Effects of urbanisation on the quality of the urban runoff for Delhi watershed

The current paper is the first study to report quality of urban runoff, focusing on the diffuse sources contributing to pollutant loads in the Delhi watershed. The quality of stormwater runoff from the urban watershed of Delhi was evaluated to assess the effects of different land-use practices on pollutant concentrations. Six sites within the Delhi watershed with different land-use characteristics were selected. The microbial quality of the urban runoff from sub-catchments of Delhi watershed is very poor with Faecal Coliform (FC) levels varying between 6 and 7 log orders. There was a good correlation between the chemical and biological quality of urban runoff with land-use characteristics such as impervious land and population density. Except for chemical oxygen demand all other parameters in urban runoff were found to exceed the effluent discharge standards set by the National River Conservation Directorate (NRCD), India. The public health risks associated with exposure to urban runoff via different routes have also been qualitatively estimated.