Water quality assessment of a river basin under fuzzy multi-criteria framework

Abstract

In this paper fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) has been developed to evaluate status of water quality at eight selected stations along river Yamuna. A decision support mechanism has been introduced to select and prioritise stations with specific reference to five important beneficial uses namely, domestic, irrigation, aquatic life, industrial, and recreational activities. Various water quality parameters have been considered as criteria to evaluate water quality status at a given station with respect to particular usage. Pairwise comparisons of the criteria and the stations have been performed to assess water quality using linguistic variables. The eight stations chosen for the study in Yamuna basin are Hathnikund, Sonepat, Palla, Nizamuddin-Delhi, Mathura, Agra, Etawah and Allahabad. Analysis of results reveal that first three stations score highest rank with respect to all beneficial uses as they are relatively free from industrial and municipal contamination. However as the water enters Delhi, it gets heavily contaminated mainly due to wastewater discharged from several municipal drains and industrial activities. The prioritisations of stations with respect to designated uses presented herein are helpful to the decision makers and the implementing agencies to formulate suitable strategies for effective and sustainable utilisation of water in the river basin