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The Dhaka University Journal of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Vol. 11 (1): 2022
Assessment of Water Quality and Quantity in the Lakes of Dhaka
Metropolitan City - Remote Sensing, Field and Laboratory Analyses
Fatima Nur Nabila, Md. Bodruddoza Mia*, Md. Yousuf Gazi, Md. Mahin Uddin, Md. Nahid Al
Montakim and Md. Mahfuz Alam
Geoinformatics Research Laboratory, Department of Geology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh
Manuscript received: 30 May 2022; accepted for publication: 31 August 2022
ABSTRACT: Lakes in the Dhaka city have been facing extreme deterioration both by quantity and quality due to rapid
urban and population growth for several decades. The prime objective is to assess the spatiotemporal changes of water
quality and water quantity of the Dhaka city lakes respectively using Sentinel 2B and Landsat satellite images. The
study covers the major twelve lakes of the Dhaka city. The four seasonal water qualities such as chlorophyll-a
concentration, trophic state index (TSI), Secchi disk depth (SDD) and turbidity were retrieved with the conventional
algorithms using Sentinel 2B images. The results showed that the Uttara Park Lake reduced its area dramatically from
1972 to 2020 due to the rapid urbanization in this region. Although the Zoo Lakes areas increased more than three
times but the Banani, Hatirjheel and Dhanmondi lakes reduced to about 60-75% from 1972 to 2020 due to the
urbanization and filling up the lake’s area. On the other hand, Gulshan, Crescent and Ramna Lakes reduced their area
slightly about 10-20% during the study period. The chlorophyll-a concentration from post to pre-monsoon, increased in
six lakes (Uttara Park, Zoo North, Gulshan, Old Airport, Dhanmondi and Hatirjheel), declined in six lakes (Zoo South,
Banani, Ramna, Uttara, Uttara South and Crescent) of Dhaka city. Although the TSI illustrated all lakes in the
eutrophic states from post to pre-monsoon but the value of TSI increased in six lakes and declined six lakes of the
twelve point samples within the retrieved spatial distribution of TSI using satellite images of Dhaka city. In case of
Secchi depth, the SDD values declined from post-monsoon to pre-monsoon in all of the lakes, indicating the
deteriorating water quality of the lakes. On the other hand, the turbidity values increased in all lakes of Dhaka city from
post-monsoon to pre-monsoon. We observed pH values ranges from 7-9 in the lakes during the field works early March
and May of 2021. The observed EC values of the lakes ranges from 148-730μs/cm and 130-690μs/cm respectively in
winter and pre-monsoon seasons. None of the samples of the lakes meets the standard of dissolved oxygen (DO)
collected in March, 2021, but Dhanmondi and Uttara Lake samples collected in May, 2021 meet the standard.
Biological oxygen demand (BOD) value is extremely high and none of the samples meets the acceptable limit of BOD.
Among the cations, only Hatirjheel, Gulshan, Uttara, Uttara South/W, Zoo South and North Lake exceeded the
acceptable limit for K⁺. Among the anions, Hatirjheel, Gulshan, Banani, Uttara, Uttara South/W Lake exceed the
standard for HCO3− and Hatirjheel, Gulshan, Banani, Old Airport, Uttara Park, Uttara South/W Lake exceed the
standard limit for NO3−. Uttara Lake shows the maximum concentration of PO43− and does not meet the standard
limit. All the samples meet the standard for Fe and Mn. The outputs of this study could be used to minimize the
degradation of Dhaka city lakes both in terms of quantity and quality and will help take necessary measures for healthy
and sustainable lake environment.
