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The water quality of a river that received pharmaceutical industrial effluents is evaluated through the analysis of two indices to describe the level of pollution of the river, in this paper. The indices have been computed from December 2009 to June 2011 at four sampling stations—outlet, outfall, upstream, and downstream in the Uppanar River located at Cuddalore (South east coast of India). The results were compared with the guidelines of Bureau of Indian standards for drinking water specifications (BIS 10500).The study also identifies the pollutants of pharmaceutical industrial effluents before and after treatment that affects the river water quality. Data on spatial and temporal changes in dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, pH, temperature, color, electrical conductance, total dissolved solids, total suspended solids, calcium, magnesium, hardness, sodium, and chloride were collected. The water quality indices used, Bascarón ( 1979 ) adapted Water Quality Index (WQIBA) and the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment-Water Quality Index 1.0 (CCME WQI), which is a well-accepted and universally applicable computer model for evaluating the water quality index. Both the indices presented similar trends, and were considered adequate for evaluating the impacts of industrial effluent on the river water bodies.
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