Water quality index (WQI) is valuable and unique rating to depict the overall water quality status in a single term that is helpful for the selection of appropriate treatment technique to meet the concerned issues. However, WQI depicts the composite influence of different water quality parameters and communicates water quality information to the public and legislative decision makers. In spite of absence of a globally accepted composite index of water quality, some countries have used and are using aggregated water quality data in the development of water quality indices. Attempts have been made to review the WQI criteria for the appropriateness of drinking water sources. Besides, the present article also highlights and draws attention towards the development of a new and globally accepted "Water Quality Index" in a simplified format, which may be used at large and could represent the reliable picture of water quality.
Pharmaceutical products and their wastes play a major role in the degradation of environment. These drugs have positive as well as negative consequences on different environmental components including biota in different ways. Many types of pharmaceutical substances have been detected with significant concentrations through various advanced instrumental techniques in surface water, subsurface water, ground water, domestic waste water, municipal waste water and industrial effluents. The central as well as state governments in India are providing supports by creating excise duty free zones to promote the pharmaceutical manufacturers for their production. As a result, pharmaceutical companies are producing different types of pharmaceutical products at large scale and also producing complex non-biodegradable toxic wastes byproducts and releasing untreated or partially treated wastes in the environment in absence of strong regulations. These waste pollutants are contaminating all types of drinking water sources. The present paper focuses on water quality pollution by pharmaceutical pollutants, their occurrences, nature, metabolites and their fate in the environment.
During the past few decades, pharmaceutical industries have registered a quantum jump contributing to high economic growth, but simultaneously it has also given rise to severe environmental pollution. Untreated or allegedly treated pharmaceutical industrial wastewater (PIWW) creates a need for time to time assessment and characterization of discharged wastewater as per the standards provided by the regulatory authorities. To control environmental pollution, pharmaceutical industries use different treatment plans to treat and reuse wastewater. The characterization of PIWW using advanced and coupled techniques has progressed to a much advanced level, but in view of new developments in drug manufacture for emerging diseases and the complexities associated with them, better sophisticated instrumentation and methods of treatment are warranted. The bioremediation process to treat PIWW has undergone more intense investigation in recent decade. This results in the complete mineralization of pharmaceutical industries' wastewater and no waste product is obtained. Moreover, high efficiency and low operation cost prove it to be an effective tool for the treatment of PIWW. The present review focuses on the characterization as well as bioremediation aspects of PIWW.
Water quality of Himalayan rivers has been steadily deteriorating over several decades due to anthropogenic activities, dumping of treated or untreated effluents, poor structured sewerage and drainage system, etc. In the present study, the water quality of five important rivers namely, Gola, Kosi, Ramganga, Saryu and Lohawati rivers were investigated which flow through the different districts of Kumaun region of Uttarakhand Himalaya. The water of all these rivers serves as the major source for drinking and irrigation purposes in these districts of the Kumaun region of Uttarakhand. River water samples collected in premonsoon and post-monsoon seasons of the years 2011 and 2012 were analyzed for various water quality characteristics. Statistical analyses indicate positive correlation among most of the chemical parameters. Piper diagram illustrates that all the water samples fall in Ca-Mg-HCO 3 hydrochemical facies, Moreover, the suitability of water for drinking purposes determined by water quality index indicated that river water in both the seasons is unsuitable. Irrigation water quality of all the river water was found suitable during both the seasons according to the result of sodium adsorption ratio, sodium percentage and residual sodium carbonate. The present study revealed that major factors contributing to deterioration of water quality of all the rivers might be eutrophication, tourism, anthropogenic and geogenic processes. Therefore, to restore the vitality and water quality of all these rivers, proper water resource planning programme should be developed.
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