Assessment of Water Quality in certain Lakes of Hyderabad, Telangana

Author: A. Rajani, A. Kavitha and P. Manjula

Download PDF

Abstract

Water bodies are essential components in our ecosystem for all living organisms and compose 50-97% of plant and animal weight and about 70% of the human body. All the people depend on water bodies for their day to day activities and the water quality analysis thus becomes a basic requirement for safety purposes and determines the health of our environment. Therefore, the challenge here is periodically monitoring and assessment of water quality for maintenance of quality of water in rivers, lakes and ponds. The main objective of physico-chemical analysis of water was to determine the nutrient status of the medium. Since water contains dissolved and suspended constituents in varying proportions it has different physical and chemical properties along with biological variation. The quality of water may be affected in various ways by pollution. The main objective was to assess the quality of water and degree of pollution. The water was alkaline in the lakes. Carbonates and dissolved oxygen were recorded in low concentration. Organic matter, COD, phosphates and nitrates were recorded in high concentration. Four groups of algae were recorded in the lake i.e., Cyanophyceae, Chlorophyceae, Euglenophyceae and Bacillariophyceae. Among the four groups of algae Cyanophyceae constituted the dominant group. Bacillariophyceae recorded in very low numbers. Microcystis, Arthrospira, Oscillatoria, Chlorella, Scenedesmus, Cyclotella, Gomphonema, Nitzschia, Euglena, Phacus were dominant in the lake they can use as good indicators of pollution. On the basis of both physico-chemical and biological characteristics the lake was polluted and eutrophic.

Keywords

Pollution, Lakes, Physico-chemical parameters, Phytoplankton and Cyanophyceae

Conclusion

The physic-chemical characteristics exhibited certain interrelationships. The pH and carbonates are directly correlated. The pH and carbonates are inversely proportional to bicarbonates. Chlorides showed an inverse correlation with carbonates. Dissolved oxygen shows an inverse correlation with organic matter and biological oxygen demand. The total hardness negatively correlated with carbonates. Sulphates and phosphates showed positive correlation with chlorides. Nitrates showed positive correlation with carbonates, bicarbonates, calcium and negatively correlated with total dissolved solids. The biological parameters include the estimation of phytoplankton community structure and their distribution in various seasons. The taxa recorded in the lakes have been classified under four classes Cyanophyceae, Chlorophyceae, Bacillariophyceae and Euglenophyceae. Temperature, organic matter, phosphates and nitrates are influenced the growth of Cyanophyceae. Whereas, the Chlorophyceae was influenced by temperature and oxygen. Silicates and oxygen are responsible for the growth of diatoms. The euglenophyceae influenced by temperature, organic matter and nitrates. All the physic-chemical parameters are well above the permissible limits. Hence on the basis of both physico-chemical and biological parameters the lake was polluted. From the foregoing account it can be concluded that the lakes are highly polluted and eutrophic in nature.

References

-

How to cite this article

A. Rajani, A. Kavitha and P. Manjula (2023). Assessment of Water Quality in certain Lakes of Hyderabad, Telangana. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 15(5): 1362-1368.