Evaluation of surface water quality using hydro-chemical, bacteriological characters and water quality index: a case study on sacred ponds of Kurukshetra, Haryana, India

Regular monitoring of water quality of surface waters is essential for the sustainable management of human health. The present investigations looked at the physico-chemical and bacteriological analyses of surface water from five different locations in Kurukshetra district, Haryana (India). Water samples obtained from selected monitoring sites (S1-S5) in 2021 during monsoon and post-monsoon season were tested for physico-chemical characteristics, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), nutrients, total bacterial count, and fecal coliform. The results showed that major physico-chemical characteristics, COD, BOD, nutrients like ammonia, orthophosphate, and sulfate were all over the permissible range of Bureau of Indian Standards. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to determine the relationship between the water quality parameters. The presence of fecal coliform and a high MPN index (43 to < 2400 in monsoon and 41 to < 2400 in post-monsoon season) are depicted by bacteriological examination. The ionic statistical analysis and the data plotted on the ternary phase diagram reveal that the surface water chemistry is mainly due to contributions from agriculture and anthropogenic sources. One of the most widely used methods for detecting and evaluating surface water contamination is the water quality index (WQI). Over the course of study period, 13 physico-chemical characteristics were evaluated to determine the surface water quality index of sample locations. The water quality index of S2 (35.458 in monsoon and 26.615 in post-monsoon) and S3 (40.694 in monsoon and 35.935 in post-monsoon) was good, but the water quality index of S5 (264.111 in monsoon and 229.922 in post-monsoon) and S1 (81.458 in monsoon and 65.380 in post-monsoon) was very poor and unfit for consumption in both seasons because it receives the most domestic effluents, sewerage water from adjoining villages, religious activity, and other solid waste material, rendering it unfit for any consumption and extremely harmful to aquatic biodiversity. The results demonstrate that water bodies are experiencing stress as a result of inputs through point and non-point pollution sources and require additional attention, implementation, and management techniques to protect water quality of these sites.