Water quality assessment of River Murti for the safety of wildlife, Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, India

Abstract

The work done on the assessment of surface water quality to maintain the good health of wildlife is insufficient. The wildlife is also a part of our environment and they are equally important. Therefore, the article tried to measure the suitability of water for wildlife, through evaluating the pollution status of River Murti, as the animals also suffer from health effect of using polluted water. River Murti is the sole water resource for wild animals along Gorumara National Park and Chapramari Wild Life Sanctuary, in the District of Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, India. Water samples were collected from the River, some physico-chemical parameters like Hydrogen Ion Concentration (pH), Electrical Conductivity (EC), Total Dissolved Solid (TDS), Hardness, Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD5), Alkalinity, Nitrate (NO3−), Chloride (Cl−), Manganese (Mn), etc. had been examined experimentally or instrumentally and then the results were compared with animal’s threshold values available in the literature. The evaluation showed that the value of manganese is greater than that of permissible limit but the others are below the limits. The literature survey also said that the elevated limit of manganese are hazardous for the animals but the presence of other pollutants though they are below the limit can enhance the harmful effect of pollution on daily exposure to them. Therefore, it is the need of the hour that some measures are to be taken to control the pollution of River Murti. The study also reveals that there is some lack of interest in this field, because permissible limits of some parameters are not available in the literature yet.