Keywords: Dhaka City; Lakes; Water Quantity; Water Quality; Multispectral Satellite Image
INTRODUCTION
Wetlands is one of the key parameters in the
hydrologic cycle. Generally, wetlands used to receive,
store, and release water in different ways i.e.,
physically through subsurface water, surface water
run-off, and biologically through transpiration by
vegetation (Razzak et al., 2012). In Dhaka, the lakes
are considered as the lungs of this megacity and
treated nowadays as recreational areas for the
overcrowded people in this city. Lakes can be
important habitats for a variety of aquatic life as well
as an aesthetic resource to communities. Dhaka city,
the capital of Bangladesh, has one of the fastest urban
growth rates among the developing nations (UN,
2007; Alam and Rabbani 2007). The side effects of
rapid urbanization is also manifested by reduction of
water bodies as well as the degraded water
environment (World Bank 2000). As almost every
natural watershed in Dhaka city, lakes are
transforming into a dead swamp by the sufferings
from the significant level of pollution. Various causes
are responsible for polluting water of the lakes, some
Corresponding author: Md. Bodruddoza Mia
Email:
bodruddoza@du.a.cbd
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3329/dujees.v11i1.63709
28 Nabila et al.
natural causes are mixture of biodegraded portion of
animal and plants to pure water. They also receive
untreated sewage and sewage polluted surface run off
from adjacent residence, industries, and communities.
The recent studies indicate that the lake water has
already reached to a dangerous state in terms of
parameters like total solid in the water, level of
alkalinity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen and
biochemical oxygen demand etc. (Rahman and
Hossain, 2019). In recent time, due to excessive
population pressure, unawareness of users, lack of
enforcement of legal matters, very few of the water
bodies retain good water quality and biodiversity
(Alam et al., 2014). A number of investigations have
been carried out in some lakes situated in and around
Dhaka metropolis area to evaluate their water quality
based on point samples (Jan–E–Alam, et al., 2017).
There is no research focuses on the spatial assessment
of the water quality of lakes in the megacity Dhaka
using satellite images. Now-a-days, lakes in Dhaka
city are in critical condition in terms of their water
quantity with illegal filling for settlements by
influential community. It would be beneficial for
employing continuous spatial lake monitoring system
in Dhaka city using high resolution satellite images.
Spatio-temporal monitoring of water quantity as well
as quality using satellite image could assist the policy
maker for the betterment of lake management system
and to understand the impacts of ongoing degradation
of water quality and quantity too. If proper attention
has been paid, lakes can be used to enhance the
natural beauties of Dhaka city. The prime purposes of
this study are (a) quantitative investigation of Dhaka
city lakes area using time-series analysis of satellite
images from 1980-2020 and (b) assessment of their
water quality through seasonal monitoring both in situ
and laboratory investigation and satellite image
analysis.
STUDY AREA
The study area covers mostly important and
accessible twelve lakes of the Dhaka city in
Bangladesh (Fig. 1). The name of the studied
lakes are (1) Ramna Lake, (2) Dhanmondi Lake,
(3) Crescent Lake, (4) Hatirjheel Lake, (5) Old
Dhaka Airport Lake, (6) Gulshan Lake, (7)
Banani Lake, (8) Zoo South Lake, (9) Zoo North
Lake, (10) Uttara South Lake, (11) Uttara Park
Lake, and (12) Uttara Lake. They are very
important considering all aspects of beauty,
ecosystem, surface water conservation, transport
systems and recreations.
Figure 1: Location of the Studied Lakes of Dhaka City. The Background is the Google Earth Image
Assessment of Water Quality and Quantity in the Lakes of Dhaka Metropolitan City - Remote Sensing, Field and Laboratory Analyses 29
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Landsat MSS/TM/OLI sensors images were used
for monitoring water bodies quantitatively of the
Dhaka city lakes (Table 1). Landsat images were
30m in resolution. Sentinel 2B sensors images
were used to evaluate for seasonal water quality
parameter of the Dhaka city lakes where the used
bands were 10-20m in resolution (Table 1). Other
than satellite images, we collected in situ water
samples for each lakes to synthesis the chemical
quality of those lakes water such as anion- cation,
pH, EC, DO, BOD, temperature, iron and
manganese etc. A secchi disk was used to
measure the depth of the water clarity of the
lakes.
