Multivariate statistical techniques for the evaluation of surface water quality of the Himalayan foothills streams, Pakistan

Abstract

Himalayan foothills streams, Pakistan play an important role in living water supply and irrigation of farmlands; thus, the water quality is closely related to public health. Multivariate techniques were applied to check spatial and seasonal trends, and metals contamination sources of the Himalayan foothills streams, Pakistan. Grab surface water samples were collected from different sites (5-15 cm water depth) in pre-washed polyethylene containers. Fast Sequential Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (Varian FSAA-240) was used to measure the metals concentration. Concentrations of Ni, Cu, and Mn were high in pre-monsoon season than the post-monsoon season. Cluster analysis identified impaired, moderately impaired and least impaired clusters based on water parameters. Discriminant function analysis indicated spatial variability in water was due to temperature, electrical conductivity, nitrates, iron and lead whereas seasonal variations were correlated with 16 physicochemical parameters. Factor analysis identified municipal and poultry waste, automobile activities, surface runoff, and soil weathering as major sources of contamination. Levels of Mn, Cr, Fe, Pb, Cd, Zn and alkalinity were above the WHO and USEPA standards for surface water. The results of present study will help to higher authorities for the management of the Himalayan foothills streams.

Quality characterization and pollution source identification of surface water using multivariate statistical techniques, Nalagarh Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India

“…The quality of a river at any point reflects major influences, including the lithology of the basin, atmospheric inputs, climatic conditions and anthropogenic inputs (Bricker and Jones 1995;Reza and Singh 2010;Herojeet et al 2015b;Jung et al 2016). On the other hand, rivers play a major role in assimilation or transporting multitude of pollutants present in municipal and industrial wastewater and runoff from agricultural land (Qadir et al 2008;Wang et al 2013;Malik and Hashmi 2017). Municipal and industrial wastewater discharge constitutes a constant polluting source, whereas surface runoff is a seasonal phenomenon, largely influenced by climate within the basin (Singh et al 2004;Kumar et al 2015;Bhutiani et al 2016).…”

Environmental impact assessment of municipal solid waste management value chain: A case study from Pakistan

“…A study conducted by Qamar et al (2017) showed that vehicle washing contaminates water with compounds of petrogenic and pyrogenic origin, mainly polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), that enter the main water tributaries and end up entering human food chain, causing carcinogenic and mutagenic diseases in consumers. Moreover, heavy metals such as barium, lead, chromium and nickel, that pose a risk to health, are found to be linked to fuel combustion and vehicle washing runoff (Bashir et al, 2017; Malik and Hashmi, 2017).…”

Urban Growth Patterns and Forest Carbon Dynamics in the Metropolitan Twin Cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, Pakistan

“…The management of the Islamabad is under the supervision of the Capital Development Authority (CDA), which has all the protocols and guidelines for the management and expansion of the city [63], while Rawalpindi is managed by the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) [64]. In addition, the weak enforcement of the law in Rawalpindi has stimulated the encroachment of government land and the development of illegal housing societies, causing haphazard urbanization [65]. In 2017, the Capital Development Authority of Islamabad (CDA) demolished 50 commercial buildings, including marriage halls and shops on illegal land worth PKR 9 billion (USD 51,660,765), as well as 1670 ha of land costing PKR 300 billion (USD 1,722,025,500), which was retrieved from the land grabbers [66].…”