Changes in sub-soil river water quality upon its open storage-a case study.

ABSTRACT

A study was carried out to investigate the changes in the physicochemical and biological properties of sub-soil river water upon its storage in a man-made reservoir. Palar sub-soil and reservoir water samples were collated fortnightly for a period of 5 years (2010-2014). The open reservoir is used as a reliable raw water source for condenser cooling systems and for the demineralizing (DM) plant input of Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR), Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS), and other laboratories at Kalpakkam, southeast coast of India. Relatively high nutrient concentration was observed in the Palar sub-soil water, and a significant reduction in average concentration (µmol l-1) of phosphate (Palar 1.92; open reservoir 1.54) and nitrate (Palar 9.78; open reservoir 5.67) was observed from Palar to open reservoir. Substantial increase in pH (Palar 8.05; open reservoir 8.45), dissolved oxygen (mg l-1) (Palar 6.07; open reservoir 8.47), and chlorophyll-a (mg m-3) (Palar 1.66; open reservoir 8.43) values were noticed from the Palar sub-soil water to open reservoir water. It is concluded that sub-soil water with higher nutrient concentrations when stored openly, exposing to the sun, resulted in growth of plants, planktonic, and macrophytes, which led to substantial deterioration in water quality from its utility point of view as a condenser cooling medium and raw water input for DM plant.