IMPACT OF TEHRI DAM ON WATER QUALITY

Abstract

Water is an integral part of life. At the same time power is also having a very important role in life. Wherever we produce power by damming a river, we have to see the impact of damming on water quality. In present study, the Tehri Dam has been chosen to study the impact on water quality. To find out the impact, five sampling locations have been fixed. The sampling locations has been fixed such that two are located at upstream of Bhagirathi river, two are at upstream of Bhilangana river and one at downstream of the dam. The samples has been taken and tested for different parameters in the laboratory. In all nine parameters have been measured and Water Quality Index has been calculated. The inference has been drawn that how the Tehri Dam impacts the water quality in the downstream. The five sampling stations has been fixed as 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 naming Goonty, Ghansali, Chinyali Saur Dharasu and Zero-Point Bridge, respectively. The NSFWQI has been averaged for different months and different sites. Finally, after the analysis and discussion, conclusion has been drawn. After studying the water quality in upstream and downstream and comparing with past data, no significant impact of Tehri Dam on downstream water quality is found