Water Quality Rating of Damodar River

The Damodar River was once known as the sorrow of Bengal due to the loss of life and property caused by the floods in almost every monsoon. Since the middle of the twentieth century, the Damodar River has been blocked by dams and barrages, and after then the river course has not been changed. The water available from the reservoir of the dam has improved the scenario of agricultural advancement in several districts of the Damodar Valley. Around Damodar, the river basin has a lot of badlands where there is no cultivation. The government forest department is succeeding in planting eucalyptus on such badlands. Natural forests in Damodar valley have gradually been encroached upon by humans. Among a few scattered forest patches, the forest covering the entire Susunia Hills in Damodar basin is important for its species diversity of floral assemblages. Along the river course of Damodar, the main industrial area of West Bengal has developed. Though the sewage effluent from such industries empties into the Damodar River after treatment, the water of Damodar River is unfit for use even for outdoor bathing due to the presence of innumerable faecal coliform bacteria and higher values of biochemical oxygen demand in the river water exceeding the permissible limit. Of late Damodar river water is probably polluted by the mixing of the surface runoffs from the non-point sources.