This book covers water quality indices (WQI) in depth – it describes what purpose they serve, how they are generated, what are their strengths and weaknesses, and how to make the best use of them. It is a concise and unique guide to WQIs for chemists, chemical/environmental engineers and government officials. Whereas it is easy to express the quantity of water, it is very difficult to express its quality because a large number of variables determine the water quality. WQIs seek to resolve the difficulty by translating a set of a large number of variables to a one-digit or a two-digit numeral. They are essential in communicating the status of different water resources in terms of water quality and the impact of various factors on it to policy makers, service personnel, and the lay public. Further they are exceedingly useful in the monitoring and management of water quality. With the importance of water and water quality increasing exponentially, the importance of this topic is also set to increase enormously because only with the use of indices is it possible to assess, express, communicate, and monitor the overall quality of any water source. Provides a concise guide to WQIs: their purpose and generation Compares existing methods and WQIs and outlines strengths and weaknesses Makes recommendations on how the indices should be used and under what circumstances they apply

The Author Has Further Enlighted How Under Stressed Condition Fish And Other Biological Organisms Are Surviving Which Results A Progressive Decline In Fish Population And Fish Food Organism. The Book Highlites Detailed Information On Various Aspects Of The Past And Present Status Of The Ganga River System Like: High Rate Of Deforestation, Recurring Annual Slit Precipitation Indicated By High Value Of Shape Factor, Reduced Water Holding Capacity Of The River, And Its Tributaries, Low Water Flow And Its Velocity, Shifting Of River Course And Its Tributaries Resulting Information Of Ox-Bow Lakes, Mendor Loops, Dead Arms, Chars, Tals And Ruins Of Settlements, Abstraction Of Water For Agriculture, Industrial And Urban Uses, Nature Of Waste Water Disposed, Pollution Load Their Ratio With Unpolluted Water In Different States, Changes In The Physico-Chemical And Biological Parameters, Metallic And Pesticide Pollution, Bio-Accumulation Of Metals In Aquatic Life Including Fish, Fishing In Shallow Inundated Areas, (Ox-Blow Lakes, Chars Mans Etc.), Status Of Juvenile Fishery In The Total Catch, Fish Seed Resources Its Future, Breeding Grounds, Impact Of Dams And Barrages On Fishery Potential Etc. And Over All Stressed Environment And The Aquatic Life And Finally Conservation And Management Of The River System Under Existing Economic Condition. The Author Has Taken Immense Pains To Provide An Up To Date Information Of The Ganga River System On The Above Aspects In This Book. Contents: Chapter 1: Introduction, Chapter 2: Physiology And Hydrology, Chapter 3: Tributaries And Their Role, Chapter 4: Major Canal Projects In The Ganga Basin, Chapter 5: Irrigation Projects And Abstration Of Water, Chapter 6: Deforestation Vis-A-Vis Soil Erosion, Chapter 7: Sediment Load And Nature Of Soil, Chapter 8: Remnants Of Riverbeds Due To Shifting Of Its Course, Chapter 9: Industrial Wastes: Theie Pollution Load Disposed Into The Ganga, Chapter 10: Ecological Imbalance Of The Ganga, Chapter 11: Impact On Biota Around The Outfall And The Main River: Their Pollution Status, Chapter 12: Limnological Studies: Physico Chemical Characteristics, Biological Characteristics, Chapter 13: Fish And Fisheries: Commercial Catch, Status Of Juvenile Fishery In Commercial Stock, Fishseed Resources, Prospects Of Beel/Mann Fishery, Fish Culture In Fluviatile Waters, Fishing Gear And Their Mode Of Operation, Chapter 14: Tributaries: Their Pollution Problems And Impact On Biomass, Chapter 15: Overall Stressed Environment And Biotic Life, Chapter 16: Environmental Changes Vis-A-Vis Riverine Ecology, Chapter 17: The Ganga And The Bhagirathi - Hooghly: Their Past And Present, Chapter 18: Conservation And Management Of The River System, Chapter 19: Suggestions For Future Investigation, Chapter 20: A World On Gap : A Scientific Study.

