6.6.

2 Sediment Rating Curve

A sediment rating curve relates the suspended sediment concentration in a river with water
discharge . Commonly, the relation is of the following form:
C = a Qb (6.2)

where C is the suspended sediment concentration (mg/l), Q is the discharge (m3/s), and a and b
are constants. A typical sediment rating curve is shown in Fig. 6.5. Conventionally, discharge
and sediment concentration are plotted on a log-log graph paper and a straight line is drawn.
Usually, the power equation is log transformed, and linear regression is applied to estimate the
parameters. A least squares method can be used to obtain the values of parameters a and b.
Typically, exponent b in eq. (6.2) lies in the range between 2 and 3.

In a plot between, discharge and sediment concentration there will be a large scatter in
points. One reason behind this scatter is that soil erosion rates in a watershed are not the same
during different seasons of the year. If the scatter is large, it might be necessary to develop
separate rating curves for different seasons or according to streamflow generation mechanisms,
such as rainfall, snowmelt, etc. The data pertaining to rising and falling limbs of the hydrograph
may also be separated to improve the relationship.

A sediment rating curve is mainly applied to obtain the value of sediment concentration
for a given discharge. Along with the flow duration curve at a given location, the sediment rating
curve can also be used to estimate the amount of sediment transport over a period of time, say a
year. Another important use of sediment rating curve is in estimation of the impact of land use
changes and watershed management on sediment yield.

y = 0.1236x - 264.83
R² = 0.5833
Sediment Conc.

Discharge

Fig. 6.5 A typical sediment rating relationship.

6.6.3 Processing of Bed Material Data

Data pertaining to mean diameter, type and grade of sediment are helpful for correct appraisal of
the behavior of rivers such as braiding, scouring, sedimentation etc. This behavior depends on
flow velocity, slope of river bed, type of catchment, and quantum and type of bed material.
6.7 Water Quality Standards
Water quality standards may be classified as ambient water quality standards, specific water use
related standards and effluent water quality standards.
The Central Pollution Control Board has classified the inland surface waters into 5 categories - A
to E on the basis of the best possible use of the water as shown in Table 6.2. The classification
has been made in such a manner that the water quality requirement becomes progressively lower
from class A to class E.
A water body may be subjected to more than one organised use. The use demanding the
highest quality is the designated best use. A water body or stretch of river whose existing water
quality does not meet the designated best use criteria requires action to mitigate the situation.
Based on such analysis river action plans are formulated.

Table 6.2 Primary water quality criteria for various uses of fresh water
Designated best use Class Criteria
Drinking water source A 1. Total coliform organisms MPN/100mL shall be 50 or less.
without conventional 2. pH between 6.5 and 8.5
treatment but after 3. Dissolved oxygen 6 mg/L or more
disinfection 4. Biochemical oxygen demand 2 mg/L or less
Outdoor bathing B 1. Total coliform organisms MPN/100mL shall be 500 or less
(organised) 2. pH between 6.5 and 8.5
3. Dissolved oxygen 5 mg/L or more
4. Biochemical oxygen demand 3 mg/L or less
Drinking water source C 1. Total coliform organisms MPN/ 100mL shall be 5000 or
with conventional less
treatment followed by 2. pH between 6 and 9
disinfection 3. Dissolved oxygen 4 mg/L or more
4. Biochemical oxygen demand 3 mg/L or less
Propagation of wild life, D 1. pH between 6.5 and 8.5
fisheries 2. Dissolved oxygen 4 mg/L or more
3. Free ammonia (as N) 1.2 mg/L or less
Irrigation, industrial E 1. pH between 6.0 and 8.5
cooling, controlled waste 2. Electrical conductivity less than 2250 micro mhos/cm
disposal 3. Sodium absorption ratio less than 26
4. Boron less than 2mg/L
Source: Central Pollution Control Board, Govt. of India.

6.7.1 Water Quality Index

A number of attempts have been made to develop an aggregate index to denote quality of water
based on broad categories (physical, chemical, and biological). Within each category, a number
of quality variables may be employed and the suitability of a given water source for an intended
use depends on the magnitude of these quality variables. To describe water quality, it is useful to
employ a subindex of a quality variable to indicate the quality of the water on a zero (worst
quality) to unity (best quality) scale. In this context, a variety of subindices have been proposed
over the last two decades. Swamee and Tyagi (2000) conceived the following general
aggregation form:
k
 N

I = 1  N   si1 / k  (6.3)
 i 1 
where N = number of subindices, k = a positive constant, and si is ith subindex.

6.8 Water Quality Monitoring in India

India has 14 major rivers basins (each with a catchment area exceeding 20,000 sq. km) and these
account for 85% of the total surface runoff. Over the time, most of the rivers in India have
become grossly polluted in various stretches. Regular monitoring networks started coming up in
the seventies. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is now operating water quality
monitoring networks on major rivers under Global Environmental Monitoring System (GEMS)
and Monitoring of National Aquatic Resources (MINARS) programmes either directly or
through State Pollution Control Boards (SPCB). Some state pollution control boards have their
own monitoring stations. In addition, the Central Water Commission (CWC) is monitoring water
quality at a number of stations on almost all the major rivers. The National River Conservation
Directorate (NRCD) has also started monitoring river water quality under its action plans.
The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) is maintaining a countrywide network of
groundwater level and quality stations. Details are given at their web-site: www.gov.in.
Groundwater data are also collected by various state agencies and some pollution control boards.
It can be noted that a number of agencies are collecting water quality data. As
maintenance of water quality networks is expensive, there is a need to clearly state the objectives
of the programmes and optimize the effort where possible

6.9 Closure
Monitoring, modeling, and management of water quality of various sources of water has become
very important for India because many of our rivers and lakes are highly polluted. In fact, some
rivers are so polluted that they resemble a dirty water drain. A disturbing recent trend is that the
aquifers are also being polluted by seepage of polluted water from surface and rivers; some
industries are pumping polluted water in the aquifers to avoid treatment and escape detection by
enforcement agencies. Urgent actions are needed to restore water quality of the sources so that
the ecosystems remain in healthy conditions and provide sustainable benefits to the society.

6.10 REFERENCES
McCutcheon, S.C., Martin, J.L, and Barnwell, T.O. (1993). Water Quality. In Handbook of
Hydrology, Edited by D.R. Maidment. McGraw-Hill Inc., New York.
Reichel, G. (1998). Suspended sediment monitoring: Use of Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler.
In Encyclopedia of Hydrology and Water Resources, edited by Herchy, R.W., and Fairbridge,
R.W. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.
Swamee, Prabhata K. and Aditya Tyagi (2000). Describing water quality with aggregate index.
Journal of Environmental Engineering, ASCE, 126(5), 451-455.
WMO(1988). Manual on water quality monitoring -- planning and implementation of sampling
and field testing. Operational Hydrology Report No. 27, WMO No. 680. World
Meteorological Organization, Geneva.
WMO(1989). Management of ground water observation programmes. Operational Hydrology
Report No. 31, WMO No. 705. World Meteorological Organization, Geneva.
WMO (2008). Guide to Hydrological Practices. Volume I: Hydrology – From Measurement to
Hydrological Information. WMO No. 168. World Meteorological Organization, Geneva.