Spatial and Temporal Variability of Some Coastal Water Parameters at Selected Locations on the East Coast of India

Abstract

Seawater quality status of shore and offshore areas of four selected locations (Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Ennore, and Pondicherry) along the east coast of India were studied based on the analysis of various water quality parameters (Temperature, pH, Dissolved Oxygen, Biological Oxygen Demand, Suspended Sediment Concentration, Nitrate, Phosphate, and Fecal Coliforms collected during 1993–2014 under the COMAPS program of ICMAM-PD, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Govt. of India. The National Sanitation Foundation Water Quality Index was used to estimate the indices for different seasons. The water quality parameters have strong seasonal and spatial variability along the coast. Higher concentration of BOD and SSC toward shore waters and lower concentration toward offshore is noticed. In Visakhapatnam and Kakinada, the nitrate and phosphate concentration was comparatively higher than Ennore and Pondicherry. The Fecal Coliform counts in the shore waters were significantly high for all the four locations. Computation of Water Quality Index based on different water quality parameters reveals that the water quality along these sites varied from ‘medium’ to ‘good’ depending on the location and the season. The analysis of the data clearly emphasize the need for continuous monitoring of these water quality parameters to maintain and preserve the water quality as well as the related coastal ecosystem productivity of the Indian coast. Further, comprehensive studies are required for the Indian coastal water to determine the relative weightages of various water quality parameters and to develop an optimum WQI index methodology.