Preliminary assessment of heavy metals in water, sediment and macrophyte (Lemna minor) collected from Anchar Lake, Kashmir, India

Abstract

Water samples, sediments and free floating macrophytic plant, Lemna minor specimens were collected from five designated sites in Anchar lake (Srinagar, J&K, India) to assess its heavy metal (Cu, Cr, Zn, Ni, Cd, Pb) load and changes on seasonal basis. The concentration of heavy metals was determined using atomic absorption spectroscopy. Most of the samples were found within limits of maximum permissible concentrations as recommended by WHO (Guidelines for drinking water quality, pp [491][492][493] 2006). During all the seasons, highest concentration of all heavy metals (Cu, Cr, Zn, Ni, Cd, Pb) was recorded at highly polluted sites of the lake viz. near agricultural fields (S 1 ), near settlements (S 3 ) and SKIMS (S 4 ). These sites received huge agrochemical run-off from the surrounding agricultural fields, solid and liquid wastes from the nearby catchment areas and effluents from Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) compared to control site lake centre (S 5 ). Furthermore, most of the metals in water and sediment were found with highest concentration during autumn (Viz., Cu-1.5 ppm; Zn-0.38 ppm; Ni-1.89 ppm; Pb-0.84 ppm in water and Cu-26.9 ppm; Zn-13.6 ppm; Pb-4.33 ppm in sediment) and summer (Viz., Cr-0.68 ppm in water and Ni-4.8 ppm; Cd-2.6 ppm; Cr-8.01 ppm in sediment) seasons. Also in Lemna minor plant highest concentration was observed during summer season (Cu-29.09 ppm; Zn-19.11 ppm; Ni-5.7 ppm; Cd-1.34 ppm; Cr-9.18 ppm and Pb-9.77 ppm). From these observations, it was found that the sources of heavy metals in Anchar lake were both natural and anthropogenic ones. This study recommended that continuous monitoring of heavy metals (Viz; Cu, Cr, Zn, Ni, Cd and Pb) in water, sediment and other aquatic biota of Anchar lake should be directed to protection of ecological status of the lake and its surrounding area.

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“…Fe, Cu, Mn, Zn, Ni, Pb and Cd) concentrations in wetland water ranged from (0.32, 0.04, 0.34, 0.27, 0.016, 0.032 and 0.0029 mg/L) to (0.69, 0.13, 0.57, 0.43, 0.038, 0.066 and 0.0051 mg/L) with lower concentrations in summer and higher concentrations in winter (Table 1-2). In summer lower heavy metal concentration may be attributed to macrophytes absorbing heavy metals during their peak growth stage (Showqi et al 2018). In the similar manner, the highest concentrations of heavy metals in the winter may be due to the death and decay of the macrophytes, which releases their locked-up elements in the growing media.…”

“…Heavy metals are common pollutants and almost all the fresh water bodies are contaminated by metal pollution (Sudarshan et al 2020). Metals like Fe, Cu, Mn, Zn and Ni are essential for plants and animals (Showqi et al 2018), while Cd and Pb are non essential (Norouzi et al 2012). All heavy metals, whether essential or non essential have the ability to accumulate and biomagnify along the food chain and threaten human and aquatic life (Miretzky et al 2004;Walker et al 2006; Feng et al 2017).…”

A study on chromium accumulation in Labeo rohita in the river Yamuna ecosystem in Mathura-Agra region in Uttar Pradesh, India

“…The conical flask was heated until the solution was fully evaporated, then the flask was cooled at room temperature. The powdery deposition was noticed on complete evaporation, 100 ml of triple distilled water was introduced in the powdery deposit to each conical flask to completely dissolve it before the AAS analysis (Showqi et al, 2018). The fish organ samples such as liver, kidney, gills,and muscles were washed with 0.9 % saline water.…”

Calculation of Quality Indices and Correlation Factors at Some Effluents Entry Points of the Mansagar Lake, Jaipur

“…The standard values for common heavy metal constituents in lake water are listed in the table 3. This table is prepared with the report released by WHO and BIS in past [14][15], [19][20][21][22]. The values for some parameters may vary in accordance to the intended use of the water such as for drinking and irrigation purposes, aquatic life and as per the level of the water:…”