Water Quality Challenges in Ganga River Basin, India

Abstract

With its unique economic, environmental, and cultural significance in India, the Ganga is regarded as the world's most significant and sacred river. Rapid urbanization and industrialization over the past few decades have put the quality of surface and groundwater at grave risk. The Ganga basin is experiencing severe water scarcity in a number of areas due to its very irregular precipitation pattern. The water table has dropped at an alarming rate as a result of the river basin's widespread usage of groundwater, which has caused most of the streams' flows to diminish. Wastewater production has increased as a result of growing urbanization and income. The Ganga River and its tributaries receive a significant amount of treated and untreated sewage from municipal discharges and industrial processes. As a result, the combined effect of higher waste loads and lower water flows presents significant problems for the river basin's water quality. Using data from the Central Water Commission (CWC) for the years 2010–2013, the physicochemical characteristics in the river water, such as Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), and Dissolved Oxygen (DO), were investigated at different sample locations. New contamination levels published in the literature are also included to the water quality data. The Ganga River's water quality continues to deteriorate due to the presence of industrial waste, household trash, heavy metals, sewage, and human and animal skeletons, according to an examination of research data. The presence of numerous deadly substances like Cr, Zn, Cu, Pb, Fe, Ni, and Cd further demonstrates how unclean the Ganga's water is. Faecal coliform and total coliform were among the bacteria species found in the Ganga water, according to a water quality analysis. The government's attempts to clean up the Ganga are commendable. However, an accurate inventory of the streams and drains that enter the Ganga River as well as the pollution potential of each of them must yet be completed in order to guarantee the effectiveness of such programs. Additionally, wherever possible, the Ganga basin should encourage the use of eco-friendly technologies.

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