ASSESSMENT OF PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF RIVER RAMGANGA WATER QUALITY IN MORADABAD AND BAREILLY REGION OF UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA

Ramganga river water is an important source of irrigation in major parts of the Moradabad and Bareilly region. The current study focuses on the assessment of the water quality of this river. River water samples were collected from five different sites of Moradabad and Bareilly stretch during the summer and winter season of the year 2018. Two sampling sites, namely MDA colony (S1) and Nawapuranalla (S2) were at Moradabad while the remaining three sites viz. UchaGaon (S3), Ramganga bridge (S4), and Chaubari village (S5) were at the Bareilly region. In summers, pH at S1 was highest while Total Solid (TS), Total suspended solids (TSS), biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) of river water observed highest at S2. However, in winters, dissolved oxygen (DO) at S1 observed highest while Total dissolved solids (TDS), Nitrate and Phosphate were highest at S2. The mean values of these parameters were compared with WHO and BIS standards and found that all parameters were within the permissible limit except BOD, COD, and Phosphate. While a strong correlation was also observed between TS/TSS (0.998), TS/BOD (0.958), TS/Phosphate (0.892) and TSS/BOD (0.949). The results indicated that the mean of most physicochemical parameters were within the permissible limit of WHO and BIS standards while some parameters (TS, TSS, BOD, Nitrates, and Phosphates) at site S2 in Moradabad were found to be higher in both seasons comparing to the WHO/BIS standards, thus, requires regular monitoring and implementation of remedial measures.