Table 1: Used Satellite Images with Date and Their
Resolution of the Study
Sensor
Date
Resolution (m)
Landsat MSS
28 December 1972
60
Landsat TM
02 January 1988
30
Landsat TM
29 November 2004
30
Landsat OLI
09 November 2020
30
Sentinel 2B
7 November 2020
(Post-Monsoon)
10-20
Sentinel 2B
27 December 2020
(Winter)
10-20
Sentinel 2B
25 February 2021
(Spring)
10-20
Sentinel 2B
26 April 2021 (Pre-
Monsoon)
10-20
The study consists two methods such as (1) satellite
images analysis to retrieve both quantity and quality
of Dhaka city lakes with validation by the ground
truth data and (2) laboratory analysis of water
chemistry of two water samples from each lake (Fig.
2).
Figure 2: Flow Chart of the Methods used in the
Study
Water Quantity: Satellite Image Analysis
Four sets of Landsat MSS/TM/OLI images were
analyzed by NDWI/MNDWI method to retrieve the
water bodies quantitatively from 1980 to 2020 of the
Dhaka city lakes. Before classification, the images
were rectified by radiometric and geometric methods.
Water Quality: Satellite Image Analysis, In Situ
and Laboratory Chemical Analysis
Four high resolution satellite images of Sentinel 2B
(10-20m) were analyzed to retrieve four seasons’
(post-monsoon, winter, spring and pre-monsoon)
water quality parameters such as chlorophyll-a
concentration, trophic state index, secchi disk depth
and turbidity of the Dhaka city lakes by the following
ways. Hence, after atmospheric correction of those
image, the reflectance values of the used bands of the
sentinel 2B images were calculated using the
reference equation and metadata of those images.
Retrieval of Chlorophyll-a Concentration (Cchl-a)
Chlorophyll-a concentration was retrieved using the
Sentinel 2B satellite images in the following equation:
Cchla = 113.23 x (R4/R5)2 - 311.67 x (R4/R5) + 216.76 (1)
Where, Cchla indicates the retrieved chlorophyll-a
concentration (μg/L), and R4 and R5 indicate the
reflectance of the fourth (665 nm) and fifth (705 nm)
bands of the sentinel 2A data respectively (Wang et
al., 2020).
According to the Boyd (2015), the trophic status was
assigned with the mean chlorophyll-a concentration
values of the Dhaka city lakes (Table 2) (Patra et al.,
2017).
Table 2: Relationship between Trophic Status and
Chlorophyll-a Concentration in Lakes (Boyd, 2015;
Patra et al., 2017)
Mean Chlorophyll-
a concentration
(μg/L)
Trophic Status with conditions
<2
Oligotrophic, very low
phytoplankton, no aesthetic problems
2-5
Mesotrophic, some algae with
turbidity, no oxygen depletion,
reduced aesthetic values
5-15
Mesotrophic, high level of algae,
turbidity, oxygen depletion likely,
reduced aesthetic values
>15
Eutrophic, higher level of
phytoplankton, serious oxygen
depletion, significantly reduced
aesthetic values
30 Nabila et al.
Trophic State Index (TSI) Based on Cchl-a
The TSI was calculated using the Carlson’s index
(Carlson, R., 1977) in the following equation based on
the chlorophyll-a concentration:
TSI (Chl-a) = 10 x (6-(2.04-0.68InChl-a)/In2)
(2)
Trophic status of the Dhaka city lakes was designated
based on the retrieved TSI according to the Carlson,
R. (1977) system (Table 3).
Table 3: Classification of Trophic Status Based on the
TSI of the Lake Water (Carlson, R., 1977)
TSI
Trophic Status
Water condition of
the lakes
>30-40
Oligotrophic
Clear Water
40-50
Mesotrophic
Moderate clarity
50-70
Eutrophic
Low clarity due to
presence of blue
green algae,
macrophytes
>70
Hyper-Eutrophic
Greenish water, no
clarity, high algal
bloom and dense
macrophytes
Retrieval of Secchi Disk Depth (SDD) using
Sentinel 2B Data
There are a number of algorithms for SD retrieval
with various ranges of determination coefficient from
10-69% (Rotta et al., 2016; Verdin, 1985; Wu et al.,
2008). We used the latest algorithm of Rodrigues et
al., 2020 for SD retrieval using Sentinel 2B data
which has a higher value of determinant coefficient
(R2 =86 %). The used algorithm is as follows:
SD = (0.024 x (R2/R3*R4))+0.72 (3)
Where, R2, R3 and R4 are the reflectance of the
sentinel 2B bands of two, three and four.
