Hydrological influences on the water quality trends in Tamiraparani basin, south India

Water quality variables - Turbidity, pH, Electrical Conductivity (EC), Chlorides and Total Hardness (TH) were monitored at a downstream location in the Tamiraparani River during 1978 1992. The observations were made at weekly intervals in a water treatment and supply plant using standard methods. Graphical and statistical analyses were used for data exploration, trend detection and assessment. Box-Whisker plots of annual and seasonal changes in variables indicated apparent trends being present in the data and their response to the seasonal influence of the monsoon rainfall. Further, the examination of the median values of the variables indicated that changes in the direction of trend occurred during 1985 - 1986, especially in pH, EC and TH. The statistical analyses were done using non-parametric methods, the ANCOVA on rank transformed data and the Seasonal Man-Kendall test. The presence of monotonic trend in all the water quality variables was confirmed, however, with independent direction of change. The trend line was fitted by the method of least squares. The estimated values indicated significant increases in EC (28 muS cm(-1)) while significant decreases were observed in turbidity ( 90 NTU), pH ( 0.78), and total hardness ( 23 ppm) in a span of 15 years. The changes induced in river flow by the addition of a stabilizing reservoir, the influence of seasonal and spatial pattern of monsoon rainfall across the river basin and the increased agriculture appear causative factors for the water quality trends seen in the Tamiraparani River system.