River Kanhan is one of the most important rivers in Nagpur District of Maharashtra. It originates in Satpura hills in Chhindwara district of Madhya Pradesh and flows through Chhindwara and Nagpur(MS) districts up to its confluence with Wainganga river in Bhandara district of Maharashtra. Water from the Kanhan and the Pench rivers are used for domestic supply to Nagpur city. Due to this, the study of water quality of the river is of vital significance. In present study, water quality data observed at Satrapur near Nagpur on river Kanhan are compared with designated use class of Inland surface water specifications (BIS 2296–1982). In this study, the data from June 2008 to May 2013 has been analysed for 17 important water quality parameters. Among the 17 parameters selected for the trend analysis, 10 parameters (pH, NO3, SAR,TH, CH, MH, DO, BOD, TC & FC) are found having rising trend, 5 parameters (EC, NH3-N, B, F, Cl) are found having falling trend and only 2 parameters (SO4, Na%) found no trend at all during the last five years. TC & FC found to have a very sharp rising trend.
Water quality of Kanhan River is found deteriorating due to ever-growing human activities, poor drainage facilities and direct disposal of industrial and municipal waste in the river from towns viz Ramakona, Sausar etc in the catchment. The average value of TC is varying from 1500 to 46217 MPN/100ml while that of FC is varying from 421 to 5708 MPN/100ml. As Kanhan river is a major source of drinking water to Nagpur city as well as nearby villages, poor water quality of the river is of grave concern. This could be tackled by constructing small treatment plants for treating domestic and industrial effluents at these towns. Phytoremediation is also another solution for improving water quality of the river. It is cost effective and easy to maintain at such small towns.
Kanhan river, Trend Analysis, Water Quality parameters
