Assessment of Surface Water Quality Using Multivariate Statistical Techniques in a Part of River Cauvery, Tamil Nadu,...

The study explains water quality of the Cauvery River in the southern region of Peninsular India. Thirteen parameters including trace elements (Cd, As, Cu, Cr, Zn and Pb) have been monitored on 50 sampling points from a hydro-geochemical survey, conducted in the river stretch under study. Several water quality parameters showed considerable changes due to increased runoff from the catchments and other seasonal factors. Multivariate discriminant analysis delineated a few parameters responsible for temporal variation in water quality. Factor analysis (FA) identified three factors responsible for data structure explaining 91% of total variance in surface water. It allowed grouping selected parameters according to common features. The results indicated that point source pollutants primarily affected the water quality of this region. This study indicates the necessity and usefulness of multivariate statistical techniques for evaluation and interpretation of the data. It facilitates better information about the water quality and designs some remedial techniques to prevent future contamination.