J. Env. Bio-Sci., 2014: Vol.

28 (2): 209-211 ISSN 0973-6913 (Print), ISSN 0976-3384 (On Line)

ANALYSIS OF PHYSICO-CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF

GOMTI RIVER WATER AT DISTRICT SULTANPUR (U.P.)
S.P. Mishra and Ragini Mishra
Department of Zoology,
Ganpat Sahai (P.G) College, Sultanpur -228001 (U.P.)

Received: 25-08-2014 Accepted: 30-09-2014

The water samples were collected from three selected stations viz. Golaghat (S-I), Dhobighat (S-II) and Shanshanghat (S-
III) from river Gomti at district Sultanpur (U.P.) for physico-chemical analysis during April 2009 to March 2010. In the present study
the maximum value of temperature, turbidity, total dissolved solids and free CO 2 at site-I; colour, total hardness, sulphate and BOD
at site-II and pH, alkalinity, chlorides, DO and COD at site-III, and the minimum value of turbidity, pH, total hardness, total dissolved
solids, sulphate, BOD and COD at site-I; alkalinity, chlorides, DO, and free CO 2 at site-II; and temperature and colour at site-III. Some
parameters are highly changed due to bathing, washing and direct disposal of domestic and municipal wastes in the river Gomti
at Sultanpur District.

