Foreword
The task of water quality management in India is governed under the provision of Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. The basic objective of this Act is to maintain and restore the wholesomeness of national aquatic resources by prevention and control of pollution. The Act does not define the level of wholesomeness to be maintained or restored in different water bodies of the country . The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) framed primary water quality criteria during 1979 on the basis of designated best use concept. Over the years it has become necessary to review the criteria for enlarging the base of parameters for optimum interpretation of water quality and to identify the water quality segments getting deteriorated due to municipal and industrial discharges. The present treatise defines the wholesomeness in terms of protection of human uses, as well as ecosystem existence which depend on water resources. This use base approach form the base for identification of water quality objectives for different water bodies in the country .