Water Quality of River Beas, India

This article is a review of the pollution status of River Beas, India as analysed by different workers over a period of time. River-water pollution is an important environmental problem because it is the main source of water for consumption by humans as well as aquatic species living in the river. Water quality index was determined using nine standard water quality parameters for River Beas and was found to be 60.93. The mean values of dissolved oxygen (DO) (8.82 mg/l), biological oxygen demand (BOD) (0.87 mg/l) and total coliform (1451.60 MPN/100 ml) were found for River Beas in Himachal Pradesh. The mean values of DO (7.29 mg/l), BOD (3.75 mg/l), chemical oxygen demand (COD) (48.89 mg/l) and total coliforms (562.88 MPN/100 ml) were also found for River Beas in Punjab. DO, COD, BOD and total coliforms ranges of the river were found above permissible limits of BIS for drinking water.