The Gomti River is tributary of the Ganges River and also known
as Aadi Ganga (Old Ganges). Gomti river flows in the state of
Uttar Pradesh in India. It originates from a small reservoir named
as "Gomat Tal" which is situated in the district Pilibhit and
merges in to river Ganga in between Varanasi and Gajipur.
River Gomti extends 940 km. through 15 district of the state.
In recent years because of continuous growth in population,
rapid industrialization and sewage disposal, the rate of
discharge of the pollutants in to the river water is far higher
than the rate of their purification. The present study attempts
to investigate the water quality of Gomti river of district
Sultanpur (U.P.).
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Water samples were collected once in a month from three
selected sites of study area during the course of investigation
for a period of one year from April, 2009 to March 2010. Analysis
was done for determination of 13 Physico-chemical parameters
viz. Temperature, Colour, Turbidity, pH, Total Hardness, Total
dissolved solids, Alkalinity, Sulphates, Chlorides, Dissolved
Oxygen, BOD, COD and free CO2 as per the standard
methods1.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The mean and standard deviation of physico-chemical
parameters like Temperature, Colour, Turbidity, pH, Total
hardness, TDS, Alkalinity, Sulphate, Chlorides, DO, BOD, COD
and free CO2 of selected sampling stations (S-I, S-II and S-III)
are presented in Table-1. The maximum water temperature
was recorded as 31ºC at site-I during summer season in the
month of June, 2009 and minimum was recorded as 18.5ºC at
site-III during winter season in the month of January, 2010.
The maximum mean value of water temperature was recorded
26.07 + 2.76 at site-I and minimum mean value was recorded
24.9 + 3.93 at site-III.
In the summer season water temperature was generally higher
as compared to winter season2. The present study is in
agreement with the above observations. Since temperature
has no direct impact on aquatic life, solubility of oxygen in the
water increased when water temperature decreases. The
maximum value of Colour of Gomti river water was recorded
on (pt-co-scale) as 8.6 at site-II in the month of October, 2009
and minimum value was recorded as 4.3 at site-III in the month
of April, 2009. The maximum mean value of colour of river
water was recorded 7.28 + 1.07 at site-II and minimum mean
value was recorded 6.25 + 1.10 at site-III.
The maximum value of Turbidity was recorded as 66.2 at site-I
in the month of February, 2010 and minimum value was
recorded as 31.6 at site-I in the month of July, 2009. The
maximum mean value of turbidity of Gomti river water was
recorded 42.0 + 3.63 at site-II and the minimum mean value
was recorded 39.03 + 3.05 at site-III.
pH is a measure of the intensity of acidity or alkalinity and
measures the concentration of hydrogen ions in water. In the
present study the maximum value of pH of Gomti river water
 Analysis of Physico-chemical Characteristics of Gomti River
were recorded as 8.5 at site-III in the month of August, 2009
and March 2010, and minimum value was recorded as 7.0
at site-I in the month of February, 2010. The maximum mean
value of pH of Gomti river water was recorded as 8.08 + 0.30
at site-III and the minimum mean value was recorded as
7.79 + 0.38 at site-I. In natural water, pH also changes due
to variation in photosynthetic activities which increases the
pH due to consumption of CO 2 in the process. The
microbiological integrity of water also depends upon its pH
value3. Total hardness of water is caused by bicarbonates,
carbonates, sulphate, chlorides and nitrates of calcium and
magnesium. In the present study, the maximum value of
Total Hardness was recorded as 272.6 at site-II in the month
of July 2009 and minimum value was recorded as 185.3 at
site-I in the month of December, 2009. The maximum mean
value of Total hardness was recorded 245.23 + 18.41 at site-II
and minimum mean value was recorded 218.55 + 19.46 at
site-I.
Total dissolved solids in water comprise organic salts and
small amount of organic matter, In the present study, the
maximum value of Total dissolved solids was recorded as
613 at site-I in the month of February, 2010 and minimum
value was recorded as 446 at site-I in the month of September,
2009. The maximum mean value of Total dissolved solids
was recorded 521.92 + 46.79 at site-II and the minimum
mean value was recorded 501.08 + 30.47 at site-II. The high
amount of suspended, dissolved and total solids adversely
affects the quality of water and unsuitable for any purpose
including irrigation4. Dissolved solid substances also influence
the taste, hardness and corrosive property of water.
Total alkalinity of water is due to presence of mineral salts
present in it. It primarily caused by the carbonate and
bicarbonate ions. In the present study, maximum Alkalinity
was recorded as 210 at site-III in the month of June, 2010
and minimum value was recorded as 145 at site-II in the
month of November, 2009. In the present study the total
Alkalinity was high during summer season followed by steep
fall in monsoon periods. The low alkalinity was recorded in
the months of November (after monsoon) due to dilution5 &6.
The maximum concentration of Sulphate was recorded as
215.0 at site-II in the month of November 2009 and the
minimum concentration was recorded as 145.6 at site-I in
the month of March, 2010. The maximum mean value of
(210)
sulphate was recorded 195.01 + 7.78 at site-II and the minimum
mean value was recorded 153.58 + 5.10 at site-I. Chloride occurs
naturally in all types of water. Man and other animals excrete
very high quantities of chloride together with nitrogenous
compounds. In the present study, the maximum concentration
of Chlorides was recorded as 80.8 at site-III in the month of
February, 2010 and the minimum concentration was recorded
28.5 at site-II in the month of November, 2009. The maximum
mean value of chlorides was recorded 71.53 + 6.10 at site-III
and the minimum mean value was recorded 37.73 + 5.54 at
site-II.
Dissolved Oxygen is one of the most important parameters in
water quality assessment and reflects the physical and biological
processes prevailing in the water. In the present study the
maximum value of Dissolved oxygen in the Gomti river water
was recorded 7.5 at site-III in the month of January, 2010 and
the minimum value was recorded 4.0 at site-II in the month of
June, 2009. The maximum mean value of dissolved oxygen was
recorded 6.45 + 0.47 at site-I and the minimum mean value was
recorded 5.04 + 0.67 at site-II. Its deficiency directly affects the
ecosystem of river due to bioaccumulation and biomagnifications.
Maintenance and distribution of biota in aquatic ecosystems
depends upon the concentration of DO to a great extent. High
DO content is an indication of a healthy system7.It is obvious
that the flowing water at low temperature contains higher
dissolved oxygen compared to stagnant or slow moving water
at high temperature. In the present study, the dissolved oxygen
was minimum during summer season and maximum during
winter8.
BOD is the oxidizable organic matter present in the solution
and the BOD value can be used as a measure of waste strength.
The BOD test is useful in evaluating the self-purification
capacities of streams which serves as a measure to assess the
quality of wastes which can be safely assimilated by the stream9.
In the present study, the maximum value of B.O.D. was recorded
11.5 at Site-II in the month of June, 2009 and the minimum value
was recorded as 5.5 at site-I in the month of January, 2010. The
maximum mean value of B.O.D. was recorded 10.03 + 0.75 at
site-II and the minimum mean value was recorded 7.03 + 1.04
at site-I. The maximum value of C.O.D. was recorded as 21.5 at
site-III in the month of June, 2009 and the minimum value was
recorded 13.0 at site-I in the month of January, 2010. The
maximum mean value of C.O.D. was recorded 18.39 + 1.63 at
(211) Mishra and Mishra

Table-1. Values of mean and standard deviation of physico-chemical parameters recorded at

three selected sampling stations during April 2009 - March 2010 from Gomti River within
district Sultanpur (U.P.).

