Assessment of Water Quality in Turag River & Its Impacts on Environment

Abstract

Bangladesh is a country with hundreds of rivers. Which has a great significance in the development and economic value of our country. However, the mass industrial development creates a pressure in the nearby rivers and its environment. The Turag River in Bangladesh, which is situated in the northern part of capital city Dhaka, is facing rapid heavy industrialization and urbanization. Mostly due to the unplanned development works. These anthropogenic activities are causing environmental degradation in The Turag River in many ways. The following study was conducted to measure and evaluate the present water quality in the downstream zone of The Turag River and its impact on life & environment. The pollution sources were also identified. A comparison was made between upstream and downstream water quality of the river in the same season with the help of previous studies. The water quality was measured based on the physicochemical parameters which includes Salinity, pH, EC, TDS, Temperature, Total Hardness, Ca Hardness, Mg hardness, Free CO2, Alkalinity, Acidity and TSS. The samples were collected on 19th September 2021 from eight (8) different points of The Turag River with exact coordinates from Aminbazar Bridge to Birulia Bridge. To find out the impact of The Turag River water, physical questionnaire surveys were made in the same locations in December 2021. From the survey, many important data regarding the condition of the river, pollution source identification, daily uses & agricultural uses, health diseases, fish resources and key reasons behind poor river management were determined. From the laboratory experiment, it can be said that the physicochemical parameters of The Turag River water showed moderately good quality in contrast to the standard permissible values except for Free CO2 & Acidity. The monsoon water is a factor here, as the samples were collected in the wet season, which has diluted the water. When compared with three (3) other previous studies on upstream water quality of The Turag River, the result seemed better or similar. Yet from physical surveys and direct observations, it was noted that the water quality degrades as soon as the monsoon passes away. Which suggests the necessity of testing the river water from each season for seasonal variations. Though, The Turag River water is not usable for domestic purposes in any of the season, agriculture is practiced only once during dry season with contaminated water due to no other options, fish resources have decreased significantly as well, based on the opinion of the local community.