Qualitative Evaluation of Ground Water Resources with the Development of Pollution Index and Human Health Risk Analysis in Hindon River Basin Uttar Pradesh India

Abstract

Groundwater pollution is a significant environmental concern, particularly in river basins newlinethat are heavily influenced by industrial activities. The Hindon River Basin in India has newlinebeen significantly affected by industrial and domestic discharges, resulting the newlinedeterioration of both groundwater and surface water quality and posing serious ecological newlineand human health risks. This research provides a comprehensive qualitative evaluation of newlinegroundwater resources in the basin by integrating multiple studies: (1) a 12-year Hindon newlineRiver s water quality assessment at Galheta Station (2009 2020), (2) a detailed study of newlinethe Hindon River at Ghaziabad in 2022, and (3) a groundwater study in the Hindon River newlineBasin across district Baghpat and Ghaziabad (2022 2023). The study employs various newlinepollution indices, including the Water Quality Index (WQI), Heavy Metal Pollution Index newline(HPI), Degree of Contamination (Cdeg), and Ecological Risk Index (ERI), along with newlineHuman Health Risk Assessment (HHRA), to analyze pollution levels and associated risks. newlineA long-term study at Galheta Station in the Baghpat district (U.P.) indicates a progressive newlinedecline in the water quality of the Hindon River, attributed to the continuous discharge of newlineindustrial and domestic effluents. The findings indicated that the water quality of the newlineHindon River consistently fell into Class D or E as per the Bureau of Indian Standards newline(BIS) (IS: 2296:1992), failing to meet the prescribed limits of BIS (IS:10500:2012) and the newlinewater quality guidelines established by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2011) newline