Calibration and verification of a dissolved oxygen management model for a highly polluted river with extreme flow variations in Pakistan

A dissolved oxygen (DO) model is calibrated and verified for a highly polluted River Ravi with large flow variations. The model calibration is done under medium flow conditions (431.5 m3/s), whereas the model verification is done using the data collected during low flow conditions (52.6 m3/s). Biokinetic rate coefficients for carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand (CBOD) and nitrogenous biochemical oxygen demand (NBOD) (i.e, Kcr and Kn) are determined through the measured CBOD and ammonia river profiles. The calculated values of Kcr and Kn are 0.36 day−1 and 0.34 day−1, respectively. The close agreement between the DO model results and the field values shows that the verified model can be used to develop DO management strategies for the River Ravi. The biokinetic coefficients are known to vary with degree of treatment (DOT) and therefore need to be adjusted for a rational water quality management model. The effect of this variation on level of treatment has been evaluated by using the verified model to attain a DO standard of 4 mg/L in the river using the biokinetic rate coefficients as determined during the model calibration and verification process. The required DOT in this case is found to be 96 %, whereas the DOT is 86 % if adjusted biokinetic rate coefficients are used to reflect the effect of wastewater treatment. The cost of wastewater treatment is known to increase exponentially as the removal efficiency increases; therefore, the use of appropriate biokinetic coefficients to manage the water quality in rivers is important.