Physico-Chemical Characterization of Wastewater in Paharang Drain, Faisalabad

Abstract

This research attempts to characterise wastewater in Paharang Drain, Faisalabad as it traverses through industrial clusters, human settlements and vast agricultural fields and receives all kinds of effluents. The aim was to study temporal and spatial variations in the drain water in terms of selected physico-chemical parameters and drain flow rates. The data so generated may be beneficial for designing a pilot scale wastewater treatment plant.  Wastewater samples were collected at six different points along the active stretch of the drain. The drain was found significantly contaminated in terms of high concentrations of total dissolved solids (TDS), total suspended solids (TSS), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), chlorides, oil and grease, as levels of these parameters were significantly higher than recommended by Pakistan National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS). Results indicated that reuse of such wastewater for crop irrigation would not only adversely affect the soil fertility but also the crop yield and quality. Poor groundwater quality near drain demonstrated that infiltration of drain wastewater has already deteriorated the quality of the upper aquifer.