Current status of seawater quality in Digha (India), northwestern coast of the Bay of Bengal

Abstract

The present investigation was intended to assess the seawater quality of Digha (India) in the northwestern coast of the Bay of Bengal. Digha is a meso-tidal coastal plain located between two major estuarine systems, i.e. Subarnarekha and Hooghly located respectively on the western and eastern sides of the West Bengal along the northeast coast of India. The sampling was made at nine stations at various distances. Significant seasonal variations in environmental parameters and nutrients were observed during the study period. Analyses of physicochemical characteristics of the study area indicated that the level of dissolved oxygen (DO), biological oxygen demand (BOD), total dissolved solid (TDS) and nutrients is within the permissible limit. The results clearly revealed that, though sewage discharge takes place in the coastal waters, the quality of the water was not affected. It may be due to the large quantity of estuarine water input from the Hooghly estuarine system that have enhanced dilution of discharged sewage in Digha coastal waters. Strong tidal activities, wave dynamics and coastal current further dilute the effluent water in the study area, resulting to the minimised sewage effect on coastal ecosystem. Further studies on the heavy metal concentration and benthic diversity can be assessed to understand the health of the ecosystem.

Water-Quality analysis and Fish diversity of Southern West Part of the West-Bengal

“…Species richness positively correlates with the DO that is why species richness is higher during monsoon and post monsoon season among all the season. Species richness also fluctuates on the study sites depending on the DO, site Digha is the most affected one in case of species most of the time associated with tourist seasons (Roy ; Pitchaikani, Kadharsha et al 2016; Roy and Shamim 2020). While being the major fish landing centers; Digha-mohana and Shankarpur show more species richness ( Fig.…”

“…Turbidity of the sea water depends on various factors including eutrophication, sedimentary runoff, dissolved colored organic matter along with high number of phytoplankton (Pitchaikani, Kadharsha et al 2016). Even though turbidity sometimes may affect the fish diversity and species richness (mostly in the sea water where greater portion of coral reefs are present), our study sites have shown positive relationship with turbidity.…”

Source identification and potential health risks from elevated groundwater nitrate contamination in Sundarbans coastal aquifers, India

“…According to Pitchaikani et al 22 , the coastal aquifer in West Bengal is facing nitrate problems, which leads to heath-related issues in the populations of that region. In this coastal region, few researchers gave attention to determining the nitrate concentration and its effect on human health.…”

A parametric study on cyclic strength of coastal sand of Digha in West Bengal, India

“…Based on this point of view, a detail study on coastal sand of Digha region (which is in eastern coast of India) [19] has been selected for this present study. Digha is situated between the coastal tract of adjacent Bay of Bengal and the boarder of two states: West Bengal and Orissa [19,28,31]. Moreover this area lies within the seismic zone III [7].…”