Environmental status of some beaches in Daman and South Gujarat, India

Abstract

Beaches are the prime choice of amusement, hence determining its quality is significant to public health. The existing status of water and sediment quality of four beaches along the north-west coast of India is evaluated at high and low tide (for three weeks) during the pre-monsoon season. Water samples were measured for hydrography, nutrients, Petroleum Hydrocarbons (PHc) and Fecal Coliform (FC). Sediments were analyzed for heavy metals, PHc and FC. Results indicated higher concentrations of ammonia (28.7 µmol/l) and phosphate (57.3 µmol/l) in the waters of Tadgam beach owing to the proximity to industrial discharge. Metals such as Fe, Al, Mn, Cr, Zn, Cu, Ni, Co, and Hg were found to be above Lowest Effective Range (LER) as compared to Cr and Fe, those exceed Severe Effective Range (SER). Elevated levels of FC in both water and sediment in all the studied beaches indicated microbial contamination relative to anthropogenic activities.