Water Quality Modelling Qual 2KW for River Tungabhadra (India).

Abstract

The River Tungabhadra takes its course through the Davangere district of Karnataka state of India. Along this course lies Harihar, the administrative headquarters of Harihar Taluk and other villages which are linear settlements on the bank of the River. These human settlements discharge untreated domestic waste and industrial effluent into the water as it flows. Therefore, it is imperative to study the degree of pollution of this water and ascertain its suitability for various uses. In this study, we shall make use of QUAL2Kw water quality model to predict the quality of water in the sections of the River that have been polluted. While making use of this Model, it was calibrated and validated for Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), and Total Nitrogen (TN) during the pre-monsoon season. The data derived from the field and laboratory measurements were applied for the calibration and validation. The statistical method applied for the evaluation of the model performance was Standard Errors (SE) and Mean Multiplicative Error (MME). It was found that the Model is a good representation of the field data, but there are some minor exceptions. Although there are differences between the simulated data and the one measured in some instances, the results of the calibration and validation data are still acceptable. This type of result is applicable, especially in developing nations, where there are insufficient funds for frequent monitoring campaigns or more accurate research methodologies.