Assessment of temporal variation in water quality of some important rivers in middle Gangetic plains, India

The study explains water quality of three important tributaries of the Ganga River in the middle Gangetic plains in India. Seasonal changes in the water quality of the studied rivers: Gandak, Ghaghra, and Sone were observed. During monsoon, several water quality parameters show considerable changes due to increased runoff from the catchments and other seasonal factors. Multivariate discriminant analysis delineated a few parameters responsible for temporal variation in water quality. Seasonal variation in water quality of the Gandak River was rendered by seven parameters??turbidity, sulfate, pH, phosphate, water temperature, total alkalinity, and sodium, while total alkalinity and water temperature were responsible for seasonal discrimination in water quality of Ghaghra River. Water temperature, turbidity, total dissolved solids, total suspended solids, calcium, and phosphate were important for seasonal discrimination in water quality of Sone River. The seasonal changes in water quality of the rivers were due to seasonal effects and catchment characteristics. The discriminant functions classified most of the cases correctly.