A collaboration between Asutosh College, Jadavpur University, and Navajo Technical University investigated the influence of river flow, tidal dynamics, and seasons on distribution of pollutants entering the river from different discharge points (city outfalls) at selected river stretches to prepare river water usage guidelines. The authors add: "River Ganges is not only a symbol of faith and hope for millions of people but is also used for daily human usage and livestock management.
Immerse yourself in the sacred and timeless traditions of the ages on the Ganges. Avalon Waterways shares an enchanting glimpse of life away from India’s big cities. Along its banks, human life is connected to its waters. This information could help inform new guidelines for safe usage of river water. The holy river of Hinduism, the Ganges, slowly courses through one of the world’s most fertile and populated areas. Overall, the analysis provides new insights into how outfall wastewater impacts water quality in this stretch of the Ganges, depending on seasonal and tidal conditions. The researchers were also able to use their data to mathematically model the influence of tides on various water quality parameters at the five sites.
Additionally, heavy metal and fecal coliform levels were strongly correlated with each other, and measurement of one could be used to predict the other. The analysis, which included GIS mapping, showed that dissolved oxygen and biochemical oxygen demand, as well as levels of nitrate nitrogen and chloride, were significantly higher at each of the five sites prior to monsoon season than during monsoon season. Mallika is one of 784 million people worldwide who walk long distances every day to access the water they need to survive. At each outfall, for the next four years, they monitored river water quality according to several different parameters, including measurements known as dissolved oxygen and biochemical oxygen demand, as well as concentrations of various heavy metals and fecal coliform level - an indicator of potential contamination by human feces. Every morning, Mallika Ganpati wakes up at her small home in Varanasi, India and walks a mile to the river Ganges, also called the Ganga, to collect water for her family. In 2014, after an extensive survey, the researchers selected five major outfalls where city wastewater flows into the Ganges. They focused specifically on a stretch of the river in West Bengal, India, located between Howrah Station - a major railway station near Kolkata - and Khardah, another city near Kolkata. To better understand the impact of tides and seasons on the River Ganges, Kar and colleagues conducted a comprehensive water quality analysis between 20. The Ganges empties into the Bay of Bengal, in the Indian Ocean, and is therefore influenced by tides.
However, wastewater from nearby cities severely pollutes the river. Flowing through India and Bangladesh, the Ganges is the most sacred river in Hinduism.