Author : Anubha Singh, Bishnu Deo and S.P.Singh

The study on risk assessment on the use of river water for domestic/ drinking water purposes covering river course from Tenughat dam to Panchet dam on Damodar river (Jharkhand) has been divided into seven sampling stations. The result shows, human activities including NOM impact on river waters physicochemical parameters responsible for the risk and their impact on human wellbeing. Total fourteen physico-chemical parameters have been selected for the study and the risk has been presented on the application of Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (CEPI) in terms of Exceedence Factor (EF) and Surrogate number level of exposure (SNLF). The EF value for the biological parameters MPN is 32.42, for TKN is 31 and for BOD is 24.61. The SNLF value for these parameters is similar to that of EF value showing the same order – MPN (32.42) > TKN (31) > BOD (24.61). This establishes a high degree of pollution and all the above parameters falls in the critical zone. For the miscellaneous property like Iron (Fe), EF value is 2.48 (falls in critical zone) and for aggregate property like conductivity, it is 0.717 ( is in low category). Similarly, SNLF value for Fe is 2.48 and for conductivity it is 0. The higher value of EF and SNLF for sulphate ( SO42-) may be due to mine discharge into the river. The study concludes that the offenders are – MPN, TKN, BOD, Fe and SO42- are of great concern for their removal to make the river water safe for drinking purposes and other domestic uses.

Keywords: MPN, TKN, BOD, NOM, EF, SNLF.

Article published in International Journal of Current  Engineering  and Technology, Vol.3,No.5(Dec- 2013)