There is a plethora of information available on the river Ganga in the form of books, blogs, articles, websites, videos. Unfortunately, most of the information about this famous river is in a scattered form and reproduced from unverified sources. This contributed volume is the first multi-author volume publication on this subject. The River Ganga includes a vast array of topics written by several authors of distinction. Topics include; hydrology, tributaries, water uses, and environmental features such as river water quality, aquatic and terrestrial flora/fauna, natural resources, ecological characteristics, sensitive environmental components and more. Part I gives a basic introduction of the Ganga river. The existing data and available information from various sources has been compiled in a pictorial fashion in the form of cmaps. Its cultural importance with changing times is also discussed. Part II looks at the rich biodiversity of the Ganga Basin. It gives a detailed description of the major floral and faunal biodiversity with special emphasis on the national aquatic animal dolphin and Sunderbans, the largest mangrove wetland in the world. Part III examines ‘The Ganga Water as it flows’. It focuses on the water quality as well as its associated challenges. Part IV looks at the complexities of issues confronting the river ‘Ganga in changing times’ be it snowmelt runoff, river bank erosion hazards and hydropower assessments; how the factors of population, poverty and pollution contribute to the fate of the river. Part IV touches on economic aspects derived from the river such as business opportunities and tourism.

This book deals with environmental effects on both sides of the border between Bangladesh and India caused by the Ganges water diversion. This issue came to my attention in early 1976 when news media in Bangladesh and overseas, began publications of articles on the unilateral withdrawal of a huge quantity of water from the Ganges River through the commissioning of the Farakka Barrage in India. I first pursued the subject professionally in 1984 while working as a contributor for Bangladesh Today, Holiday and New Nation. During the next two decades, I followed the protracted hydro-political negotiations between the riparian countries in the Ganges basin, and I traveled extensively to observe the environmental and ecological changes in Bangladesh as well as India that occurred due to the water diversion. The Ganges, one of the longest rivers of the world originates at the Gangotri glacier in the Himalayas and flows across the plains of North India. Eventually the river splits into two main branches and empties into the Bay of Bengal. The conflict of diversion and sharing of the Ganges water arose in the middle of the last century when the government of India decided to implement a barrage at Farakka to resolve a navigation problem at the Kolkata Port.

The Ganges is one of the most complex yet fascinating river systems in the world. The basin is characterized by a high degree of heterogeneity from climatic, hydrological, geomorphological, cultural, environmental and socio-economic perspectives. More than 500 million people are directly or indirectly dependent upon the Ganges River Basin, which spans China, Nepal, India and Bangladesh. While there are many books covering one aspect of the Ganges, ranging from hydrology to cultural significance, this book is unique in presenting a comprehensive inter-disciplinary overview of the key issues and challenges facing the region. Contributors from the three main riparian nations assess the status and trends of water resources, including the Himalayas, groundwater, pollution, floods, drought and climate change. They describe livelihood systems in the basin, and the social, economic, geopolitical and institutional constraints, including transboundary disputes, to achieving productive, sustainable and equitable water access. Management of the main water-use sectors and their inter-linkages are reviewed, as well as the sustainability and trade-offs in conservation of natural systems and resource development such as for hydropower or agriculture.

Ecological Significance of Riparian Ecosystems: Challenges and Management Strategies examines the current issues related to river ecosystems, their environmental importance, pollution issues and potential management strategies. The book is divided into 4 key themes: Basics of river ecosystem, Natural phenomenon of river ecosystem, Human-induced problems of river ecosystem, and Management measures for the river ecosystem. Through these four themes, the contributors present both practical and theoretical aspects of river ecosystem in changing climate. An emphasis has been made on the recent research of climate change and its impact on the river ecosystem. River ecosystems have tremendous potential to store CO2, however, with changing climatic and anthropogenic activities, these habitats are under threat, and river ecosystems are losing the very vital service of storing carbon. Unlike well documented terrestrial biodiversity, the biodiversity in aquatic ecosystems is still unrecognized to some extent. Presents an understanding of the biogeochemical processes of river ecosystems achieved by food webs and diverse biogeochemical processes Covers sediment dynamics and nutrient chemistry - hot topics in river ecosystems Includes environmental pollution issues in river ecosystems from various anthropogenic activities