Journal Article

Assessing the impact of land use and land cover on river water quality using water quality index and remote sensing techniques

Gani, Md Ataul, Siddik, Md Abubakkor, Md Moniruzzaman, Sajib, Abdul Majed

2023

Overview

The impact of land use on water quality is becoming a global concern due to the increasing demand for freshwater. This study aimed to assess the effects of land use and land cover (LULC) on the surface water quality of the Buriganga, Dhaleshwari, Meghna, and Padma river system in Bangladesh. To determine the state of water, water samples were collected from twelve locations in the Buriganga, Dhaleshwari, Meghna, and Padma rivers during the winter season of 2015 and collected samples were analysed for seven water quality indicators: pH, temperature (Temp.), conductivity (Cond.), dissolved oxygen (DO), biological oxygen demand (BOD), nitrate nitrogen (NO 3 -N), and soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) for assessing water quality (WQ). Additionally, same-period satellite imagery (Landsat-8) was utilised to classify the LULC using the object-based image analysis (OBIA) technique. The overall accuracy assessment and kappa co-efficient value of post-classified images were 92% and 0.89, respectively. In this research, the root mean squared water quality index (RMS-WQI) model was used to determine the WQ status, and satellite imagery was utilised to classify LULC types. Most of the WQs were found within the ECR guideline level for surface water. The RMS-WQI result showed that the “fair” status of water quality found in all sampling sites ranges from 66.50 to 79.08, and the water quality is satisfactory. Four types of LULC were categorised in the study area mainly comprised of agricultural land (37.33%), followed by built-up area (24.76%), vegetation (9.5%), and water bodies (28.41%). Finally, the Principal component analysis (PCA) techniques were used to find out significant WQ indicators and the correlation matrix revealed that WQ had a substantial positive correlation with agricultural land ( r  = 0.68, P  < 0.01) and a significant negative association with the built-up area ( r  =  − 0.94, P  < 0.01). To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first attempt in Bangladesh to assess the impact of LULC on the water quality along the longitudinal gradient of a vast river system. Hence, we believe that the findings of this study can support planners and environmentalists to plan and design landscapes and protect the river environment.

• Publisher: Springer International Publishing,Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: Agricultural land / Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution / Bangladesh / Biochemical oxygen demand / Correlation / Correlation analysis / Dissolved oxygen / Earth and Environmental Science / Ecology / Ecotoxicology / Environment / Environmental Management / Environmental Monitoring / Environmental science / Environmentalists / Fresh Water / Freshwater / guidelines / Image analysis / Image classification / Image processing / Indicators / Inland water environment / Land cover / Land use / land use and land cover maps / Landsat / Landsat satellites / Landscape design / Monitoring/Environmental Analysis / nitrate nitrogen / Nitrates / Oxygen / Oxygen demand / Oxygen requirement / Phosphorus / principal component analysis / Principal components analysis / Quality assessment / reactive phosphorus / Remote sensing / Remote sensing techniques / Remote Sensing Technology / River water / River water quality / Rivers / Satellite imagery / Sensing techniques / Stormwater / Surface water / Surface water quality / temperature / Total oxygen demand / Vegetation / Water analysis / Water Quality / Water quality assessments / Water sampling / winter