Contamination, Pollution and Quality

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Featured Articles
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)
June 4, 2024 Azolla pinnata, a floating water fern provides a unique environmentally friendly approach to mitigate the negative impacts of oil spills and promote cleaner water bodies.
Azolla pinnata, water fern that drinks oils (Image Source: Yercaud-elango via Wikimedia Commons)
May 6, 2024 In our quest to spotlight dedicated entrepreneurs in the water sector, we bring you the inspiring story of Priyanshu Kamath, an IIT Bombay alumnus, who pivoted from a lucrative corporate career to tackle one of India's most intricate water quality challenges, that of pollution of its urban water bodies.
Innovative solutions to clean urban water bodies, Floating islands (Photo Credit: Priyanshu Kamath)
April 1, 2024 Decoding the problems and solutions related to stubble burning
Burning of rice residues after harvest, to quickly prepare the land for wheat planting, around Sangrur, Punjab (Image: 2011CIAT/NeilPalmer; CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED)
February 20, 2024 This study predicts that sewage will become the dominant source of nitrogen pollution in rivers due to urbanisation and insufficient wastewater treatment technologies and infrastructure in worse case scenario projections in countries such as India.
The polluted river Yamuna at Agra (Image Source: India Water Portal)
January 30, 2024 The workshop provided inputs into the newly formed committee for “Standard Operation Procedure for Quality Testing of Drinking Water Samples at Sources and Delivery Points”
Sector partners come together to supplement the efforts of the government on water quality and surveillance (Image: Barefoot Photographers of Tilonia)
Groundwater quality in shallow aquifers of India – A report by the Central Ground Water Board
Summarizing various aspects of Ground water quality with a special reference to six parameters - salinity, chloride, arsenic, fluoride, iron and nitrate. Posted on 14 Dec, 2010 07:54 AM

This report by the Central Ground Water Board entitled ‘Ground Water Quality in Shallow Aquifers of India’ is an outcome of the follow up of one of the important recommendations of the second meeting of the Advisory Council on Artificial Recharge to Ground Water during September 2007. It attempts to summarize various aspects of groundwater quality in the shallow aquifers in the country with special reference to six parameters viz. salinity, chloride, arsenic, fluoride, iron and nitrate.

Uniform protocol on water quality monitoring by Ministry of Environment and Forests (2005)
Uniformity in procedure for water quality monitoring mechanism by all monitoring agencies, and agencies in order to draw water related Action Plans Posted on 13 Dec, 2010 07:32 PM

This deals with the Central Government’s order on “Uniform Protocol on Water Quality Monitoring Order” in June 2005 in exercise of the powers conferred by section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. Due to the deterioration of the river water quality, health and livelihood of the downstream people are being severely affected and concerns are raised time and again. 

Mitigation and remedy of groundwater arsenic menace in India: A vision document by NIH and CGWB (2010)
What should be gaps, focal areas of research, immediate measures to be taken up to provide arsenic safe potable water to the people? This document details and outlines Posted on 10 Dec, 2010 11:52 PM

This document, an outcome of the joint efforts of NIH and CGWB gives a detailed outline emphasizing the gaps, focal areas of research, immediate measures to be taken up to provide arsenic safe potable water to the people in the arsenic vulnerable areas, other activities to be initiated for attaining a logical conclusion of the arsenic problem and also to develop a roadmap delineating as to how the suggested activities could be initiated, coordinated, undertaken, including framing out a budget estimate to fulfill those activities.

On the brink: Water governance in the Yamuna river basin in Haryana
Water situation in the Yamuna river basin in the state of Haryana, currently threatened from poor management of surface water, over draft of groundwater, water misuse, waste and pollution,. Posted on 08 Dec, 2010 10:07 PM

This study attempts to develop a case study of the Western Yamuna Canal Command in Haryana with the purpose of developing a general picture of the institutional environment and arrangements related to water resource development and use in the State of Haryana. It is based on a review of water law, policy and administration and helps draw conclusions on whether the existing governance systems are meeting the current needs and suggests alternate options. The study has attempted to test the following hypothesis –

Degraded and wastelands of India - Status and spatial distribution
Integrating the work on degraded and wastelands in India, with a detail on the nature and cause of degradation, extent of damage with right management strategies to bring them to 'productive health' Posted on 07 Dec, 2010 10:16 PM

This book by NAAS and ICAR builds-on and integrates work done by different institutes of the ICAR and the Department of Space in the area of degraded and wastelands in India. NRSA had already published the state level and country level information earlier. In addition, the nature and causes of the land degradation, and the degree and extent of damaged lands needed to be determined, so that appropriate management strategies could be designed and implemented in a defined time-frame to bring these lands to ‘productive health’. 

Community participation in ground water management
The article is about the knowledge of groundwater level and quality monitoring for sustainable management of ground water. Posted on 07 Dec, 2010 12:29 PM

Knowledge of ground water monitoring is pre-requisite for sustainable management of ground water in an area. Water level monitoring as well as understanding about its quality need to be exercised at community level enabling them to take decision on common resource.

Guidelines for Assessing the Risk to Groundwater from On–Site Sanitation (ARGOSS)
Guide to assess and reduce the risk of contamination of groundwater supply from on-site sanitation systems and help plan low cost water and sanitation schemes Posted on 05 Dec, 2010 05:37 PM

These "Guidelines for Assessing the Risk to Groundwater from On–Site Sanitation (ARGOSS)" were developed to provide guidance on how to assess and reduce the risk of contamination of groundwater supplies from on–site sanitation systems and are aimed at those responsible for planning low cost water supply and sanitation schemes. The manual developed by the British Geological Survey has been field tested between 1999 and 2003.   

The Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2010 notified by the MoEF
Wetland Conservation and Management Rules ensure better management, conservation and prevention of degradation of existing wetlands Posted on 04 Dec, 2010 01:01 PM


Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF)The Ministry of Environment and Forests today notified the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2010. These Rules have been drafted by the Ministry of Environment and Forests to ensure better conservation and management and to prevent degradation of existing wetlands in India.

Water security for India: The external dynamics - An IDSA Task Force Report
India to be 'water-stressed' by 2025 and 'water scarce' by 2050; what forces drive the demand and political dynamics? What are the hindrances & opportunities? Posted on 01 Dec, 2010 08:44 PM

The report by Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses is premised on the fact that India is facing a serious water resource problem and is expected to become 'water stressed' by 2025 and 'water scarce' by 2050. It raises fundamental questions about the forces driving water demand and the political dynamics of riparian relations, both in terms of hindrances and opportunities, amongst states in the subcontinent. Rivers, a crucial source of water resources, physically link upstream and downstream users and at the same time create barriers.

Ecological Sanitation locations in India
This is a map of installations and research of Ecological Sanitation projects in India. Posted on 01 Dec, 2010 04:55 PM

Ecological Sanitation is a new approaching sanitation where there is minimal water use and where human waste can be used as fertilizer. It is a truly sustainable approach.