Abstract
<title>Abstract</title> <p>Surface water is the most important natural resource on earth. However, industrial effluents are a major source of surface water contamination leading to environmental degradation and damage to aquatic life. The present study assessed the industrial wastewater impact on Meghadri Gedda surplus channel, Visakhapatnam, India, through a physicochemical characterization, Water quality index and principal component analysis (PCA) and spatial distribution map. The physicochemical properties of industrial effluents revealed considerable spatial variation among sampling locations, with extremely acidic pH values (1.02–1.18), high TDS concentrations (34,400 mg/L), elevated chloride concentrations (148,890 mg/L), and substantial COD levels (1232 mg/L), indicating significant industrial influence. The water quality index ranged between 17.51 and 152.43, categorizing the samples' water quality from excellent to unsuitable for use. The CIFL ETP inlet in both batches showed the highest WQI values, while CIFL desalination reject and ETP outlet exhibited excellent quality. Principal components analysis illustrated that the first three principal components explained 87.32% and 96.04% of the total variance in Batch 1 and Batch 2, respectively. Spatial distribution maps identify the hotspot across the study area.</p>