Contamination, Pollution and Quality

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/topics/contamination-pollution-and-quality

Featured Articles
September 5, 2024 The current state of play regarding sewage treatment standards in India
Clogged pipes: India's sewage treatment crisis (Image: Trey Ratcliff, Flickr Commons; CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
September 2, 2024 Recommendations made by an expert committee, the NGT's subsequent orders, and a critical analysis of these developments
Drum screens at Bharwara sewage treatment plant (Image: India Water Portal)
August 30, 2024 This article traces the evolution of the legislative framework for water pollution in India and its implications for wastewater treatment standards in the country. 
Open drains in Alwar (Image Source: IWP Flickr photos)
August 22, 2024 The journey of sewage treatment standards and the challenge of treating India’s growing wastewater
Need to fix wastewater effluent standards (Image: Kristian Bjornard)
August 1, 2024 Recognising the limitations of relying solely on herbicides, a strategic shift towards preventive measures is crucial
Relying solely on chemicals to keep weeds at bay isn't sustainable and can harm the environment. (Image: Needpix)
June 12, 2024 Leveraging research to optimise water programs for improved health outcomes in India
Closing the tap on disease (Image: Marlon Felippe; CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons)
Can rice residues be turned into wealth?
Institutional support, monetary and proper implementation of laws along with policy framework can solve this issue, says a state-of-the-art review in crop residue burning in India Posted on 22 Jan, 2023 11:26 AM

Sustainable management of surplus paddy residue in the Indo-Gangetic plain is a back-breaking task for farmers due to lack of viable options. Eventually, farmers prefer to incinerate it mindlessly.

A controlled burn on long-term conservation agriculture trials (Image: CIMMYT)
Creating a pool of water quality trainers at scale
Developing core skills of trainers through the Trainer Certification Program Posted on 11 Jan, 2023 10:52 AM

According to the Global Water Quality Index, India ranks 120th out of 122 countries in water quality, its ability and commitment to improving it.

Strengthening skills of participants to impart training in their respective work areas (Image: INREM Foundation)
Building communities of practice on water quality
Water Quality Practitioners from across the country connect every week to discuss water quality issues and ground level challenges, explore possible solutions through the Guided Mentoring programme on Water Quality. Posted on 09 Jan, 2023 01:50 PM

Healing traditions in India have withstood the test of time. Not many of us need to be taught to mix a pinch of haldi in a glass of milk to cope with sore throat, now famously known as turmeric latte, or to add a pinch of dry ginger to our tea when we catch a cold.

Snapshot of a Guided Mentoring session being conducted virtually on Zoom Platform (Source: INREM Foundation)
Radiation not a pollutant, says Pollution Control Committee
Policy matters this fortnight Posted on 06 Jan, 2023 10:08 AM

Radiation is not a pollutant: Pollution Control Committee

DPCC claims there is no convincing scientific evidence of causing adverse health effects of radiation (Image: CC0 Public Domain)
Microplastics in tributaries of the Upper Ganga River
First report on microplastics in tributaries of Upper Ganga River along Dehradun Posted on 01 Jan, 2023 11:23 AM

Microplastic contamination has appeared as pollution of global concern in the aquatic as well as the terrestrial environment. In India, very few studies are available on microplastic load in freshwater ecosystems, despite the fact that rivers play a major role in transporting microplastics into the marine ecosystem. 

Microplastics (Image: Oregon State University, Wikimedia Commons)
Professionalizing Water Quality Management by empowered stakeholders
Online Water Quality Management (WQM) Course for JJM
Posted on 29 Dec, 2022 07:12 PM

Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) is an aspirational programme aiming to provide functional tap water connections to every household in rural India, ensuring access to adequate safe water.

Water Quality Champions, in the making (Image Source: INREM Foundation)
Imagining a societal scale water solution
Water anywhere straight to where it is needed Posted on 28 Dec, 2022 12:45 PM

A forwarded message on whatsapp: a mythological character in a critical scene: the warrior lying on a bed of arrows, thirsty, and the Hero using his magical arrow brings the river Ganga right there, with the Parjanyastra , a magical arrow that brings rain. In this version though, the water did not come out from the ground — the earth was dry and the missile couldn’t work!

Bhisma drinking water of Patala Ganga which was drawn on earth by Arjuna (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)
River Sharavathi - under siege from microplastics
A study finds that microplastic pollution in the river Sharavathi originating in the Western Ghats is growing. Urgent efforts to protect this biodiversity hotspot are needed. Posted on 16 Dec, 2022 01:32 PM

Rivers worldover are choking on plastic and transferring more than two million tonnes per year of microplastics (MPs) into the marine environment informs this paper titled 'Assessment of pollution and risks associated with microplastics in the riverine sediments of the Western Ghats: a heritage site in southern I

The pristine river Sharavathi (Image Source: Ashwin Kumar via Wikimedia Commons)
Water Quality Management Course - Not just a training program
In this article, we will understand how the WQM course is continuing to influence the needs of learners that come from diverse backgrounds. The course model also offers core insights to many others who would like to engage in a virtual training program. Posted on 16 Dec, 2022 01:17 PM

The journey of the Water Quality Management (WQM) Course into a movement with over 1500 WaterQualityChampions’ (WQC) across the country is curious and exciting. The course is enabling participants into “Water Quality champions” that even the course creators did not anticipate. Hence, it demands a closer introspection - into what went behind.

During a WQM course, a field team member from INREM facilitating a demonstration
Assessing the health of river Ganga
How are dams affecting the river Ganga? What are phytoplankton and how can they help assess health of rivers? What is the connection between dams, barrages, river flows and phytoplankton growth? Read this recent study to know more. Posted on 08 Dec, 2022 07:07 PM

Dams can bind and gag rivers 

Structures such as locks, dams, barrages, and weirs are known to drastically reduce the longitudinal connectivity of rivers, impact downstream flow, and alter riverine ecosystems.

The polluted Ganges (Image Source: Lane Rasberry via Wikimedia Commons)
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