Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Assessment of heavy metal pollution in Yamuna River, Delhi-NCR, using heavy metal pollution index and GIS

  • Published:
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The present study was conducted on the river Yamuna, which passes through Delhi-NCR from Baghpat to Chhainssa, a distance of about 125 km, at six sampling locations to evaluate the concentrations of heavy metals in surface water using heavy metal pollution index (HPI) approach. The river serves both urban-industrial and rural areas in the study area; hence, domestic, industrial, and agricultural wastes are being contributed greatly in the contamination of river water. The Yamuna River is one of the major tributaries of the river Ganga originated in the Himalayas and is flowing through a varied geological terrain. Metals such as iron (Fe), copper (Cu), cobalt (Co), zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), cyanide (CN), nickel (Ni), and chromium (Cr) in selected sites of Yamuna River water were determined by using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The concentrations of Fe, Cu, Co, Zn, Pb, CN, Ni, and Cr in the river water were found to be in the range of 40–190, 50–120, 4–66, 840–1800, 2–40, 100–600, 88–253, and 35–52 μg/L, respectively. The results show that the maximum heavy metal content was found at sampling site S3 (Nizamuddin) followed by S6 (Chhainssa), S4 (Okhla), S1 (Baghpat), S5 (Manjhawali), and S2 (Pachahira). The heavy metal data was integrated in GIS environment for preparing spatial distribution maps of sampling sites. A scatter plot matrix was created to assess the pattern and interrelationships between heavy metals. The average concentration of heavy metals was recorded high, often exceeding the permissible limits for drinking of surface water prescribed by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and World Health Organization (WHO). Based on HPI (varies from 98.2 to 555.1), about 85% of the river water was classified as highly polluted; hence, it is not recommended for drinking. Overall, significant variations were observed in concentrations of heavy metals from one location to the other which may be because of toxic industrial effluents and domestic sewage wastes being added to the river water by various anthropogenic activities in the study area. The present work highlights the pollution load of heavy metals in the river Yamuna and also advocates an urgent attention towards minimizing the health risk of people residing not only along the river banks and surrounding regions but also for city population.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abdullah, E. J. (2013). Quality assessment of Shatt Al-Arab River using heavy metal pollution index and metal index. Environmental Earth Sciences, 3, 114–120.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ahmad, M. K., Islam, S., Rahman, M., Haque, M., & Islam, M. (2010). Heavy metals in water, sediment and some fishes of Buriganga River, Bangladesh. International Journal of Environmental Research, 4, 321–332.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ajmal, M., Khan, A. M., & Nomani, A. A. (1985). Distribution of heavy metals in water and sediments of selected sites of Yamuna River (India). Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 5, 205–214.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Alimonti, A., Petrucci, F., Krachler, M., Bocca, B., & Caroli, S. (2000). Reference values for chromium, nickel and vanadiumin urine of youngsters from the urban area of Rome. Journal of Environmental Monitoring, 2, 351–354. https://doi.org/10.1039/B001616K.

  • APHA. (1998). Standard methods for examination of water and wastewater. Washington: American Public Health Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhargawa, D. S. (2006). Revival of Mathura’s ailing Yamuna River. Environmentalists, 26, 111–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • BIS (2012). Drinking water specification. Bureau of Indian Standard, New Delhi IS: 10500.

  • Census (2011). Primary census abstracts. Registrar General of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Available at: http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011-common/censusdata2011.html.

  • CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board) (2006). Water quality status of Yamuna River. Central Pollution Control Board, Government of India.

  • CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board). (2007). Water quality status of river Yamuna (1999-2005), Assessment and development study of river basin series (ADSORBS). Delhi: Central Pollution Control Board.

    Google Scholar 

  • CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board) (2008). Status of Water Quality in India – 2007, Central Pollution Control Board, Government of India.

  • CWC (2011). Water quality “Hot spots” in rivers of India. Central Water Commission, Government of India, New Delhi.

  • Dalai, T. D., Rengarajan, R., & Patel, P. P. (2004). Sediment geochemistry of the Yamuna River system in the Himalaya: implications to weathering and transport. Geochemical Journal, 38, 441–453.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Datta, C. (1992). Yamuna River turned sewer. Economic and Political Weekly, 27, 2633–2636.

    Google Scholar 

  • DJB (Delhi Jal Board) (2016). Action Plan for Cleaning the River Yamuna. DelhiJalBorad, Government of NCT Delhi, India.

  • Dubey, C. S., Mishra, B. K., Shukla, P. D., Singh, R. P., Tajbakhsh, M., & Sakhare, P. (2012). Anthropogenic arsenic menace in Delhi Yamuna flood plains. Environmental Earth Sciences, 65, 131–139.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Florea, A. M., & Busselberg, D. (2006). Occurrence, use and potential toxic effect of metals and metal compounds. Biometals, 19, 419–427. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10534-005-4451-x.

  • Giri, S., & Singh, A. K. (2014). Assessment of surface water quality using heavy metal pollution index in Subernarekha River, India. Water Quality Exposure and Health, 5, 173–182.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huang, Y., Chen, Q., Deng, M., Japenga, J., Li, T., Yang, X., & He, Z. (2018). Heavy metal pollution and health risk assessment of agricultural soils in a typical peri-urban area in southeast China. Journal of Environmental Management, 207, 159–168.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jain, S. K., Agarwal, P. K., & Singh, V. P. (2007). Hydrology and water resources of India. Water science and technology library (Vol. 57). Dordrecht: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jaishankar, M., Tseten, T., Anbalgan, N., Mathew, B. B., & Beeregowda, K. N. (2014). Toxicity, mechanism and health effects of some heavy metals. Interdisciplinary Toxicology, 7, 60–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kansal, A., Siddiqui, N. A., & Gautam, A. (2013). Assessment of heavy metals and their interrelationships with some physicochemical parameters in eco-efficient of Himalayan region. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 185, 2553–2563. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-012-2730-x.