The retrieved SD values of the Dhaka city lakes were
divided into various types of trophic status according
to the Carlson’s classification such as oligotrophic
(SD>4m), mesotrophic (SD=2-4m), eutrophic
(SD=0.5-2m) and hyper-eutrophic (SD<0.5) (Carlson
R., 1977).
Retrieval of Turbidity using Sentinel 2B Data
Turbidity is one of the essential quality component of
water bodies and acts as a substitute for water clarity.
Spatial distribution of water quality of the Dhaka city
lakes were retrieved using the following equation of
Quang et al., 2017’s linear regression model with the
sentinel 2B satellite image data. Drinking water or
acceptable turbidity values is less than 1 FTU/NTU.
Higher the turbidity of more than 1 FTU indicates
lower the water quality of any water reservoirs.
Turbidity (FTU) = 380.32 x R4 – 1.7826 (4)
Where, R4 is the reflectance of red band of the
sentinel 2B satellite image.
We conducted two field studies to collect in situ water
temperature, Secchi disk depth, pH, EC, TDS and
color of the Dhaka city lakes in the months of March
and May, 2021. We had also collected water samples
from the studied lakes for laboratory analysis to
determine cations, anions and trace elements. In situ
and laboratory water quality parameters were used to
validate the satellite image retrieve results of water
quality of the Dhaka city lakes.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Water Quantity
Spatial distribution of water bodies was retrieved
using Landsat TM/OLI satellite images to monitor
quantitative areas of the twelve lakes of Dhaka city
(Fig. 3). The MNDWI method was used to retrieve the
water bodies in this study. The results showed that the
Uttara Park Lake was reduced its area dramatically
from 1972 to 2020 due to the rapid urbanization in
this region (Table 4). The Uttara Lake and Uttara
south lake changed a little bit during the study period.
The Zoo lakes area were increased more than three
times from 1972 to 2020. The Banani Lake reduced
about half of its area from 1972 to 2020. The Hatirjhil
Lake was reduced to about 60% from 1972 to 2020.
Area of the Dhanmondi Lake’s water body was
reduced about 75% from 1972 to 2020 due to the
urbanization and filling up the lake’s area. Gulshan,
Crescent and Ramna Lakes were reduced theirs area
slightly about 10-20% during the study period.
Assessment of Water Quality and Quantity in the Lakes of Dhaka Metropolitan City - Remote Sensing, Field and Laboratory Analyses 31
Figure 3: Changes of Areas in the Dhaka City Lakes from 1972 to 2020
32 Nabila et al.
Table 4: Areas of Dhaka City Lakes from 1972 to
2020
Dhaka City Lakes Area in Hectares
Name
1972
1988
2004
2020
Uttara Lake
12
8
9
10
Uttara Park Lake
800
1265
1209
338
Uttara South Lake
0
1
1
1
Zoo North Lake
3
8
8
9
Zoo South Lake
2
8
7
10
Banani Lake
47
31
38
26
Gulshan Lake
39
30
34
37
Old Dhaka Airport Lake
24
3
11
17
Hatirjheel Lake
228
85
67
94
Crescent Lake
13
6
6
10
Dhanmondi Lake
45
12
11
11
Ramna Lake
4
3
2
3
Water Quality
Spatial distribution of water qualities such as
chlorophyll-a, trophic state index, secchi depth and
turbidity were retrieved using the Sentinel 2B sensor
images of the Dhaka city lakes for four seasons (pre-
monsoon, winter, spring and pre-monsoon) (Fig. 4-8).
Summary statistics analysed with the minimum and
maximum of the water qualities of the four seasons
(Table 5). Minimum concentration of chlorophyll-a
was lowest in post monsoon season of 2020 and then
increased gradually up to the pre-monsoon season of
2021. Alternatively, maximum concentration of
chlorophyll-a decreased from post to pre-monsoon
seasons. TSI-Cchl-a increased from post to pre-
monsoon in the aspect of minimum values and overall
similar values in case of maximum values. Secchi
depth declined in the Dhaka city lakes from post-
monsoon to pre-monsoon seasons. Turbidity values
were increased in the lakes from post to pre-monsoon
period.
