Assessment of Water Quality and Heavy MetalsContamination of River Ravi in Pakistan

This study was carried out to evaluate the impact of untreated urban and industrial effluents onwater quality of river Ravi. Water samples were collected from 11 polluted andrelativelyunpolluted sites at river Ravi during low flow season and analyzed for heavy metals content andphysico-chemical parameters. Dissolved oxygen fell below the recommended limit forpropagation of fish and other aquatic life as the river flows through Lahore up to BallokiHeadworks. Manganese and lead contents were higher than permissible limits for aquaticecosystems at several polluted sites of the river. Highest concentration of nickel, zinc, manganese,cadmium and lead detected in river water was 20.0 μg/L, 70.0μg/L,190.0 μg/L, 2.0 μg/L and72.0μg/L respectively. Findings revealed that river water at downstream sites of wastewatercarrying drains was not suitable to support fish and other aquatic life due to its very low dissolvedoxygen level.