Abstract:
The Kotagala wetland plays a vital role in provisional, regulating, cultural
and supporting ecosystem services. Since the water in this wetland is used for a vari-
ety of human functions, a periodic chemical and physical quality assessment of its
water appears to be required. This study used a Water Quality Index (WQI) to assess
the level of water quality since it was designed to integrate multiple criteria and their
dimensions into a single score. Water samples were collected from six selected inlets
and one outlet in the wetland for a duration of ten months from November 2021 to
August 2022 with monthly intervals. The following seven parameters were measured
and used to generate WQI: Nitrate, Phosphate, Total Sus-pended Solids, Total Dis-
solved Solids, pH, Electrical Conductivity, and Salinity. According to the calculated
WQI for separate locations, two locations fell under “Poor” water quality status, and
all other locations were counted under “Good” water quality. However, the study re-
vealed that the sampling location's proximity to urban areas indicated “Poor” water
quality. According to the calculated monthly WQI, the values ranged from 45.8 in
February to 113.3 in December. The minimum value of WQI appeared in the driest
month. It shows the minimum water pollution experienced in the driest month. A sig-
nificant relationship was identified between the WQI and rainfall (P=0.002). The wet-
land's mean WQI was calculated to be 75.5, which is considered as a “good” quality
water. While certain inlets exhibited "Poor" water quality, the overarching water qual-
ity of the entire wetland was consistently classified as "Good," highlighting its effec-
tive role in regulating water quality. The results demonstrated the wetland's capacity
to regulate water quality.