Spatial distribution of chlorophyll-a concentration
showed mostly more than 15 μg/L, that indicated the
eutrophic state of the Dhaka city lakes throughout the
seasons from post to pre-monsoon (Table 5; Fig. 4).
Satellite image retrieved of trophic state index values
based on the chlorophyll-a concentration of the Dhaka
city lakes were also in the ranges of eutrophic state
i.e., TSI=50-70 (Fig. 5-6). Retrieved secchi depth
from the sentinel 2B satellite images of the Dhaka city
lakes showed within the ranges from 0.5 to 2 m,
which also indicated eutrophic state in all seasons
mostly (Fig. 7). Spatial analysis of turbidity of all
lakes of Dhaka city indicated the mostly greater than
20 FTU from winter to pre-monsoon season, except
about half of the lakes area within the ranges of 10 to
20 in post monsoon season (Fig. 8).
Twelve point samples were selected to monitor the
seasonal variation of water quality parameters
retrieved from satellite sentinel 2B images of the
twelve Dhaka city lakes (Fig. 8). The chlorophyll-a
concentration from post-monsoon to pre-monsoon,
increased in six lakes (Uttara Park, Zoo North,
Gulshan, Old Airport, Dhanmondi and Hatirjheel),
declined in six lakes (Zoo South, Banani, Ramna,
Uttara, Uttara South and Crescent) of Dhaka city (Fig.
8). Although the trophic state index illustrated all
lakes in the eutrophic states from post-monsoon to
pre-monsoon but the value of TSI increased in six
lakes and declined six lakes of the twelve point
samples within the retrieved spatial distribution of TSI
using satellite images of Dhaka city (Fig. 8). In case
of Secchi depth, the SDD values declined from post-
monsoon to pre-monsoon in all of the lakes of Dhaka
city, indicating the deteriorating the water quality of
the lakes (Fig. 8). On the other hand, the turbidity
values increased in all lakes of Dhaka city from post-
monsoon to pre-monsoon.
Table 5: Summary of the Seasonal Water Quality
within the Dhaka City Lakes
Satellite Image
Based Water
Quality in Dhaka
City Lakes
Post-
Monsoon
(7
November
2020)
Winter
(27
December
2020)
Spring
(25
February
2021)
Pre-
Monsoon
(26 April
2021)
Min
Max
Min
Max
Min
Max
Min
Max
Cchl-a (μg/L)
3.38
78.5
8.39
41.9
7
8.74
57.1
2
8.88
59.5
7
TSI-Cchl-a
42.5
9
73.3
8
51.4
1
67.2
3
52.0
7
70.2
5
52.1
70.6
7
Secchi Disk Depth
(m)
0.95
1.53
0.89
1.05
0.87
1.06
0.85
1.03
Turbidity (FTU)
14.8
8
40.3
6
33.3
4
59.4
5
31.7
5
61.8
1
33.2
9
70.7
4
Assessment of Water Quality and Quantity in the Lakes of Dhaka Metropolitan City - Remote Sensing, Field and Laboratory Analyses 33
