Impact of pollution on Dhamra estuarine ecology near Dhamra port Bay of Bengal

Abstract

There are a number of estuaries stretching over 481 kms of Odisha coast. Lot of newlinework has been carried out on estuaries, Rivers and Rivulets of Odisha coast with special newlinereference to water quality, geochemistry, planktonology, fisheries and biodiversity. But, newlinethere is hardly any information on the level of pollution and their impact on water, newlinesediment and biota of an ecosystem. Therefore, the present work is an attempt to study on newline Impact of Pollution on Dhamra Estuarine Ecology, Near Dhamra Port, Bay of Bengal newlineDhamra estuary is a major tropical estuary in the east coast of India and mostly newlineinfluenced by monsoon. The estuary is a joint stream formed by the convergence of the newlinetwo rivers i.e. Brahmani and Baitarani. Brahmani and Baitarani rivers combine together to newlineform Dhamra River before meeting the Bay of Bengal. The location of Dhamra Estuary is newlinenear proximity to the mineral belt of Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal. Brahmani River newlinereceives effluents from most of the major industries of Rourkela, Angul and Talcher newlineindustrial areas of the Odisha state, as a result, the aquatic ecosystem could be exposed to newlinerisk. Dhamra port, the newly constructed port located northern side of the river mouth newlinewhich is a source of anthropogenic disturbance on the estuarine water quality as well as newlineecosystem habitat. Anthropogenic inputs such as port activities, fishing harbour and newlineriverine influx in this region may influence the biological and geochemical conditions of newlinethe estuarine waters to considerable extent. In due course of time recreational activities and newlinehuman interference are increasing in both the estuaries as a result it affects the coastal newlineecosystem and biodiversity. Samples were collected on regular seasonal basis at 4 month interval of time from newlinestarting from June, 2015 to May, 2017 along Dhamra estuary. Twelve (12) stations were newlineselected for environmental monitoring to assess the pollution load.