Environmental Researches

Environmental Researches

The Usage of Quality and Vulnerability Indices in the Assessment and Management of Surface Water Quality (Case Study: Shast Dareh River in Torbat Heydarieh Township)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 Project Manager of Water Quality Studies- Lar Consulting Engineers, PhD of Environmental Pollutions- Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
2 Head of Environmental Department- Lar Consulting Engineers, MSC Graduate in Natural Resources Engineering-Environment- Faculty of Natural Resources and Marine Sciences-Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
3 Associate Professor-Department of Civil Engineering-Faculty of Engineering-Qom University of Technology (QUT), Qom, Iran
10.22034/eiap.2025.229977
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the water quality of Shast dareh River in Torbet Heydarieh using the NSFWQI and IRWQISC quality indicators, and to determine the degree of vulnerability using the WRASTIC index in line with its quality management. Two monitoring stations were selected along the Shast dareh River, one upstream of Torbat Heydarieh city (S1) and the other downstream of the city and wastewater treatment plant (S2). 12 water quality parameters along the river were measured for one year with seasonal frequency using the standard method. Based on the IRWQISC index, the water quality is in the moderate to relatively good class. In the upstream areas, the river has better quality conditions, so that in the S1 station, the water quality is relatively good and good in the autumn and winter seasons. The Shast dareh River at the S2 station is affected by the pollution load, so that the water quality at this station is in the range of bad and very bad in all four sampling times. The NSFWQI index is in the range of 14 to 56 at the monitoring stations. Therefore, based on this index, water quality conditions are moderate to bad at the S1 station and bad and very bad at the S2 station. These numbers indicate the moderate to high sensitivity of the Shast dareh River to pollution and the region's potential to cause pollution in surface water resources. Based on this, it is necessary to control and monitor the quality of the wastewater treatment plant emissions and their compliance with the standard of discharge to receiving waters, and to monitor human activities, agriculture, etc., to improve the ecological conditions and water resources of this area.
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