Water quality index of Kabini River in the Kallahally Village of Nanjangud Taluk, Mysore District, Karnataka (India).

The people of Kallahally and nearby villages are drinking Kabini River water because of groundwater pollution caused by the release of industrial effluent from Jubilient Pharmaceutical Industry. To know the potability of Kabini River water, water samples were collected from 3 sites for 6 mo (Oct. 2004 to March 2005) and analyzed for pH, dissolved O (DO), free CO2, total hardness, total alky., Ca, Mg, chloride, COD, BOD, TDS and total acidity. The mean values of these parameters were compared with WHO, ICMR and ISI stds. Out of 12 analyzed parameters, 9 parameters were considered for the computation of water quality rating and water quality index. Except DO, other parameters were found within the permissible limits. DO was found below the prescribed std. The water quality indexes of upstream, Kallahally and downstream were found 58.6, 67.82 and 69.63, resp. This clearly indicated that, the pollution load increase as the river flows further. The river water was found safe for human consumption. [on SciFinder(R)]