Application of Fuzzy Multi-criteria Approach to Assess the Water Quality of River Ganges

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to develop a fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making framework to evaluate the water quality status of a river basin. The rampant and indiscriminate growth in the urban, agricultural, and industrial sector has directly or indirectly disrupted the water quality of the major rivers by discharging mammoth quantities of wastewaters. Regular and accurate evaluation of water quality of a river has become an important task of water authorities. However, the conventional way of evaluating water quality index has been unsuccessful in incorporating uncertainties and subjectivities associated with water quality analysis. Such limitations can be dealt effectively by using fuzzy logic concepts. The present study proposes an Interactive Fuzzy Water Quality Index (IFWQI) to evaluate the water quality status of river Ganges at Kanpur city, India. Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) tool namely Fuzzy Inference System (FIS) of MATLAB has been used to obtain a qualitative and quantitative measure of water quality index at six different sites of Kanpur throughout the year by taking into consideration the six important water quality parameters. The results indicate a significant improvement in the accuracy of the index values and thus providing emphatic information to the planners to decide the remedial measures for sustainable management of river Ganges.