2018–2019. The overall mean concentration was in the order Hg > Ni > Cr > Pb > Cd > As > Sb. Heavy metal pollution index was found in the order station 2 (344) > station 3 (320) > station 1 (317). Results clearly indicate the presence of heavy metal pollution in the Brahmaputra river, with very high levels in Guwahati City. Concentrations of Ni, Cr, Hg and Cd were found to be very high while As presence was marginally high. Concentration of Pb and Sb were nearly the prescribed World Health Organization and Bureau of Indian Standards limits. Multivariate analyses suggest that the heavy metal pollution is linked to similar sources in all the sampled sites. Further, the river restoration assessment revealed that citizens are willing to pay an average of INR 22.6 (USD 0.30) for restoring the water quality. Therefore, given the high levels of heavy metal contamination witnessed in the Brahmaputra river and citizens willingness to contribute towards restoring its water quality, the need for an appropriate river restoration strategy and water policy is strongly felt as an outcome of this study.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Deputy Commissioners and the District Administrations of Kamrup (Metropolitan), Dibrugarh and Dhubri Districts, for allowing us to conduct the research without any hassle. We extend our gratitude to the Department of Water Resources, Government of Assam, for providing us essential assistance during sample collection. Thanks to the Central Pollution Control Board of India, the Assam Pollution Control Board, Regional Meteorological Centre, Guwahati, and Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology, Guwahati, for supporting us with timely information and use of their premises. We thank the peers of Cotton University for their support throughout the study, Lastly, we are grateful to the Centre for Environment, Education and Economic Development for their excellent logistic support.

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  1. Department of Zoology, Cotton University, Guwahati, Assam, India

    Arup Kumar Hazarika

  2. Department of Economics, Cotton University, Guwahati, Assam, India

    Unmilan Kalita

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  1. Arup Kumar Hazarika
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Hazarika, A.K., Kalita, U. Incidence of heavy metals and river restoration assessment of a major South Asian transboundary river. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27, 31595–31614 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-09328-5

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