S. Physico-chemical Mean Standard deviation

No. Parameters S-I S-II S-III S-I S-II S-III
1. Temperature 26.07 25.02 24.9 2.76 2.88 3.93
2. Colour (on pt -co scale)l/m 6.68 7.28 6.25 1.01 1.07 1.10
3. Turbidity (JTU) 41.68 42.0 39.03 13.09 3.63 3.05
4. pH 7.79 7.83 8.08 0.38 0.42 0.30
5. Total Hardness (ml/l) 218.55 245.23 235.4 19.46 18.41 19.79
6. Total dissolved solids(ml/l) 521.92 501.08 503.42 46.79 30.47 26.89
7. Alkalinity (ml/l) 160.92 174.0 180.67 6.33 16.87 13.39
8. Sulphate (ml/l) 153.58 195.01 178.69 5.10 7.78 1.67
9. Chlorides (ml/l) 41.26 37.73 71.53 6.32 5.54 6.10
10. Dissolved oxygen (ml/l) 6.45 5.04 6.25 0.47 0.67 0.93
11. B.O.D. (ml/l) 7.03 10.03 7.04 1.04 0.75 0.77
12. C.O.D. (ml/l) 16.25 17.85 18.39 1.48 1.37 1.63
13. Free CO2 (ml/l) 7.91 6.96 7.23 1.08 0.99 1.08

site-III and the minimum mean value was record 16.25 + 1.48 4.
at site-I.
The B.O.D. and C.O.D. was recorded significant increase in 5.
the polluted zone which contains varieties of pollutants present
in the domestic sewage and detergents. The maximum value
of free CO2 was recorded as 9.6 at site-I in the month of June, 6.
2009 and the minimum value was recorded as 5.6 at site-II in
the month of February, 2010. The maximum mean value of 7.
free CO2 was recorded 7.91 + 1.08 at site-I and the minimum
mean values was recorded 6.96 + 0.99 at site-II.In the present
study the maximum free carbon dioxide level was recorded
8.
during summer season and minimum level was recorded in
winter which is antagonistic to dissolved oxygen level.
9.
REFERENCES
1. APHA (1999). In: Standard methods for examination of 10.
water and waste water. 19th Ed. Washington DC, USA.
2. S.Yogesh.,Y.D. Sonawane and S.D. Pingle (2004). J. 11.
Ecoto., Environ. Monit., 14(2): 137.
3. Bouwer, H (1978). In: Ground water Hydrology, Mc Graw,
Hill Inc., Tokyo and Japan.
Karthikeyan, T.P., Sashikumar, M. and Ramesh, M. (2002).
Poll. Res., 21(1): 21.
Shanthi, K., Ramaswamy. K and Lekshmana
perumalsamy, P. (2002). Nat. Environ. Poll. Tech., 1(2):
97.
Sivakumar, A.A., P. Arunadevi and M. Aruchami, (2003).
Nat. Environ. Poll. Tech., 2 (3): 305.
Bilgrami, K.S. and Dutta Munshi, J.S. (1985). In: Ecology
of River Ganges (Patna-Farakka), Tech. Report submitted
to D.O. En., 97.
Saradhamani, N. and A.A. Sivakumar (1995). J. Environ.
Poll., 2 (1): 35.
Trivedi, R.K. and Goel, P.K. (1984). In: Chemical and
Biological methods for water pollution studies. Karad;
Environmental Publications, 1-251.
Bruvold, W.H. and Ongerth, H.J. (1969). J. AWWA. 61:
170.
T.,Ram and Bhargava, S.D. (1982): Water quality in Gomti
river at Lucknow (U.P.), J. of IWWA, XIV: 4.