ISSN: 2319-5967 ISO 9001:2008 Certified International Journal of Engineering Science and Innovative Technology (IJESIT) Volume 3, Issue 4, July 2014 827 Seasonal variations in heavy metal contamination of surface water in vicinity of industries and Western Yamuna Canal of Yamuna Nagar (Haryana), India Manju Sharma, Smita Chaudhry Abstract: Heavy metal pollution is a major environmental problem worldwide because of the long standing toxicity and bioaccumulation of these metals. The risk of heavy metal contamination is pronounced in the environment adjacent to large industrial complexes, and cities historically located along rivers, because the rivers provide transportation and have traditionally been a convenient place to discharge waste. In this study the heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni) contamination of surface water in vicinity of industries (sugar mill, paper mill, thermal power plant) and along Western Yamuna Canal (WYC) in Yamunanagar were determined in summer and winter seasons. The concentration of Cr and Cd were found higher in summer whereas Mn, Ni and Cu concentrations were found higher in winter season. In the water samples of industrial vicinity, the average concentration of Cd and Ni in summer and winter season respectively were higher than desirable limit. From the analysis it is inferred that the concentration of heavy metals in water samples from vicinity of sugar mill industry were higher than the paper mill and thermal power plant. Along WYC the metal concentrations in water samples were found to decrease with increasing distance from the industrial area. Mn concentration was within permissible limit in all sampling sites of WYC, whereas Ni concentration was very high in the second year of samplings. In WYC and industrial vicinity water samples, all the heavy metals show positive correlation among themselves suggesting that a common mechanism regulates their abundance. Total mean concentration of heavy metals in WYC and around industrial water samples was found to decrease in the order of Ni > Cu = Cr > Mn > Cd and Mn > Ni Cu = Cr > Cd respectively. Index Terms: Heavy metals, paper mill, sugar mill, surface water, thermal power plant, Western Yamuna Canal I. INTRODUCTION Pollution of the environment by heavy metals is a major environmental problem world-wide because of the long standing toxicity and bioaccumulation. Heavy metals are omnipresent in the environment, occurring in varying concentration in air, bedrock, soil and water [1]. Metals in aquatic environment originate naturally by weathering of soil and rock, erosion, forest fires and volcanic eruptions and anthropogenically by industrial effluents, agricultural drainage, domestic discharges, atmospheric deposition, waste disposal including dumping, and combustion of fossil fuels, mining and refining operations [2-8]. Heavy meals are widely used in automobiles, mining industries, pesticides, house-hold appliances, dental amalgams, paints, photographic papers, photochemicals etc. [9,10]. Among various natural water resources, rivers are highly polluted by toxic metals due to the direct discharge of municipal and industrial effluents into the rivers [11]. Industries and cities have historically been located along rivers because the rivers provide transportation and have traditionally been a convenient place to discharge waste. Agricultural activities have tended to be concentrated near rivers, because river floodplains are exceptionally fertile due to the many nutrients that are deposited in the soil when the river overflows, therefore, the analysis of toxic pollutants in river water has received great attention. The risk of heavy metal contamination is pronounced in the environment adjacent to large industrial complexes [12]. Yamuna basin covers about 11% of total land area of India [13] with more than 10000 large and medium and more than 1 million small scale working industries [14]. In Haryana industrial growth has taken place mainly on the banks of river Yamuna [15]. Considerable work has been carried out on Yamuna river water quality flowing through Haryana and Delhi [11, 15 - 19]. However, heavy metal pollution of water in the Western Yamuna Canal (WYC) has received very little attention. Yamunanagar is the second biggest industrial town of Haryana. There are many industries like sugar mill, paper mill, starch mill, distillery, cement, metal industries, ply board and thermal power plant etc. All these industries discharge their waste into western Yamuna canal. Therefore in the present study an attempt has been made to investigate the distribution and enrichment of heavy metals