  • Kaufmann, R. B., Staes, C. J., & Matte, T. D. (2003). Death related to lead poisoning in the United States, 1979 – 1998. Environmental Research, 91, 78–84.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Krishan, G., Singh, S., Sharma, A., Sandhu, C., Kumar, S., Kumar, C. P., & Gurjar, S. (2017). Assessment of river and groundwater interaction using isotopes in Agra and Mathura area of Uttar Pradesh, India. International Journal of Hydrology, 1(3), 1–4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar, M., & Puri, A. (2012). A review of permissible limits of drinking water. Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 16, 40–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar, M., Sharif, M., & Ahmed, S. (2019). Impact of urbanization on the river Yamuna Basin. International Journal of River Basin Management, 18, 461–475. https://doi.org/10.1080/15715124.2019.1613412.

  • Lewis, H. (2007). Hindon River: Gasping for breath. A paper on river pollution. Janhit Foundation.

  • Mehra, A., Farago, M. E., & Banergee, D. K. (2000). A study of Eichhornia crassipes growing in the overbank and floodplains soils of the River Yamuna in Delhi. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 60, 25–45.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mohan, S. V., Nithila, P., & Reddy, S. J. (1996). Estimation of heavy metals in drinking water and development of heavy metal pollution index. Journal of Environmental Science and Health, A31, 283–289.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Muthaiyah, N. P. (2020). Rejuvenating Yamuna River by wastewater treatment and management. International Journal of Energy and Environmental Science, 5(1), 14–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paul, D. (2017). Research on heavy metal pollution of river Ganga: A review. Annals of Agrarian Science, 15, 278–286.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prasad, B., & Bose, J. M. (2001). Evaluation of heavy metal pollution index for surface and spring water near a limestone mining area of lower Himalayas. Environmental Geology, 41, 186–188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prasad, S., Saluja, R., Joshi, V., & Garg, K. J. (2020). Heavy metal pollution of the Upper Ganga River, India: Human health risk assessment. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 192, 742.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rao, K. N., & Latha, P. S. (2019). Groundwater quality assessment using water quality index with a special focus on vulnerable tribal region of Western Ghats hard rock terrain Southern India. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 12, 267.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sekibera, K., Origa, H. O., Basamba, A. T., Mutumba, G., & Kakudid, E. (2010). Assessment of heavy metal pollution in the urban stream sediments and its tributaries. International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, 7(3), 435–446.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sharma, D., Gupta, R., Singh, R. K., & Kansal, A. (2011). Characteristics of the event mean concentration (EMCs) from rainfall runoff on mixed agricultural land use in the shoreline zone of the Yamuna River in Delhi, India. Applied Water Science, 2, 55–62.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sharma, D., Kansal, A., & Pelletier, G. (2017). Water quality modeling for urban reach of Yamuna River, India (1999 - 2009), using QUAL2Kw. Applied Water Science, 7, 1575–1559.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh, M. (2001). Heavy metal pollution in freshly deposited sediments of the Yamuna River (the Ganges River tributary): a case study from Delhi and Agra urban centers, India. Environmental Geology, 40, 664–672.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Solenkova, N. V., Newman, J. D., Berger, J. S., Thurston, G., Hochman, J. S., & Lamas, G. A. (2014). Metal pollutants and cardiovascular disease: mechanism and consequences of exposure. American Heart Journal, 168, 812–822.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tiwari, A. K., Maio, M. D., Singh, P. K., & Mahato, M. K. (2015). Evaluation of surface water quality by using GIS and a heavy metal pollution index (HPI) model in a coal mining area, India. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 95, 304–310.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tomlinson, D. L., Wilson, J. G., Harris, C. R., & Jeffrey, W. (1980). Problems in the assessment of heavy metal levels in estuaries and the formation of pollution index. HelgolanderMeeresuntersuchungen, 33, 566–575.

    Google Scholar 

  • USEPA (2001). Risk based concentration table. United States Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC.

  • Yang, Y., Chen, F., Zhang, L., Liu, J., Wu, S., & Kang, M. (2012). Comprehensive assessment of heavy metal contamination in sediment of the Pearl River Estuary and adjacent shelf. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 64, 1947–1955.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zakhem, B. A., & Hafez, R. (2015). Heavy metal pollution index for groundwater quality assessment in Damascus oasis, Syria. Environment and Earth Science, 73, 6591–6600.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zukowska, J., & Biziuk, M. (2008). Methodological evaluation of method for dietary heavy metal intake. Journal of Food Science, 73, R21–R29.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Mohd Asim is grateful to University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi, for providing financial assistance in the form of Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) for conducting Ph.D research work. The authors thank Central Laboratory, Delhi Jal Board, Govt. of NCT Delhi, for providing laboratory facilities and also thank the anonymous reviewers for their suggestions in improving the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geography Discipline, School of Sciences, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), Maidangarhi, New Delhi, 110068, India

    Mohd Asim & K. Nageswara Rao

Authors
  1. Mohd Asim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. K. Nageswara Rao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to K. Nageswara Rao.

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Asim, M., Nageswara Rao, K. Assessment of heavy metal pollution in Yamuna River, Delhi-NCR, using heavy metal pollution index and GIS. Environ Monit Assess 193, 103 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-021-08886-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-021-08886-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation