36-A comparative study of water quality of a Suburban Pond and an irrigation reservoir in Savli Taluka of Vadodara District, Central Gujarat, India

Abstract

The seasonal changes in the environment are known to change the quality of water bodies, especially in the semiarid zone where seasonal changes are pronounced. In addition, the influence of human utilization or dependency can not be ignored. Urban development adds various organic and inorganic components to water influencing the physical and chemical properties of water. Present study attempts to relate direct or indirect influences of urbanization as well as seasonal changes on the quality of water. To find out the influence of urbanization on water qualities, annual changes in physicho-chemical parameters of water from Savli pond (22° 33' 37 N and 73° 13' 27 E) under pressure of urbanization are compared with water from Jawala Irrigation reservoir (22Q 33' 30 N and 73Q 14' 24 E). Savli is a fast developing town in Vadodara district whereas at Jawala, just one kilometer away, an irrigation reservoir is present. The seasonal changes in physicochemical parameters of Savli pond are compared with seasonal changes in the quality of water at a small irrigation reservoir, Jawala. The two water bodies are exposed to similar climatic conditions. Savli pond is perennial, whereas Jawala reservoir dries up during summer. Water was collected from both the water bodies fortnightly over a period of two years. A comparative study of the seasonal changes in the physichochemical parameter was carried out for the two water bodies. The data for seasonal variation is analyzed with the help of ANOVA and for comparison of two water bodies with the help of t-test. Majority of parameters are higher at Savli — the pond under urban pressures whereas the seasonal changes are pronounced at the Jawala Irrigation Reserviour. The positive and negative impacts of urbanization on quality of water and seasonal changes at both the water bodies are discussed.