Surface water quality evaluation of Malaprabha River, Belagavi District, Karnataka

Water quality evaluation is of paramount importance due to the population explosion and unprecedented industrial growth. In Indian context, water quality is a serious problem in many of the river basins due to unplanned development of urban and semi-urban areas. One of the major cities which is fast developing in Karnataka is Belagavi (previously known as Belgaum) which is located on the north western part of Karnataka. In the recent time, the Government of Karnataka has planned to set up many processing industries in the vicinity of Belagavi to meet the growing needs of the region and to ease out the pressure on the already existing industrial hubs in Karnataka State. Malaprabha, a tributary of river Krishna, originates in the hills of Western ghats (near Kankumbi) and flows through Khanapur and Bailahongal taluks and the water is impounded by constructing a dam at Naviluteerth in Saundatti taluk. It is planned to supply water from Malaprabha reservoir to Hubli-Dharwad city. During the last decade, lot of anthropogenic activities such as deforestation and excessive agricultural activities are ongoing in many parts of the catchment. Therefore, it is a matter of concern to the public with regard to the quality of surface water of Malaprabha river and groundwater in the adjoining catchment area. Considering the significance of water quality of the river, surface water samples were collected during Pre- and Post-monsoon seasons of 2013 and 2014. Samples were collected from selected locations and analyzed for both physical and chemical constituents in the laboratory. The results indicate that the majority of the water quality parameters which includes, bicarbonates, sulphates, chlorides, sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium are within the permissible limits. However, water quality parameters showed spatial and temporal variations with respect to land use/land cover changes.