Water quality along the sone river polluted by the orient Paper Mill

Changes in water quality along the Sone River, which is polluted by effluents from the Orient Paper Mills (OPM), Amlai, M.P., India were studied in the present work. The water samples from fifteen stations, covering a distance of about 216 km along the river course were subjected to hierarchical cluster analysis to determine similarity relations with respect to seven water quality parameters. Maximum pollution was observed up to 30 km downstream. Improvement in water quality was registered further downstream due to self-recovery and dilution. The greatest variability was observed between water samples taken at the OPM uptake site and at the effluent mixing point located 2 km downstream. Maximum similarity was found between stations located 2.0 and 2.1 km; 2.3 and 2.5 km; and 2.7 and 3.0 km downstream.