WATER QUALITY INVESTIGATION USING GIS-BASED INTERPOLATION: A COMPARISON OF THE KOLLIDAM AND PALAR RIVER ESTUARIES

Water is an indispensable renewable resource on earth and the quality of water directly forms the platform for a balanced socio-economic development and cannot be utilized until its quality is assessed. The life of the majority of aquatic plants and animals depends on pH, salinity, and temperature, making them crucial water monitoring parameters. In this current study, the pH, salinity, and water temperature for the Kollidam and Palar River estuary have been assessed using GIS. Interpolation being a vital tool in GIS was used to find the dispersion of pH, Salinity, and Water temperature throughout the study areas. Applying Inverse Distance Weighing, a total of 7 stations at Palar and 18 stations at Kollidam estuary was computed. The results show that water temperature ranged from 28°- 33.5° Celsius, pH varied from 7.3 to 8.4 and salinity ranged between 5 ppt and 35 ppt. The correlation between pH and Temperature was 0.408 and 0.251 and the correlation between pH and Salinity was -0.590 and -0.568 for Kollidam and Palar River estuaries respectively. This shows a strong relationship between pH and Temperature and a weak relationship between pH and salinity. The results highlight that the pH and salinity have slightly increased than the normal level and this may lead to marine organisms shifting or even extinctions in the future. This study shows the importance of looking into long-term solutions for preserving river estuaries' water quality. Policymakers aiming to monitor and evaluate water quality and use environmentally friendly technology in the future can find valuable insights from this study.