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Hydrogeochemical Characterization and Qualitative Evaluation of Major Feeder Rivers/Streams of Loktak Lake, Manipur, India

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Abstract

The present study has been carried out to evaluate the water quality of major feeder rivers/streams draining into the Loktak Lake, during the pre-monsoon (PM) and post-monsoon (PoM) seasons, in order to identify the rivers contributing the most contaminants and pollutant loads to the lake. Major physicochemical parameters have been measured and findings revealed that numerous parameters such as pH, electrical conductivity (EC), turbidity, dissolved oxygen (DO), biological oxygen demand (BOD), phosphate, fluoride, and total iron concentrations in many of the river waters exceeded the permissible limits/standards given by national and international regulatory organizations. Anthropogenic suitability of water was also evaluated based on their water quality index (WQI), comprehensive pollution index (CPI), and irrigation indices. Based on the WQI, all of the river waters were found to be unfit for drinking during both PM and PoM seasons, while CPI evaluation revealed river water pollution levels from slightly polluted to heavily polluted. Thongjaorok River exhibited the highest WQI and CPI values during both seasons, indicating the greatest pollution load in this river. Evaluation of irrigation water quality using indices such as sodium percentage, Sodium Adsorption Ratio, Residual Sodium Carbonate, Kelly’s ratio indicated that water from all the rivers could be used safely for irrigational purposes. Geochemical evaluation revealed rock-weathering as the dominant geochemical process governing the ion chemistry of the feeder river waters, whereas water type in most rivers were of HCO3-Ca type during PM season, while changes to Cl-Na type and mixed type were observed in some rivers during PoM season.

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Data will be made available on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the Manipur Remote Sensing Applications Centre (MARSAC), Government of Manipur, for providing the lake catchment boundary and drainage pattern shape files for reference. The authors also acknowledge the Department of Earth Science, Manipur University, for the use of ArcGIS platform.

Funding

This research work was funded by the Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, India, under the DST-INSPIRE fellowship programme (DST/INSPIRE Fellowship/2018/IF180332).

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  1. Department of Forestry and Environmental Science, Manipur University (A Central University), Canchipur, Indo-Myanmar Road, Imphal, Manipur, 795003, India

    Ranu Jajo Laishram, Ganitarani Khoibam, Gaijuanlung Gangmei & Wazir Alam

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  1. Ranu Jajo Laishram
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Laishram, R.J., Khoibam, G., Gangmei, G. et al. Hydrogeochemical Characterization and Qualitative Evaluation of Major Feeder Rivers/Streams of Loktak Lake, Manipur, India. Water Air Soil Pollut 234, 610 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-023-06621-0

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