Nirmala et al.

, International Journal of Advanced Engineering Technology E-ISSN 0976-3945

Research Paper
RIVER WATER QUALITY ANALYSIS BY FUZZY
APPROACH-A CASE STUDY OF CHUNNAMBAR RIVER
PONDICHERRY
K.R.Leelavathy1, V.Nirmala2* ,V.Nageshwaran1
Address for Correspondence
1
Department of Civil Engineering, University College of Engineering Tindivanam, A Constituent College of
Anna University Tamil Nadu, India.
2
Department of Mathematics, University College of Engineering Tindivanam, (A Constituent College of
Anna University) Tindivanam, Tamil Nadu, India.
ABSTRACT
This paper reports the utility of Fuzzy Inference System (FIS) in an innovative way to assess the Water Quality Index (WQI)
for Chunnambar River, Ariyankuppam, Puducherry Region, Southern India. Water quality management is an important issue
of relevance in the context of present times. The aim of the present study is to examine the influence of the various
parameters namely Dissolved oxygen (DO), Biological oxygen demand (BOD), pH, Total Coliforms (Tco) and Temperature
(Temp) on the potable quality of the river water. Two fuzzy inference systems, one with parameters DO,BOD and Tco and
the other with the result of first FSI, pH and Temp, are modeled. Application of these two fuzzy rule based optimization
models are illustrated with 12 samples collected during March’14 to February’15, from Chunnambar River. These samples
were analyzed for the above said parameters and the analysis showed good agreement with the WQI which is being
traditionally calculated in India. The Fuzzy Inference System (FIS) approach was a practical, simple and useful tool to assess
river water quality.
KEYWORDS: Water quality analysis, River water quality index, Chunnambar River, Fuzzy logic, Fuzzy inference system.
1 INTRODUCTION the distinct parameters involved. The applications of
A river is a system comprising both the main course artificial intelligence techniques have been used to
and the tributaries, carrying the one-way flow of a convert human experience into a form of
significant load of matter in dissolved and particulate understandable by computers and the artificial
phases from both natural and anthropogenic sources. intelligence has thus become a tool for modeling
Increasing dearth of water in developing countries water quality [4].
has made river water quality evaluation a relevant Fuzzy logic provides a powerful and convenient
issue in recent years. The quality, quantity and formalism for classifying environmental conditions
availability of drinking water are one of the most and for describing both natural and anthropogenic
important environmental, social and political issues changes. Whereas traditional indices are based either
at global level. Generally, the water quality reports on crisp sets with discontinuous boundaries between
prepared from the survey data with emphasis on them, or on continuous variables whose values are
individual parameters is suitable only for specialists only meaningful to experts, fuzzy sets make it
and not for managers and decision makers. Another possible to combine these approaches. From fuzzy
crucial issue in the assessment of quality of drinking logic it can be used to classify and quantify
water is the number of parameters determining the environmental effects of a subjective nature and it
quality. In general, water resource professionals even provides formalism for dealing with missing
communicate drinking water quality status by data. Several authors used fuzzy logic and fuzzy
comparing the individual parameters with guideline inference tool to predict the river water quality [5-
values. But that would be too technical and would 14]. It is proposed that methods based on fuzzy set
not provide a whole picture on drinking water theory should be applied to the way the uncertainties
quality. To resolve this decision-making problem, in the decision-making on the drinking water quality
Horton [1] made a pioneering attempt to describe the can be handled. Keeping the importance of
water quality as Water Quality Index (WQI) which uncertainty handling in the drinking water quality
was further improved by the National Sanitation assessment and versatility of the fuzzy set theory in
Foundation (NSF) using Delphi technique [2]. the decision-making in the imprecise environment,
WQI is a mathematical tool to integrate the complex an attempt is made to classify the river water from
water quality data into a numerical score that the Chunnambar River, Pondicherry, southern India
describes the overall water quality status. To monitor for the drinking purposes.
