WATER QUALITY MODELLING AND ASSESSMENT OF THE BURIGANGA RIVER USING QUAL2K

Abstract

The Buriganga River runs through Dhaka's south and west sides. Due to the anthropogenic involvement of essential pollutants such as industrial effluents, urban sewage, and solid wastes in this area, the water quality of this river has been a source of worry. The Dissolved Oxygen of the river water showed a variation from 0.50 mg/L to 3.5 mg/l. The BOD of the river water was shown in a variation of 27.50 mg/L to 129.7 mg/L, where the mean value was 78.6 mg/L. Although Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) is not a water quality parameter, it is the most widely utilized indicator of a surface water body's overall health. The COD of water from the river Buriganga was 65.29 mg/L to 279.8 mg/L. The concentration of Ammoniacal Nitrogen in the river water was found to vary from 1.8 mg/L to 6.9 mg/L. Suspended Solids of the Buriganga River Water ranged from 36 mg/L to 42 mg/L. The water quality test results have been used as input data in the Qual2k Software, and a produced Water Quality Model has been shown using the Qual2k software. The mean value of these physicochemical parameters has been summarised to calculate the River's Water Quality Index (WQI) using the DoE formula, which was found to be 27.77, classified as very polluted class V water.