Global water quality indices for river Gurpur, Karnataka State, India

Abstract

Three water quality indices viz. Drinking Water Quality Index (DWQI), Health Water Quality Index (HWQI) and Acceptability Water Quality Index (AWQI) were developed by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) under the Global Environment Monitoring System (GEMS)/Water for global comparison of quality of water sources. In this paper these three global water quality indices were determined for River Gurpur, in Karnataka state of India. Gurpur is one of the important west flowing rivers of India and is the source for industrial needs of fast developing Mangalore city. River water samples were collected from Gurpur River at Gurpur Bridge on National Highway -13 near Mangalore monthly from November 2006 to October 2007. The samples were analyzed for sixteen physico-chemical and bacteriological parameters. The global water quality indices determined for river Gurpur can be designated as 'Fair' during the study period. The seasonal variation in global water quality indices ranged from 'Marginal' to 'Excellent'. 2010 CAFET-INNOVA TECHNICAL SOCIETY. All rights reserved.