Water pollution of Sabarmati River--a harbinger to potential disaster.

River Sabarmati is one of the biggest and major river of Gujarat that runs through two major cities of Gujarat, Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad and finally meets the Gulf of Khambhat (GoK) in the Arabian Sea. A study was conducted to evaluate the water quality of this river, as it could possibly be one of the major sources for filling up Kalpasar, the proposed man-made freshwater reservoir supposed to be the biggest one in the world. A total of nine sampling stations were established covering 163 km stretch of the river from upstream of Gandhinagar city to Vataman near Sabarmati estuary. Physicochemical (temprature, pH, salinity, chloride, total dissolved solids, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, phenol, and petroleum hydrocarbons), biological (phytoplankton), and microbiological (total and selective bacterial count) analyses indicated that the river stretch from Ahmedabad-Vasana barriage to Vataman was highly polluted due to perennial waste discharges mainly from municipal drainage and industries. An implementation of sustainable management plan with proper treatment of both municipal and industrial effluents is essential to prevent further deterioration of the water quality of this river.

Occurrence and distribution of selected heavy metals and boron in groundwater of the Gulf of Khambhat region, Gujarat, India.

The concentration of selected heavy metals, like As, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn as well as B, was measured by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) in groundwater samples from various locations in the Gulf of Khambhat (GoK), an inlet of the Arabian Sea in the state of Gujarat, India, during post-monsoon, winter, and pre-monsoon seasons in a year. Most heavy elements are characterized by low mobility under slightly alkaline and reducing conditions; concentrations in confined aquifers are smaller than the maximum permissible values for drinking water. The temporal changes indicate that a majority of metals is entering the aquifer during monsoon. Principle component analysis of the heavy metal data suggests that Co, Cu, Cd, and Zn are interrelated with each other and derived significantly from anthropogenic route, while input of Pb and Cr may be due to atmospheric deposition in the study area. Both weathering of rocks and anthropogenic input were found to be main sources of elements in the groundwater. The heavy metal levels in groundwaters of the GoK region in comparison with some of the European and Asian sites were higher; however, these metal levels were found to be comparable with few urban sites in the world.