Figure 4: Variation of Seasonal Water Quality
Parameters of the Dhaka City Lakes Retrieved using
Sentinel 2B Data
Figure 5: Spatial Distribution of Seasonal
Chlorophyll-a Concentration within the Dhaka City
Lakes
Figure 6: Trophic State Index (TSI) of the Dhaka City
Lakes
34 Nabila et al.
Figure 7: Spatial Distribution of Secchi Disk Depth
(SDD) of the Dhaka City Lakes
Figure 8: Turbidity (FTU) of the Dhaka City Lakes
PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF THE
DHAKA CITY LAKES
There was uniform temperature distribution in the
studied lakes. Both natural and anthropogenic activity
may contribute to the temperature (Table 6 & 7; Fig. 9
& 10). The pH is the index that measures the degree
of alkalinity or acidity of any water sample. During
the field studies, we obtained pH value in ranges from
7-9.5 i.e., alkaline in nature of the lakes water (Table
6 &7; Fig. 9 & 10). There are several lakes exceeding
the Bangladesh standard of drinking (pH: 6.5-8.5) or
irrigation (pH: 6.5-8.5) or aquaculture (pH: 6.5-8.0)
water such as Crescent, Uttara South, Dhanmondi and
Zoo North lakes (ADB, 1994; ECR, 1997). Most of
Assessment of Water Quality and Quantity in the Lakes of Dhaka Metropolitan City - Remote Sensing, Field and Laboratory Analyses 35
the lakes are very close to the upper limit of
Bangladesh standard value of pH. The EC value
ranges from 148 to 730 µs/cm in March 2021 and 170
to 690 µs/cm in May 2021 of the Dhaka city lakes,
which indicated the acceptable limit for inland surface
water standard according to ECR, 1997 (Table 6 & 7;
Fig. 9 & 10). The TDS values were lower in May,
2021 than that of TDS values in March, 2021 for the
Dhaka city lakes (Table 6 & 7; Fig. 9 & 10). Uttara
lake demonstrates the highest TDS value of 366 ppm
and lowest in the Crescent lake 73 ppm in March,
2021. Uttara and Crescent lakes show 356 ppm and 70
ppm TDS value respectively in May 2021. So, all of
the lakes water showed somewhat acceptable level
according to the standard of TDS for drinking water
(1000 ppm), industrial water (1500 ppm), livestock
(5000 ppm), and irrigation (2000 ppm) according to
ADB 1994 (Table 6 & 7; Fig. 9 & 10).
Table 6: In Situ Measured Water Quality Parameters of Dhaka City Lakes (March 2021)
Sample
Temp
(°C)
pH
TDS
(ppm)
DO
(mg/l)
BOD (mg/l)
EC
(μs/cm)
Secchi Depth
Measurements
(m)
Ramna Lake (RL-01)
25.1
7.35
96
4.85
25.5
187
13
Ramna Lake (RL-02)
25.2
7.38
96
193
13
HatirJheel (HJ-01)
26.3
8
311
3.45
26.5
623
72
HatirJheel (HJ-02)
26.6
7.7
320
640
28
Gulshan Lake (GL-01)
27.6
7.8
290
3.49
25.43
585
22
Gulshan Lake (GL-02)
29.8
7.46
271
546
22
Banani Lake (BL-01)
28
7.44
290
3.76
24.22
580
20
Banani Lake (BL-02)
7.57
300
624
25
Old Airport Lake (OAL-01)
30.2
7.92
107
3.32
22.26
218
32
Cresant Lake (CL-01)
30.1
9.5
73
3.26
22.33
148
60
Dhanmondi Lake (DL-01)
28
8.85
150
5.65
22.45
302
50
Dhanmondi Lake (DL-02)
28.5
8.18
132
264
60?
Uttara Park Lake (UPL-01)
26.9
7.89
189
5.41
18.65
377
26
Uttara Lake (UL-01)
26.3
7.2
366
5.95
19.5
730
20
Uttara South/W Lake (USL-01)
27.4
8.6
294
5.34
18.45
589
26
Zoo South Lake (ZSL-01)
29
7.95
169
3.76
20.04
317
31
Zoo North Lake (ZNL-01)
