Assessment of Seasonal and Spatial Variation in Water Quality of Estuarine and Riverine Zones of Tapi River Gujarat, India

Abstract

Abstract
The present study was conducted to assess the seasonal and spatial variations at eight estuarine and riverine locations of Tapi River, which is one of the major rivers of Gujarat, India. The monitoring of water quality for these locations was carried out on seasonal basis in pre-monsoon and post-monsoon seasons from March 2017 to February 2018. A total of nine physicochemical parameters were analyzed including pH, water temperature, turbidity, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, dissolved oxygen, salinity, alkalinity, and total hardness, and considerable variation was observed in their values seasonally and location wise [pH (7.20 to 8.50), Water Temperature (25.50 to 35.30°C), Turbidity (7.98 to 922 NTU), Electrical Conductivity (0.40 to 50.30 mS/cm), Total Dissolved Solids (1.20 to 37.30 ppt), Dissolved Oxygen (1.30 to 6.53 mg/l), Salinity (1.00 to 38.00 ppt), Alkalinity (70 to 420 mg/l), and Total Hardness (100 to 7300 mg/l)]. The parameters such as pH, turbidity, electrical conductivity and salinity showed significant spatial variation; whereas, water temperature, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, salinity and total hardness showed significant seasonal fluctuations in water quality of riverine and estuarine regions of Tapi River. The results have indicated that the water quality at some sites of Tapi River had adversely affected due to industrial pollution.

Keywords: Estuarine zone, physicochemical parameters, riverine zone, seasonal sampling, Tapi, water quality

Cite this Article
Ronak Gupta, Ketan Tatu, Lamb Christian, R.D. Kamboj. Assessment of Seasonal and Spatial Variation in Water Quality of Estuarine and Riverine Zones of Tapi River Gujarat, India. Research & Reviews: Journal of Ecology. 2019; 8(3): 8–17p.