IMPACT OF FERTILIZER FACTORIES EFFLUENTS ON THE LAKHYA RIVER WATER

Industrialization has become more essential for economic growth and employment generation in Bangladesh in the last few decades. But the speeding up of the process of industrialization without adequate waste management and treatment facilities have become the cause of degradation of environment and quality of life. The Buriganga, the Dhaleswari, the Lakhya and the Balu rivers have become highly contaminated due to their location in the industrial clusters as untreated wastes have been disposed indiscriminately beyond their assimilation capacity in the recent years. The objectives of this research work are characterizing the effluents of fertilizer factories, estimating the discharged water pollution load, analyzing water quality of the Lakhya River to assess the impact of fertilizer factories effluent and finally recommending interventions to minimize the adverse impact. The study will help in formulation of policy for minimizing the surface water pollution contributed by the fertilizer factories.