Assessment of Water Quality of the Gomti River in Sultanpur District during the Post-Monsoon Season

Abstract

This study characterises reported physicochemical water-quality measurements at five Gomti River locations in Sultanpur District, Uttar Pradesh, during a post-monsoon sampling period. At Kudwar, Gola, Dhobi, Papar and Dhopap Ghats, pH ranged from 8.39 to 8.78, electrical conductivity from 537.4 to 575.4 µS/cm, total dissolved solids from 263.2 to 278.0 mg/L, hardness from 354 to 380 mg/L and alkalinity from 303 to 330 mg/L. Dissolved oxygen ranged from 10.16 to 12.40 mg/L, five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD₅) from 6.88 to 8.48 mg/L, and chemical oxygen demand from 43.2 to 62.4 mg/L. All five BOD₅ values exceeded the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) Class B criterion of 3 mg/L; pH exceeded 8.5 at two stations. Phosphate ranged from 1.91 to 14.51 mg/L, but its analytical reporting basis is not sufficiently documented for quantitative interpretation alongside phosphorus. The observations support a preliminary site-level description, not assignment of drinking-water suitability, long-term bathing-water classification or pollution-source attribution. Interpretation is constrained by unavailable sampling dates and replication information and unresolved quality-control questions concerning dissolved oxygen, free carbon dioxide and phosphorus reporting.