water quality and to make qualitative and 2 METHODOLOGY
quantitative decisions based on real data has become 2.1 THE STUDY AREA
a challenge for environmental engineers over all The Pondicherry is a Union Territory, which has two
stages of the process, from data collection, storage tributary of River Sankaraparani that drains into the
and processing up to analyze and interpretation of Bay of Bengal on the southern side. River
the results. Uncertainties accumulate along this Sankaraparani is also known as river Gingee or
chain. The limitations and complexities of Varahanadhi. It originates from the source at hills of
deterministic models, as well as the approximations Malayanur in the South Arcot District of Tamil
involved in the traditional methods used to calculate Nadu,India. The River splits into two branches,
the water quality indices, motivated the development namely Chunnambar in the south and Ariankuppam
of a more advanced evaluation method, capable of River in the north. Both the rivers are not a perennial
integrating and accounting for the inaccurate , vague, river and it flows only during rainy season and floods
qualitative and fuzzy information that often (Source: Drainage Map of Pondicherry, Pondicherry
surrounds water quality [3]. There is an obvious need Town Planning Authority). Chunnambar River is
for more advanced techniques to assess the situated in Pondicherry, between Latitude 11°52’N
importance of water quality variables and to integrate and 11°53’N and Longitude 79°46’E and 79°49’E.

Int J Adv Engg Tech/Vol. VII/Issue II/April-June,2016/955-958

 Nirmala et al., International Journal of Advanced Engineering Technology
This is a fan medium river basin with drainage of
about approximately 102 Sq.kms. Chunnambar River
originates from the River Sankaraparani, at
Nallareddy Palayam (about 10 kms from the
seashore) usually gets cut off from, River
Sankaraparani. During the non-monsoon period the
water is more or less stagnant than the other seasons.
Pondicherry is about 293 sq. km. in aerial extent with
a total population of about 0.6 million [15]. Average
annual rainfall of the Pondicherry region is
approximately about 1100 mm. In general this region
is a flat peneplain with an average elevation of 15m
above MSL (mean sea level). The Chunnambar
River is a tropical heaven and at present it is a most
popular tourist spot which includes
Estuary/Backwater and a boat house. Due to
tremendous increase of population in this area, the
wastewater generation has also increased. The waste
generated from vicinity of Chunnambar River is let
out directly into the river, deteriorating the water
quality of the river. Also, the river is adversely
impacted by urban unplanned development and
industrial wastes for the past few years.
2.2 SAMPLING AND ANALYSIS
About 12 samples were collected seasonally for 1
year (March 2014 to February 2015) on monthly
intervals. The water samples were collected in pre-
cleaned plastic containers and were analyzed in
laboratory using standard methods determined by
Bureau of Indian Standards [16].
2.3 WATER QUALITY INDEX(WQI)
Water Quality Index is a mathematical instrument
used to transform large quantities of water quality
data into a single number which represents the
overall drinking water quality status. Generally,
Water Quality Indices are calculated in two steps.
The raw analytical results for selected water quality
parameters, having different units of measurement,
Table 1. Designated Best Use of Water, Cpcb
S. No Category Range of Designated Best
Index Scores Use
1 Excellent 75-100 Drinking water
source without
conventional
treatment but after
disinfection
2 Very 55-80 Outdoor
Good bathing(Organized)
3 Good 35-60 Drinking water
source after
conventional
treatment and
disinfection
4 Unfit 0-40 No Intended Use
3 FUZZY INFERENCE SYSTEM
3.1 FUZZY SETS
The theory of fuzzy sets was first introduced by
Zadeh [19] to model uncertainty in subjective
information. Fuzzy sets are defined as sets whose
members are vague objects. Data can generally be
received in terms of linguistic judgments and beliefs
(natural language), which can then be converted to
the form of fuzzy sets in order to provide a base for
Int J Adv Engg Tech/Vol. VII/Issue II/April-June,2016/955-958
E-ISSN 0976-3945
are transformed into unit less sub-index values.
These sub-indices are then aggregated using some
type of aggregation function to produce a WQI
value. In the present study, we proposed a Water
Quality Index (WQI) in an innovative manner which
can be generalized in 2 steps as described below.
2.3.1 PARAMETER SELECTION AND
CATEGORIZATION
In drinking water quality assessment, priority should
be given to those substances which are known to be
important to health, potability and which are known
to be present in significant concentrations in the
water source [17].Based on this fact, 5 parameters
were selected for the present study and these were
categorized into 2 groups on the basis of expert’s
opinion and having their importance with respect to
drinking water quality assessment. The parameters
which constitute the WQI are pH, Dissolved Oxygen
(D.O.), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (B.O.D.),
Total Coliform, and Temperature. In the above
mentioned parameters pH to Total Coliform is
referred from Indian Water Quality Index Classes of
CPCB [18] whereas the temperature is referred here
as qualifying criteria. Group 1 consists of the
parameters DO, BOD and Total Coliform whereas
pH, Temperature and the result of Group 1 are taken
as parameters in Group 2.
