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Water quality of Bharatpur, Nepal

findings will assist policymakers, environmental areas with significant anthropogenic activities and
agencies, industrial stakeholders, and local authorities relatively less populated zones. Sewage discharge from
in addressing water quality concerns and implementing factory drainage sites is shown in Figure 2. Groundwater
necessary interventions to protect public health, samples were collected in the 1 week of February
st
safeguard groundwater resources, ensure public health, 2024. Physicochemical parameters were analyzed at
and support sustainable industrial development. the Saptagandaki Multiple Campus (SMC) laboratory,
Tribhuvan University, Nepal, and microbiological
2. Materials and methods parameters were tested at the Water Quality Testing
Laboratory of Bharatpur Metropolitan City.
2.1. Study area Sampling was conducted at three distinct locations
The area under investigation (Figure 1) is located (Table 1), chosen based on their association with
in Bharatpur Metropolitan City, Wards No. 8 and 9, industrial activities and identified using a portable
Chitwan, Nepal. Bharatpur Metropolitan City spans an Global Positioning System. The selected sites were:
area of 433 km within the Terai region and is situated Iron factory (IF; Site 1), Royal Paint factory (RPF;
2
at an elevation of 208 m above sea level. The city lies Site 2), and Coca-Cola factory (CF; Site 3). Each site
along the banks of the Narayani River. It is the third was divided into four sampling zones—East, West,
most populous city in Nepal and the second largest North, and South—relative to the industrial facilities.
metropolitan area by land area. The city comprises 29 Samples were labeled as follows: Site 1 – Samples A,
wards and functions as the commercial and service hub B, C, and D; Site 2 – Samples E, F, G, and H; and Site
of the district, offering significant facilities for higher 3 – Samples I, J, K, and L.
education, healthcare, and transportation.
Groundwater samples for this investigation were 2.3. Sampling and analytical methods
collected from the Gondrang area of Bharatpur, Wards 2.3.1. Sample collection
8 and 9. This area lies to the south of the East–West Assessing water quality involves a range of complex
Highway, near the Bandevi Barandabhar forest corridor, processes, making it challenging to design a standardized
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and is part of the semi-urban region of Bharatpur. procedure that meets specific evaluation objectives.
For this investigation, groundwater samples were
2.2. Site selection collected from handpumps located near three industrial
The study area was selected based on its proximity to facilities. A total of 12 samples were randomly obtained
industrial facilities and human settlements, focusing on from residential households situated within 50 m of the
a 4-km stretch encompassing both densely populated industries.

Figure 1. Satellite image of the study area (Google Earth)

Volume 22 Issue 6 (2025) 145 doi: 10.36922/AJWEP025120083