Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the level of physicochemical and biological parameters of Phuleli canal water and effluents entering the canal along the entire length of Hyderabad city. In this regard, five different locations, each for investigations of canal water and wastewater were selected. The parameters studied were temperature, pH, turbidity, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids and suspended solids, chlorides, sulfates and nitrate-nitrogen, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and faecal coliforms count. The study confirmed the extraordinary increase of electrical conductivity and total dissolved solids especially during lower flow periods of canal water. Higher level of COD with 1056 mg/l and faecal coliforms with 207 to 867 MPN/100 ml was also recorded, which exceeds permissible surface water limits. It was observed that the level of BOD and COD were increasing with entering of effluents in the canal and decreasing with the passage of time due to self-purification by canal water. The results revealed that the continuous inflowing of untreated or partially treated sewage and industrial effluents into the canal has changed its physicochemical and biological characteristics, which make it unfit for human consumption and can have long-term irrevocable ecological threats if left unmanaged.