Integrated Assessment of Pollution Hotspots and Decision Support for Rivers in a Rapidly Urbanizing Indian State: Moving Beyond Monitoring to Management

ABSTRACT

Telangana's river systems are increasingly exposed to pressures associated with urbanization, industrial activity and wastewater generation, creating a need for integrated assessment of multiple dimensions of water‐quality degradation. This study presents a 6‐year (2020–2025) regional assessment of major rivers in Telangana using monitoring data from the Telangana State Pollution Control Board. Physicochemical, nutrient, microbiological and heavy‐metal parameters were evaluated using the Water Quality Index (WQI), Heavy Metal Pollution Index (HPI), Integrated Pollution Index (IPI), correlation analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), temporal trend analysis and station‐level hotspot assessment. The integrated assessment identified the Musi River as the highest‐priority river, with the highest mean WQI (174.03) and a Management Priority Score (MPS) of 0.9002, corresponding to the Critical category. Kinneresani exhibited the highest mean HPI (209.12), indicating a comparatively elevated heavy‐metal burden despite its lower overall WQI. Station‐level HPI analysis further revealed substantial spatial heterogeneity, with Station 4657 on the Musi River at Pillaipalli showing the highest mean station‐level HPI among the evaluated monitoring locations. PCA identified a dominant multi‐metal co‐variation pattern and a distinct Fe‐associated pattern, providing evidence of multivariate association rather than definitive source attribution. A reproducible management‐prioritization framework was developed by integrating normalized WQI, HPI and IPI values using a weighted MPS. The framework is intended as a regional screening and prioritization approach rather than a validated universal decision‐support system. Its application to other river basins would require basin‐specific calibration, uncertainty assessment and independent validation.