Assimilative capacity and water quality modeling of rivers: a review

The rivers rejuvenate themselves by traveling over a distance thereby they assimilate the pollution load and cause their own self-cleansing, also termed ‘Self-purification capacity’. To ascertain such assimilative capacity of the river system, various water quality models (WQMs) were studied. Out of numerous WQMs, six models including QUAL2Kw, WASP, SWAT, SIMCAT, MIKE-11, and CE-QUAL-W2 were selected and studied on basis of their development, characteristics, capabilities and strengths, model input, governing equations, application, assumptions and limitations. A comparison based on such a study showing input variables and data, assumptions and limitations, strengths, and specific characteristics has been carried out and tabulated. While the selection of a model is based on the problem for which the decision-making is to be done. Of all the models, QUAL2Kw and WASP have been found to be advantageous over the rest. For a complex river system, a single model may not work and in such cases, a combination may be tried. A model finally selected for a problem must be calibrated so as to have minimum errors and maximum accuracy.