Effects of Urbanization on Surface and Subsurface Hydrologic Variables of Upper Bhima River Basin, Maharashtra, India

This chapter analyzes the effects of urbanization on surface and subsurface hydrologic variables—i.e., water quality and groundwater level (GWL)—of the Upper Bhima River Basin. It helps readers to understand the spatiotemporal behavior of these variables in the study area. Broadly, two methods are available for studying spatiotemporal variations in the water quality of a river: the direct method, where spatiotemporal variability in the water quality parameters are studied with the help of statistical analysis and graphs, and indirect methods, which use different water quality/pollution indices based on environmental standards of surface water. Several site-specific water quality/pollution indices are available throughout the world for evaluating health status of river water. Water quality indices study the combined effects of variations in water quality parameters on river health and compare the water quality health status across different monitoring sites in a river basin.