2.3.2 DEVELOPMENT OF SUB-INDEX
Sub-index (SI) development is one of the most
important factors for the concept of WQI. Sub-
indices are value functions to transform the different
units and dimensions of water quality parameters to
common scale between 0 and 100 based on drinking
water quality criteria published by CPCB [18].
2.4 CLASSIFICATION OF DRINKING
WATER QUALITY INDEX SCORES
Classification of Drinking Water Quality Index
scores is given in Table 1.
Class Water Quality Criteria
A 1.Total Coliforms Organism MPN/100ml
shall be 50 or less.
2.pH between 6.5 and 8.5.
3.Dissolved Oxygen 6mg/l or more.
4.Biochemical Oxygen Demand 5 days
20°C 2mg/l or less.
B 1. Total Coliforms Organism MPN/100ml
shall be 500 or less.
2. pH between 6.5 and 8.5.
3. Dissolved Oxygen 5mg/l or more.
4. Biochemical Oxygen Demand 5 days
20°C 3mg/l or less.
C 1.Total Coliforms Organism MPN/100ml
shall be 5000 or less.
2. pH between 6 to 9.
3.Dissolved Oxygen 4mg/l or more.
4.Biochemical Oxygen Demand 5 days
20°C 3mg/l or less.
D Not Meeting A, B& C Criteria.
logical and mathematical reasoning [20]. A fuzzy set
is represented by a membership function defined on
the universe of discourse. The universe of discourse
is the space where the fuzzy variables are defined.
The membership function gives the grade, or degree,
of membership within the set, of any element of the
universe of discourse. The membership function
maps the elements of the universe on to numerical
values in the interval [0, 1]. A membership function
 Nirmala et al., International Journal of Advanced Engineering Technology
value of zero implies that the corresponding element
is definitely not an element of the fuzzy set, while a
value of unit means that the element fully belongs to
the set. A grade of membership in between
corresponds to the fuzzy membership to set [21].
3.2 FUZZIFICATION
Fuzzification is the process of decomposing a system
input and/or output into one or more fuzzy sets.
Many types of curves can be used, but triangular or
trapezoidal shaped membership functions are the
most common. In this present study triangular
functions were utilized for input/ output variables.
Table 2. Range for Membership Functions for Parameters
S. Parameters Range for Membership Functions
No Low
1 DO (mg/l) 4-5
2 BOD (mg/l) 0-2
3 Total Coliforms(MPN/100ml) 0-50
4 pH 0 - 6.5
5 Temperature (°C) 10 - 20
Table 3. Range for Membership Functions for Groups
S.No Group Range for Membership Functions
Unfit Good
1 Group 1 0-40 35-60
2 Group 2 0-40 35-60
3 WQI 0-40 35-60
1.1 FUZZY RULE EVALUATION
There is no difference between Fuzzy rules and
standard rules. They take the familiar form “IF x is A,
THEN y is B”, where x and y are linguistic variables,
and where “A” and “B” are linguistic values. Under
classical logic, the THEN implication is true of the IF
condition, known as the antecedent, is evaluated as
true. For fuzzy rules, the implication is set to be true
to the same degree as the antecedent. Considering
two linguistic variables old and tall, and the rule “IF
old is A, THEN tall is B”, If A is instantiated to a
value then B is assigned to the value such that the
membership of B is the same as that for A, each to
their respective fuzzy sets. This process is known as
monotonic selection. Antecedents with more than one
statement are not a problem as the earlier rules for
fuzzy union (disjunction, OR) and intersection
(conjunction, AND) are applied. Similarly for
consequents with multiple parts, the resultant
antecedent membership is applied to all parts of the
consequent.
1.2 DEFUZZIFICATION
After fuzzy reasoning a linguistic output variable
which needs to be translated into a crisp value. The
objective is to derive a single crisp numeric value
that best represents the inferred fuzzy values of the
linguistic output variable. Defuzzification is such
inverse transformation which maps the output from
the fuzzy domain back into the crisp domain.
