A Proposed Decision Support System for River Water Quality Management in India

Abstract

The growing concern for river water pollution in India is witnessing several initiatives from nodal agencies in terms of water pollution control. In a similar context, a need for a supportive platform is envisaged that takes care of management perspectives, feasible for Indian conditions. In this paper the most generic DSS has been proposed that caters to the requirement of regulatory authorities. In its prototype scale of application to improving water quality, at user defined water quality criterion, the system is capable of allocating waste loads to point sources, while liberating the user from writing the input files for simulation and management models. The system is designed for PC-Windows environment with minimal system requirements in terms of models viz., QUAL2E water quality model and LINDO optimizing package, interfaced using SQL Server 2000 Data base Management System. While the most expedient approach of treatment at source towards water quality management in India was addressed by the system, the example run of the DSS indicated a need of including other management options for comprehensive quality management.