28
9.45
92
3.23
20.1
183
70
36 Nabila et al.
Figure 9: In Situ Water Quality of Dhaka City Lakes (March 2021)
Table 7: In Situ Measured Water Quality Parameters of Dhaka City Lakes (May 2021)
Sample
Temp
(°C)
pH
TDS
(ppm)
DO
(mg/l)
BOD
(mg/l)
EC
(μs/cm)
Secchi Depth
Measurements (m)
Ramna Lake (RL-01)
29.7
7.4
89
4.95
25.6
170
22
Ramna Lake (RL-02)
29.3
7
90
190
22
HatirJheel (HJ-01)
28.8
8
300
3.5
26.1
600
25
HatirJheel (HJ-02)
29.5
7.9
295
667
39
Gulshan Lake (GL-01)
29
7.8
200
3.49
25.7
500
22
Gulshan Lake (GL-02)
29.3
7.8
200
520
24
Banani Lake (BL-01)
28
7.8
210
3.79
23.95
490
25
Banani Lake (BL-02)
28
8
256
610
27
Old Airport Lake (OAL-01)
29
7.9
102
3.4
22.76
215
28
Cresant Lake (CL-01)
30
9
70
3.3
22.45
130
75
Dhanmondi Lake (DL-01)
28.5
9
145
6
22.45
295
67
Dhanmondi Lake (DL-02)
28.5
8.5
128
250
92
Uttara Park Lake (UPL-01)
30
7
187
5.67
18.97
310
37
Uttara Lake (UL-01)
26
7.5
356
6
19.76
690
21
Uttara South/W Lake (USL-01)
27
8.7
289
5.55
18.56
546
28
Zoo South Lake (ZSL-01)
27
8
167
3.45
20.04
310
29
Zoo North Lake (ZNL-01)
29
9
87
3.23
20.1
170
65
Assessment of Water Quality and Quantity in the Lakes of Dhaka Metropolitan City - Remote Sensing, Field and Laboratory Analyses 37
Figure 10: In Situ Water Quality of Dhaka City Lakes (May 2021)
The ionic dominance pattern of the lake water for
cation and anion was found Na+ > Ca2+ > Mg2+ > K+ >
Fe2+ > Mn2+ and HCO3- > Cl- > NO3- >SO42-
respectively which have a contrasting characteristic
with the standard ionic dominance pattern for fresh
water of cation Ca2+ > Mg2+ > Na+ > K+ and anion
HCO3 - > SO4 2-> Cl- (Table 8; Fig. 11 & 12). The
dominance of Sodium over Magnesium and chloride
over sulphate would probably due to the unwise
anthropogenic activity like untreated industrial
effluents. The pattern of the total cationic and anionic
concentration of the studied lakes was Uttara South/W
Lake> Uttara Lake> Hatirjheel> Gulshan Lake>
Banani Lake> Uttara Park Lake> Dhanmondi Lake>
Zoo South Lake> Old airport Lake> Zoo North Lake>
Ramna Lake> Cresant Lake and Uttara Lake>
Gulshan Lake> Uttara South Lake> Hatirjheel>
Banani Lake> Uttara Park Lake> Dhanmonde Lake>
Zoo South Lake> Old Airport Lake> Zoo North
Lake> Ramna Lake> Cresant Lake consecutively
(Table 9; Fig. 11 & 12). This implies that Uttara Park
Lake, Uttara Lake, and Gulshan Lake are ionically
most imbalanced or polluted.
Table 8: Water Quality of Dhaka City Lakes, Retrieved using Laboratory Analysis (Cation)
Cation
Sample ID
Ca2+
Ca
Mg2+
Mg
Na+
Na
K+
K
Fe2+
Mn2+
Total
cation
(mg/l)
(meq/l)
(mg/l)
(meq/l)
(mg/l)
(meq/l)
(mg/l)
(meq/l)
(mg/l)
(mg/l)
(meq/l)
