Heavy Metal Contamination in the Floodplains Along Mula River, Pune District, Maharashtra State, India

Pre-urban, urban and post-urban stretch of the Mula River in Pune District of Maharashtra (India) is examined for quantification of heavy metals (Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn and Cd), calculation of the Pollution Load Index (PLI) and Contamination Factor (CF). They were estimated from the surface sediments (0-5 cm) at 10 sampling sites along the Mula river. High Cr anomaly (Max. 388.20 ppm) followed by Co (Max. 104.91 ppm), Ni (Max. 167.44 ppm), Cu (Max. 391.35 ppm), Zn (Max. 507.91 ppm) and Cd (Max. 2.38 ppm) is seen at various locations mostly encompassing the urban stretch. PLI is found to be high i.e., >1 in urban sites like Khadki, Kalyaninagar and Kharadi than the rural downstream sites. There is negligible mobility of the heavy metals and the urban floodplains are increasingly accumulating the heavy metals to a highly hazardous level.