Just like in water, there are many national and inter national authorities (USEPA, BIS, WHO, CPCB etc ) which publish the permissible limit of various physico-chemical as well as heavy metals in water for drinking or irrigation purposes. River water sediment also contain nutrients, trace elements and heavy metals. Any maximum permissible limit for that?
You may get more information through Canadian Environmental Quality Guidelines - Canadian Sediment Quality Guideline
http://ceqg-rcqe.ccme.ca/en/index.html#void
Dear Wan Mohd. Yes they have provided for heavy metals and pesticides.Any idea about physico-chemical parameters.
Ewald Schnug Sir, Sent mail on the address which you gave.
Dr. Edward Long, Washington State Department of Ecology, Olympia, USA has published several research articles on sediment quality assessments. You may search his name on Research Gate to access some of his publications. All the best!!! Sincerely, B. Loganathan.
Of course, allowances need to be made for your context, but you might find some useful ideas here: http://www.iss.it/binary/publ/cont/218%20-%20%20ANN_08_31%20Brils.1224495496.pdf
Ewald Schnug Sir, I have sent a mail on the address which you gave but till now no reply from there.