1、*Corresponding author:Email-37Impact Assessment of Heavy Metal Pollution of ShahpuraLake,Bhopal,IndiaDixit,S.*and Tiwari,S.Applied Chemistry Department,Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology,Bhopal,IndiaABSTRACT:Monitoring and Assessment of water has become environmental concern due to thecon
2、tamination by man kind.One of the most important crises of the 21st century is the availability ofdrinking water,a resource basic to our survival and growth.Most of the fresh water bodies all overthe world are getting polluted thus decreasing the suitability of the fresh water.The area of thestudy,s
3、elected to estimate the levels of water pollution is the Shahpura lake of Bhopal,the statecapital of Madhya Pradesh Province of India.The area under study receives domestic raw sewagefrom surrounding habitation;so also the activities like cattle washing,cloth washing,bathing,religious activities lik
4、e idol immersion etc paves the way for high concentration of harmful chemicalsin the lake water.Parameters like water temperature,concentration of heavy metals like lead,copper,cadmium,manganese,chromium were studied every month for a period of six months and seasonalvariations were observed in each
5、 of them using standard methods.It was found that the concentrationof the heavy metals in the lake water substantially increased after the religious activities like idolimmersion around August and September.These heavy metals have a marked effect on the aquaticflora and fauna which through bio magni
6、fication enter the food chain and ultimately affect thehuman beings as well.Key words:Pigments,Heavy metals,Religious activity,Lake,SewageINTRODUCTION“Just as the world we inherited today is whatour past generation left on us,the futuregenerations would inherit the legacy we leave forthem.”Water is
7、essential for life on earth.Wateris a unique liquid,without it,life as we know isimpossible.Water the“Elixir of Life”is facing asevere threat due to pollution.Water,due to itsgreat solvent power,is constantly threatened toget polluted easily.The requirement of water inall forms of lives,from micro-o
8、rganisms to man,is a serious problem today because all waterresources have been reached to a point of crisisdue to unplanned urbanization and industrializationSingh,et al.,2002).The topic of our concern hereis pollution of lake water.Water pollution refersto any type of aquatic contamination renderi
9、ngthe water body poisoned by toxic chemicals,whichaffect living organisms and all forms of life.Heavymetals constitute an important group ofenvironmentally hazardous substances.During thiscentury,many lakes in India have received elevatedinputs of heavy metals as a result of an increasein atmospheri
10、c deposition.To study the extent ofpollution in surface waters,we have selected theShahpura Lake,which is situated in one of theposh localities of Bhopal,the capital city of stateof Madhya Pradesh,India.It receives domesticraw sewage from surrounding habitation;so alsothe activities like cattle wash
11、ing,cloth washing,bathing,religious activities like idol immersion etcpaves the way for high concentration of hazardouschemicals in the lake waters.The domestic wastewater contributes the largest source of heavymetal concentration in the lake,so it is expectedthat this reservoir can serve as a model
12、 for studyingheavy metal concentration.The immersion of idolsof Lord Ganesha and Deity Durga during GaneshUtsav and Nav Ratris festival is a major sourceof contamination of lake water.The idol immersion Received 15 Mar 2007;Revised 17 Sep.2007;Accepted 28 Sep.200738Dixit,S.and Tiwari,S.activity is a
13、n anthropogenic activity which isresponsible for adding pollution load in the lake.The idols are being made up of clay,hay,cloth,paper,wood,bamboo,thermo coal,adhesivematerial,paints,colored pigments etc,Bajpai(2002).Apart from it a large number of heavymetals are contributed by corrosion of metal p
14、ipes.Runoff waters from surroundings during rainyseason are rich in heavy metals like Cu,Cr,andPb etc.Lead from automobiles released intoatmosphere find its way in the run off waters.The discharge of heavy metals in the environmenthas much obvious impact on aquatic systems.There may be an increase i
15、n residue levels inwater,sediments and biota,decreased productivityand increase in exposure of humans to harmfulsubstances,Moore(1984).Prapurna Naga(2002)carried out the analysis of heavy metal ionspresent in the lake water of Hussain Sagar Lakeand found that the very presence of various heavymetal
16、ions in their dissolved state,are hinderingthe beneficial uses of the lake waters.The areaunder study having Latitude 230 12 00 E andLongitude 770 25 30 N enjoys a sub-tropicalclimate with pronounced summer,winter and rainyseasons.The lake,in most parts is muddy due tothe accumulation of silt but towards the north-western side,it has hard and clayey substratum.The maximum depth at full tank is 7-8 m and thedeepest point lies in the center of the reservoir.The main inlet,the nalla joins the lake
