A study on the quality of the water-resources of cuttack city

Abstract

Cuttack is a delta surrounded by the Mahanadi and the Kathajodi rivers on the eastern coast of Odisha. It has been the heart of all business activities and many industries of the state on account of easy access and its location from the old days. As the days passed by, the city constantly experienced a penetrating population from the outskirts as well as from various parts of the state. Due to the presence of rivers on both the sides, the city is restricted to expand its land area and it has been the sole reason for such a thickly populated scenario now-a-days. According to the 2011 census, the population density of Cuttack is about 666/km2 and the population of the city is 26,18,764.
The chemical and poisonous effluents from the industries are also heavily affecting the atmosphere and water sources which are the surface water and ground water. The surface water mainly constitutes of the Kathajodi and Mahanadi rivers. There also lie a considerable amount of non-point sources on both the sides of these two rivers which can never be neglected as they have a typical impact on the water quality. These sources discharge into the rivers in plenty due to the lack of stringent rules and regulations.
As the city collects its water from the two rivers and a considerable amount of population depends upon the river directly for their daily use, a study has become necessary in the present days to determine suitability of these river water for health and industrial purposes.