Rivers are essential for life as they serve creatures with ample freshwater supply. Although rivers represent merely 0.0001% of the planet's total water fraction, they carry water and nutrients to the biosphere [1]. In recent years, one of the greatest environmental concerns for developing countries is associated with the deterioration of riverine water quality for the reason that the rivers are considered to be an easy dumping ground for wastewater in developing countries [2]. At the same
The Chenab river has always offered a cradle for civilizations in Punjab province of Pakistan, however, in recent days the quality of this river has been gradually degraded due to several point and non-point pollution sources being introduced in its water. The riverine water quality was evaluated to check the suitability of water for drinking, livestock and irrigation purposes. Water samples (n = 54) were collected across the river, over a period of three years (2012–2014) and subjected to physicochemical analysis. Water quality index rating revealed that water of river Chenab fell under the marginal category for drinking and livestock watering, due to presence of heavy metals pollution above the safe limits. Irrigation suitability parameters, such as the sodium absorption ratio (SAR), residual sodium carbonate (RSC), Na (%), Kelley's ratio (KR), magnesium hazard (MH) and the permeability index (PI) were measured, and most of the samples were within the safe limit. The piper classification of hydro-chemical parameters revealed that the alkaline-earth metals, and strong acids exceed the alkali metals and weak acids, respectively. A Wilcox diagram indicated the alkali hazard was low while salinity hazard has an increasing trend. Spatiotemporal distribution of the pollutants highlighted minimal pollution until Qadirabad site (S4) which gradually keeps worsening at the downstream sites. Two factors of water quality deterioration were identified as pollution addition from the point and nonpoint sources, and diversion of the water through canals. It is inevitable to manage water quality of the Chenab river by reducing point sources pollution, through law enforcement.
The prevalence of dental/bone deformities provides motivation for studying the distribution, severity and sources of the Fluoride (F−1). The ground water samples (n = 77) were collected, from the districts of Lahore and Kasur of approximately 750 Km2 area. The water was analyzed for fluoride (F−), pH, electric conductivity (EC), alkalinity and hardness. The results revealed F− concentration ranges from 0.25–21.3 mg. An inverse relation between depth and fluoride concentration was observed. On the basis of cluster analysis three zones were identified. Highly toxic zone was a strip of 15 km wide and 3 km long, along Multan road from Sunder to Phool Nagar bypass, with fluoride concentration (08–21.3 mg/l). The highly toxic zone inhabited a number of industrial units, disposing off their waste water through soaking pits. These units contribute pollution to the shallow water, which further penetrates to the surroundings. Hence the shallow water (depth of 45–50 feet) was the most contaminated. The intensity of toxic effects decreases from highly to mild toxic zone. It was concluded that the problem was actually associated with the industrial waste water. Therefore, to overcome the issue, measures of supplying fresh drinking water from the deep aquifer as well as treatment of industrial water is suggested. HIGHLIGHT Industry was actually responsible for fluoride toxicity in the region rather than natural sources.
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