ASSESSMENT OF SURFACE WATER QUALITY MODELING USING WATER QUALITY MODELS

Abstract

Since water plays such a vital role in life on earth, good quality water is a precious resource. Often water quality is more important than water quantity. The quality of the water affects the use we make of it, but the reverse is also true. Once we have used the water, we affect its quality. This circular process indicates that the traditional habit of discharging untreated sewage and chemical wastes directly into rivers, lakes, estuaries of oceans for eventual "assimilation" into the environment is no longer acceptable — either technically of morally. In this way all the major rivers and tributaries across the country have become the victim of point and diffused sources. Vast stretches of many major rivers including Ganga and Yamuna have became virtual sewers and rendered unfit for human use. Under various monitoring programs of national aquatic resources by CPCB, water quality data is available for many of these polluted rivers. Such data, however, can only give qualitative informat...