The study deals with the distribution of heavy metals on sediments under different flow conditions in the river Hindon. The river is subjected to varying degree of pollution caused by numerous untreated waste outfalls of municipal and industrial effluents.
The main sources, which create pollution are the municipal wastes of Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar and Ghaziabad districts and industrial effluents of sugar, pulp & paper, distilleries and other miscellaneous industries through tributaries as well as direct outfalls. The flow in the river varies widely and is controlled by the release of water from Upper Ganga canal through Khatauli and Jani escapes.
The study analyzes the distribution of heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn, Co, Cd, Cr, Pb, Ni and Al) in water and in the suspended and bed sediments of river Hindon polluted by municipal, industrial and agricultural effluents. The heavy metal concentrations in water were observed to depend largely on the amount of flowing water and are negatively correlated with flow.
The sediment analysis indicates that the large amount of heavy metals is associated with organic matter, the fine-grained sediment fraction, Iron Hydroxide and Manganese Hydroxide. A high positive correlation of most of the metal ions in sediments with iron, manganese and organic matter indicate that these constituents play a major role in the transport of metal ions.
The heavy metal concentrations generally increased with the decreasing particle size of the sediments. The maximum concentration was observed in 0-75 μm sediment fraction. The lower metal concentration in bed sediments during post-monsoon seasons established that monsoons had a slight effect on status of metals in sediments by causing renewal and mobilization of metals from the sediments.
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