Ramna Lake
16.65
0.83
5.58
0.46
13.49
0.59
4.77
0.12
0.28
0
1.99
Hatirjheel
16.96
0.85
12.4
1.02
61.1
2.66
15.91
0.41
0.07
0.01
4.93
Gulshan Lake
16.57
0.83
14.01
1.15
57.45
2.5
12.69
0.32
0.21
0
4.80
38 Nabila et al.
Banani Lake
16.83
0.84
14.69
1.21
54.5
2.37
11.56
0.3
0.13
0.03
4.71
Old Airport Lake
19.84
0.99
9.34
0.77
18.03
0.78
5.52
0.14
0.19
0
2.68
Cresant Lake
10.15
0.51
8.35
0.69
14.7
0.64
0.45
0.01
0.16
0
1.84
Dhanmondi Lake
26.48
1.32
12.16
1.00
29.34
1.28
6.71
0.17
0.23
0
3.77
Uttara Park lake
16.63
0.83
11.71
0.96
46.29
2.01
8.38
0.21
0.1
0
4.02
Uttara Lake
20.71
1.03
15.52
1.28
69.97
3.04
16.61
0.42
0.16
0
5.78
Uttara South Lake
22.48
1.12
16.6
1.37
67.79
2.95
14.35
0.37
0.29
0
5.80
Zoo South Lake
14.31
0.71
10.7
0.88
34.46
1.5
12.83
0.33
0.13
0
3.42
Zoo North Lake
10.69
0.53
6.58
0.54
15.52
0.68
17.35
0.44
0.08
0
2.19
Figure 11: Measurement of Cation of Dhaka City Lakes
Table 9: Water Quality of Dhaka City Lakes, Retrieved using Laboratory Analysis (Anion)
Anion
Sample ID
HCO3-
HCO3
Cl-
Cl
SO42-
SO4
NO3- nitrate
NO3
Total anion
(mg/l)
(meq/l)
(mg/l)
(meq/l)
(mg/l)
(meq/l)
(mg/l)
(meq/l)
(meq/l)
Ramna Lake
76.25
1.25
20.03
0.56
20.17
0.42
9.19
0.15
2.38
Hatirjheel
297.38
4.875
63.59
1.79
15.25
0.32
76.36
1.23
8.22
Gulshan
Lake
343.13
5.625
50.92
1.43
15
0.31
92.05
1.49
8.86
Assessment of Water Quality and Quantity in the Lakes of Dhaka Metropolitan City - Remote Sensing, Field and Laboratory Analyses 39
Banani Lake
366
6
37.61
1.06
13.18
0.27
16.67
0.27
7.60
Old Airport
Lake
106.75
1.75
14.93
0.42
9.23
0.19
36.41
0.59
2.95
Cresant
Lake
91.5
1.5
4.36
0.12
9.76
0.20
0.25
0.004
1.83
Dhanmondi
Lake
175.38
2.88
28.16
0.79
11.46
0.24
4.44
0.07
3.98
Uttara Park
lake
198.25
3.25
27.76
0.78
7.93
0.17
37.03
0.6
4.79
Uttara Lake
465.13
7.63
50.63
1.43
17.19
0.36
1.63
0.03
9.44
Uttara
South/W
Lake
350.75
5.75
52.23
1.47
12.38
0.26
66.6
1.07
8.55
Zoo South
Lake
175.38
2.88
26.56
0.75
3.77
0.08
8.06
0.13
3.83
Zoo North
Lake
106.75
1.75
14.43
0.41
9.4
0.2
2.89
0.05
2.4
Figure 12: Measurement of Anion of Dhaka City Lakes
CONCLUSIONS
Spatial-temporal distributions of both water
quality and quantity were delineated in the lakes
of Dhaka Metropolitan City, which were
experiencing pay off - deteriorating in quality and
quantity due to rapid and unplanned urbanization
for decades. The results show that the lakes area
decreased drastically from 1972 to 2020 by a
percent varying from 25% to 75% except North
and south Zoo Lake. Both minimum and
maximum concentration of chlorophyll-a and TSI
chlorophyll-a were recorded in pre-monsoon
season. The Secchi Disk depth showed a
decrease, whereas, turbidity of water increased
from post monsoon to pre monsoon. Average
secchi disk depth found higher in May than
March in the field. The pH values recorded in the
field describes that the lake water was slightly
basic. The TDS, DO, BOD, and EC
measurements were almost similar in both March
40 Nabila et al.
and May-minor seasonal variation, but varies
greatly among lakes. The total Cation
concentration of Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, Fe2+,
and Mn2+ and anion concentration of HCO3-, Cl-
. SO4 2-, and NO3- were found maximum in
Uttara lake and Uttara South/W lake and
minimum in Zoo North lake. Moderate Satellite
image resolution, conventional algorithms and
limited in situ samples were the major limitations
of this study. The findings of this study would be
a valuable input in planning sustainable city and
making the respective authority concerned to
protect the lakes from further degradation as well
as to improve the existing condition.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Authors are gratefully acknowledged the Faculty
of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University
of Dhaka-Bangladesh Bank research grant for
funding this research.
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