Comparative assessment of wetland water quality from rural and urban area of Aurangabad District, Maharashtra, India using water quality index

Abstract

The wetland is one of the main water resources, which mainly gets contaminated from sewage or wastewater disposal, encroachment, commercial and industrial activity. In view of this current study compares the water of wetlands in urban and rural areas of the Khultabad tehsil in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, India. A total of 28 water samples were collected, out of that 20 from Pangara Talav (PT) and 8 from Girija Talav (GT) in Pre-monsoon 2022. The samples were tested for major physicochemical parameters. The water quality assessment shows that increased values of COD/BOD in the PT than in the GT, which may be attributable to existing human encroachment taking place on the lake's shores. The water quality index (WQI) also shows that PT water is slightly more polluted as compared with GT. The study suggests that immediate effort is required to improve water quality and support any future initiatives for restoring wetlands.