Chemical Pollution

This study published in the journal The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (AJTMH) aimed at assessing water contamination and the relative effectiveness of three options for point-of-use water treatment in South India.

This report by the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE) and Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM) on water quality monitoring in Kerala covers all its forty four river basins. This is being done under the “Environmental Monitoring Programme on Water Quality” under which samples are being collected both from surface and groundwater sources.

Groundwater sampling stations were fixed after conducting a sanitary survey in the panchayats. Water Quality Information System is being developed using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to manage the water quality from point or non-point source of pollution.

In the first phase of the project, three river basins of Kerala viz. Kabbini, Periyar and Neyyar were monitored. The network was later expanded to basins such as Chaliyar, Kadalundi, Meenachil, Karamana, Anjarakandi, Pamba, Muvattupuzha, Bharatapuzha, and Chalakudy. 

This draft report on the study of lakes by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (India) documents the physical condition of the lakes in Mumbai. Apart from the three lakes - Tulsi, Powai and Vihar that used to provide water to Mumbai residents, there are many lakes in the Bombay Municipal Corporation jurisdiction that are either polluted by human sewage or industrial effluents and have remained neglected with increasing urbanization.

There is very little to no data available on the existence of lakes of Mumbai. Several RTI’s to the government bodies also revealed that there was a lacuna in terms of the availability of the data; as a result most of the water bodies are easily exploited. Under this study the baseline data was prepared with the help of Google Earth website. The areas appearing to be lakes were marked on the Google Earth Images. These were verified by the field staff through onsite visits. The survey was conducted during September and October, 2008 and March, 2009. The study considers only the fresh water lakes which were accessible and saline water impoundments have not been considered.

The level of nitrate in drinking water was tested from groundwater artesian wells located within farms and surrounded by crops (mostly rice and wheat rotations).

Nitrate pollution in groundwater is associated with nitrogen loads in the environment. In urban areas, it is associated with sewage and in agriculture areas, with livestock sources and nitrogen fertiliser inputs. Nitrate pollution in drinking water can have serious health impact on humans, especially for babies and children. The most significant potential health effects of drinking water contaminated with nitrate are the blue-baby syndrome (methemoglobinemia) and cancer.

This report presents the findings of a study conducted by CPCB with the help of Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee and Anna University, Chennai  on the performa

This study was commissioned recognizing the fact that discharge of untreated sewage occurs not only because of inadequate installed capacity of sewage plants, but also due to the inadequate maintenance of existing plants.

The programme focused on community involvement in assessing and evaluating water quality.

Image courtesy: www.projectsmonitor.com

Under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, every industry has to provide adequate treatment of its effluents before disposal, irrespective of whether it is in stream, land, sewerage system of sea. The small scale industrial units (SSI), which are presently defined as units whose plant and machinery are valued at less than Rs. 5 crore occupy an important place in the country's economy. The SSIs are a major contributor to the total industrial pollution load of the country. However, only a small fraction of the effluent discharge from these units is estimated to be treated as on date.

This evaluation report by the Indian Institute of Management (Lucknow) of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), a central institution established to set environmental standards for all parts of the country focuses on strengthening of CPCB and its preparedness to undertake various measures as suggested by environmental statutes.

Guest post by: Usha Rajagopalan