CONTENTS OF HEAVY-METALS IN WATERS OF NULLAHS DEK, BISHARAT & AIK, AND THEIR EFFECT ON SOIL-HEALTH

A Survey was conducted on different Nullahs receiving city and industrial effluents contaminated by different heavy metals during July, 2002. This water is used for growing crops, particularly rice crop. Three Nullahs, namely Dek, Bisharat (locally called Dek) and Aik were surveyed; soil and water samples were collected from different spots/sites for determination of their quality (chemical, nutritional characteristics and heavy metals contents). Nullah Dek is one of the three Nullahs surveyed, which enters Pakistan near Pasroor, passes through Sialkot, and Sheikhupura districts. From this Nullah water-samples were collected from 5 sites i.e. Typiala Dost Mohammad on Muridke Narowal road near Narang Mandi, Shamke near Kala Shah Kaku, Shakirabad railway station and Village on Lahore - Faisalabad railway track, Lahore Sheikhupura road near Madina town,Thatta Wasiran, a village in District Sheikhupura and Galo-Tian where the Nullah enters into upper chenab canal (UCC). Water- samples from Nullah Bisharat were also collected from three sites i.e. near Allo Dhar, Villages near Lahore Gujranwala road, Lahore- Sheikhupura road near Kallah and Sheikhupura Muridke road near Servis Industry, Muridke (Industrial area). In case of Nullah Aik, only one water sample was collected near Sialkot city when it has collected the city sewerage of Sialkot. Seven sites were selected on the bank of this Nullah namely i) Typiala Dost Muhammad, ii) Shamke iii) Missan Kalar iv) Kot Pindi Das, v) Shakirabad a village and a Flag railway station, and vi) Thatta Wasiran (Two sites 1 & 2). A total of forty soil-samples were taken from all these sites from 0-15 cm and 15-30 cm depths. All the soilsamples were brought to the Laboratory, air-dried, ground and passed through a 2 mm sieve, and analysed for chemical characteristics, including nutritional status and heavy-metals contents. All the ten water-samples were also analysed for qualitycharacteristics and heavy-metals contents. The results showed that Nullah Dek water near Typiala Dost Muhammad is free from excess of soluble salts and sodicity hazards; even heavy metals are absent except Mn (0.1) and Cd (0.001), which are within safe limits. But in the same nullah when it passes through Muridke industrial area, the total salts concentration is higher than the safe limit (>1 EC dSm -1 ). Even SAR is high, particularly at Shamke and Shakirabad, but it has no problem of high RSC. Among heavy metals, Zn, Mn, Cd and Sr are present at all the places, but these are within safe limit, except Sr. In case of Nullah Bisharat, total salts concentration is very high at all the places and it also has sodicity hazard (high SAR), but no problem of high RSC, except at Allo Dhar. Among heavy metals Zn, Mn, Cd, Sr were present at all the places, but within safe limits. The water of Nullah Aik has EC (total salt concentration) within safe limit and contains Zn, Mn, Ni, Cd and Sr, but all within safe limit, except Sr. In case of soil-samples the data showed that all these samples were free of salinity/sodicity hazards, except a few, which had EC e more than 4 and only one sample which has SAR more than 15. All these samples were deficient in 0.M (>1.29 % sufficient level), deficient to medium in available phosphorus and medium to sufficient in extractable K. Among heavy metals, the Zinc ranged between deficiency limit ( 1.0 mg Kg -1 ) at different locations; Copper, Mn and Fe were present in adequate amounts at all the sampled sites. Nickel and cadmium were within safe limits, whereas Strontium was in excessive amounts.