In this proposed model, Centroid of Area (COA)
method of defuzzification is used for determining the
output as expressed in Eq. (1) [22].
(1)
1.3 PROCESSING OF WQI
The parameters namely DO, BOD, and Tco are
selected as input variables for FIS of Group 1. Based
on Field experience and expert knowledge 14 rules
are designed in Group I. Out puts from Group 1
were combined with the parameters pH and
Int J Adv Engg Tech/Vol. VII/Issue II/April-June,2016/955-958
E-ISSN 0976-3945
Fuzzy sets span a region of input (or output) value
graphed with the membership. Any particular input is
interpreted from this fuzzy set and a degree of
membership is interpreted. The membership
functions should overlap to allow smooth mapping of
the system. The range for membership functions for
parameters and groups are given in the Table 2 &
Table 3 respectively. The process of fuzzification
allows the system inputs and outputs to be expressed
in linguistic terms so that rules can be applied in a
simple manner to express a complex system.
Medium High
5-6 6 - 10
2-3 3 - 200
50-500 500-3000
6.5 - 8.5 8.5 - 10
18 - 30
1 - 40
Very Good Excellent
55-80 75-100
55-80 75-100
55-80 75-100
Temperature and framed second FIS and a total of 8
rules was fired for the final assessment of river water
quality. The proposed fuzzy model is based on
Mamdani fuzzy model architecture and Max-Min
inference was applied. The fuzzy rules are coded
using MATLAB software.
Fig.1 shows the flow of the process, where the
parameters DO, BOD and Tco are processed by a
fuzzy inference system and then results of Group 1
are processed for a second time with pH,
Temperature using a new fuzzy inference system and
the end result is the fuzzy water quality index.
Fig. 1. Process Flow
2 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
The proposed water quality model was validated
using real time samples collected from the river. The
model was developed and evaluated by using
MATLAB software. For the validation of the model,
the water samples collected from the Chunnambar
River were used. The water samples were collected
from March 2014 to February 2015. According to
Table 4 & Table 5, the developed model predicts the
water quality of the Chunnambar River through two
fuzzy inference systems. The predictions were close
to the results obtained from the manual computation
based on the Indian Standards. It is quite evident that
the rivers are receiving huge amounts of organic
waste, when it passes through an urban setting. This
has been caused due to even increasing population.
This infers that the rivers are polluted to a greater
extend which mandates the strict enforcement of the
Water Act and development & implement of various
eminent water treatment technologies to save river
water quality for greater sustainable development.
 Nirmala et al., International Journal of Advanced Engineering Technology E-ISSN 0976-3945

Table 4. Simulation results for Fuzzy Inference System 1

S.No Month DO(mg/l) BOD(mg/l) Tco(MPN/100ml) Result by FIS1(Group1)
1 March’14 2.3 48.3 2600 20
2 April’14 2.7 142.6 1700 20
3 May’14 3.2 125.4 1110 20
4 June’14 3.1 128.2 1200 20
5 July’14 3.3 127.8 1320 20
6 August’ 14 3.8 138.9 1500 20
7 September’14 4.1 116.7 1050 20
8 October’14 3.9 132.7 1200 20
9 November’14 5.0 92.3 340 20
10 December’14 5.5 57.4 73 20
11 January’15 4.7 74.5 116 20
12 February’15 4 92.2 250 20
Table 5. Simulation results for prediction of WQI in Chunnambar River as per Indian Water
Quality Criteria
S.No Month pH Group1 Temperature Result by FIS2(Group2) WQI
1 March’14 7.49 20 30 20 Unfit
2 April’14 7.51 20 30 20 Unfit
3 May’14 7.54 20 29 20 Unfit
4 June’14 7.55 20 29 20 Unfit
5 July’14 7.55 20 28 20 Unfit
6 August’ 14 7.56 20 28 20 Unfit
7 September’14 7.48 20 27 20 Unfit
8 October’14 7.37 20 27 20 Unfit
9 November’14 7.28 20 26 20 Unfit
10 December’14 7.34 20 25 20 Unfit
11 January’15 7.38 20 26 20 Unfit
12 February’15 7.42 20 30 20 Unfit
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