Measurement of dissolved oxygen and biochemical oxygen demand for the Hindon river, India

Abstract

The river Hindon (a tributary of the Yamuna river) is mainly polluted due to untreated and/or partially treated sewage discharge from municipal and/or industrial sources located within its catchment. The discharge of high biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) sewage is harmful for survival of aquatic life in a water body. Dissolved oxygen (DO) is one of the most important water quality parameters used for assessing the quality of the water for survival of the aquatic life. The high BOD load becomes responsible for lowering the DO levels in a water body. When DO drops below 4 or 5 mg/L, the forms of life that can survive begins to reduce. In this study, prediction of dissolved oxygen was carried out using Ponce Calculator and BOD using simple first order BOD reaction equation. The study is useful for assessing self purification capacity and to sustain aquatic life in the River Hindon.