Effect of Seasonal Variations and Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Lockdown on Water Quality Status of Hindon River, Ghaziabad

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) ascertained as a global pandemic that hit most countries during the first quarter (FQ) of 2020, and lockdown (LKD) has been enforced at different levels to cope with the situation, and most of the industrial and commercial activities were halted during this period. Hence, the present study has been introduced to assess the impact of the COVID-19 LKD coupled with seasonal variations (SVs) on the water quality status of the Hindon River (HR), Ghaziabad (GZB). The report includes secondary data analysis of different water quality parameters (WQPs), viz., dissolved oxygen (DO), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), fecal coliform (FC), and total coliform (TC). BOD and DO are the preliminary indicators of organic load, and analysis of FC and TC determines the overall pathogen load in water bodies. The effect of seasonal variations, i.e., pre-monsoon (PRM), monsoon (MS), and post-monsoon (POM) at sampling locations designated by the monitoring body at HR (GZB stretch), viz., Mohan Nagar road bridge (MNRB), Karheda village (KV), and Chijarsi bridge (CB) was investigated for 2019 to 2021. DO level was comparatively higher during 2020 at sampling stations (SLSs) MNRB and KV. BOD reductions were ~17–40% during the LKD phase at SLSs KV and CB compared to PRD and PLD. The SVs significantly influence the DO and BOD at all the SLSs. The water samples during the PRM of 2020 showed lower BOD levels compared to 2019 and 2021 at all the SLSs. FC/TC ratio was highest at the LKD phase at all the SLSs. The coliform load was greater at SLS CB than at MNRB and KV. A strong positive correlation was obtained between TC-BOD and FC-BOD at the LKD phase during all the SVs. Based on the WQPs analysis, CB was found to be the most contaminated sampling location. Despite higher coliform loads, the LKD phase experienced overall improvements in DO and BOD levels.