Impact of Industrial effluents on the water quality of Phulleli canal

Phulleli canal is one of the main source of irrigation water in lower Sindh. It also supplements the drinking water demand for a number of communities residing on its either banks. A significant proportion of the domestic wastewater and industrial effluents, generated in Hyderabad City, is disposed off into Phulleli canal without any treatment. Therefore, a reduction in the pollution stabilizing capacity of the canal is expected. This paper presents the results of the monitoring programme carried out to investigate the variation in the canal water quality due to wastewater discharges in it. The quality of the canal water and industrial effluents has been studied in terms of pH, Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Total Suspends Solids (TSS), Total Volatile Solids (TVS), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Chloride, Sulfide and Heavy metals (zinc, nickel, cadmium, lead and copper). The preliminary results have shown that during low canal flow there is a significant decline is dissolved oxygen concentration and increase in almost all the measured pollutants. The pollutant concentrations both in the canal water and industrial effluents have been found exceeding the national and international water quality standards. (author)