Seasonal Bacteriological Analysis of Gola River Water Contaminated with Pulp Paper Mill Waste in Uttaranchal, India

Abstract

The seasonal physico-chemical and microbial quality of Gola river water has been analyzed after confluence of pulp paper mill waste. The study revealed that it has enhanced 20–30 times pollution load of BOD, COD, TDS, TSS, sulphate, chloride, sodium, nitrate, potassium, lignin and phenol after mixing of pulp paper mill waste with river water in all season. Further, it induced the bacterial growth by increasing most probable number value of E. coli was 1.57 × 10⁴, 1.6 × 10⁴, 1.37 × 10⁴and SPC count was 1.68 × 10⁴, 1.64 × 10⁴, 1.67 × 10⁴/100 ml during summer, monsoon, winter respectively. While the most probable number value in river water before mixing of pulp paper mill waste was 1.4 × 10², 1.82 × 10², 1.5 × 10²and SPC count was 2.8 × 10³, 2.89 × 10³, 2.78 × 10³/100 ml during summer, monsoon and winter respectively. This indicated from 88 –114 fold increase in most probable number value of E. coli and 56.55 –60.0 times increase in SPC count of river water after mixing of effluent in summer, monsoon and winter. Moreover, the most probable number value in effluent itself before mixing was 3.4 × 10², 3.3 × 10², 2.8 × 10²and SPC count was 6 × 10⁴, 6.5 × 10⁴, 6 × 10⁴/100 ml during summer, monsoon, winter, respectively. Furthermore, it was revealed that the seasonal variation also regulated the bacterial population dynamics as per the physico-chemical quality, in which E. coli was found highest at the rate of (5.9 × 10⁴), E. aerogenes (5.3 × 10⁴), P. aeruginosa (1.3 × 10⁴), S. aureus (3.2 × 10³), K. pneumoniae (2.6 × 10⁴), Enteritidis (1.1 × 10⁴) on monsoon season and V. cholerae (7.4 × 10²), V. vulnificus (9.2 × 10²)/100 ml in river water when contaminated with pulp paper mill waste in monsoon season. Thus, the monsoon season showed presence of FC and TC indicated the thermo-tolerant and disease causing group of bacterial population in effluent and its sequence was observed as monsoon>summer>winter. This indicated the growth of many pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacteria for health hazards with contamination of pulp paper waste in aquatic ecosystem within the vicinity of pulp paper mill industry.