Pollutions :introduction

An undesirable change in the

physical ,chemical and biological
characteristics of air water and soil
which affects human life .
Pollution may be result of human
activities or natural examples of
natural pollution are volcano
eruption, floods etc .

Sources of pollution
Solid waste as source of pollution
1. Industrial waste
2. Domestic waste
3. Sewage
4. Agricultural waste
. Liquid waste as a source of pollution
. Gaseous waste as a source of pollution
. Energy waste as a source of pollution
. Noise as a source of pollution

Cost of pollution
Medical care of health to meet the
challenges of pollution diseases such
as tuberculosis,typhoid,lung
cancer,diarrhoea etc
Involvement of monetary funds and
man power for disposal and control
of pollutants
Damage to agricultural resources
Damage to biodiversity
Damage to monuments

Nature of pollutants
1. Decomposable or biodegradable:these are
naturally occurring organic compounds which
are degraded by biological or microbial
agents such pollutants include domestic
waste ,dead remains of plants and animals
,food residuals etc.
2. Non-decomposable or non biodegradable:
These are not decomposed or destroyed over a
long period of time these are simple waste such
as iron,glass,plastic,polythene heavy metals etc

Management of environmental
pollution
Few possible measures to manage environmental
pollution:
1. Environmental education must be made compulsory
2. Regular information about environmental problem
should be imparted through mass communication
media.
3. Specific standards for each of pollution should be set.
4. Protection of environment must be enforced by mass
awareness and by imposing constitution.
5. Industries ,factories air ports and other such
establishment should be far away from the city to
minimize pollution.

6. Enterprises must be given legal and financial

incentives to adopt antipollution measures
7. Adulteration of food products, drugs and
general commodities should be made
punishable offence.
8. Nuclear testing resulting in the production of
radioactive waste should be made punishable
offence.
9. Wildlife board and environmental cell should be
establish in all important cities to popularize
antipollution research.
10.Legal advices, scientific assistance and
alternative procedures to reduce the use and
release of pollutants should be made known.

Water resources of India

Surface water
Surface water is water in a river, lake or fresh
water wetland. Surface water is naturally
replenished by precipitation and naturally lost
through discharge to the evaporation.
Ground water
Sub-surface water, or groundwater, is fresh
water located in the pore space of soil and
rocks. It is also water that is flowing below the
water table. (sometimes called "fossil water").

 Frozen water
Several schemes have been proposed to
make use of icebergs as a water source,
Glacier runoff is considered to be surface
water.
The Himalayas, which are often called "The
Roof of the World", contain some of the
most extensive and rough high altitude
areas on Earth as well as the greatest area
of glaciers and permafrost outside of the
poles. Ten of Asias largest rivers flow from
there, and more than a billion peoples
livelihoods depend on them.

Uses of fresh water

Agricultural
Industrial
Household
Recreation

Hydrological cycle

 The water cycle, also known as the

hydrologic cycle or H2O cycle, describes the
continuous movement of water on, above and
below the surface of the earth. Water can
change states among liquid, vapour, and solid
at various places in the water cycle. Although
the balance of water on Earth remains fairly
constant over time, individual water molecules
can come and go, in and out of the atmosphere.
The water moves from one reservoir to another,
such as from river to ocean, or from the ocean
to the atmosphere, by the physical processes of
evaporation, condensation, precipitation,
runoff, and subsurface flow.

 Precipitation is any product of the

condensation of atmospheric water
vapour that falls under gravity. The
main forms of precipitation include
drizzle,rain,snow and hail. It occurs
when a local portion of the
atmosphere becomes saturated with
water vapour and the water
condenses.
Sublimation is the process of
transition of a substance from the
solid phase to the gas phase without
passing through an intermediate

Water conservation can be

defined as:

Any beneficial deduction in water loss, use

or waste.
A reduction in water use accomplished by
implementation of water conservation or
water efficiency measures.
Water conservation is what that can reduce
the scarcity of water. It aims to improve the
efficiency of use of water, and reduce losses
and waste.

13

Goals
Sustainability. To ensure availability for future
generations, the withdrawal of fresh water from an
ecosystem should not exceed its natural replacement
rate.
Energy conservation. Water pumping, delivery, and
wastewater treatment facilities consume a significant
amount of energy. In some regions of the world over 15%
of total electricity consumption is devoted towater
management
Habitat conservation. Minimizing human water use
helps to preserve fresh water habitats for local wildlife
and migrating waterfowl, as well as reducing the need to
build newdamsand other water diversion infrastructure.
14

Technical methods to
conserve water

15

WATER REUSE
Water reuse is the use of wastewater (sometimes
called gray water) from one application for
another application.
Some potential applications include other
industrial uses in cooling water at power plants
and oil refineries or industrial process water for
such facilities as paper mills and carpet dyers,
toilet flushing, construction activities, concrete
mixing, and artificial lakes.
Reused water can also be used in landscape
irrigation, agricultural irrigation, aesthetic uses
such as fountains, and fire protection.
16

RAIN WATER HARVESTING

Rain Water Harvesting is capturing and storing
rainfall to irrigate plants or to supply people
and animals.
A well-designed system will also decrease our
landscape maintenance needs. All we need for
a water harvesting system is rain, and a place
to put it.
A "catchment" is any large surface that can
capture and/or carry water to where it can be
used immediately or stored.
We can store water in a variety of ways: 55gallon steel drums, barrels or underground
storage tanks.
17

The Next Business Opportunity - Water

Conservation

In the last five years, a growing number of progressive

private-sector companies have been increasingly making
their presence felt in the area of water conservation. As
they develop new technologies for water-related processes,
they have also started to influence the process of water
regulation to ensure positive support for developing
sustainable technology in the field.
One group of companies, led by Nestle, are showing that
they have a role to play in developing a sustainable model
for water utilization and in helping formulate policy for the
same. A second group is focusing on technology to get
more output per drop of water.
With the green revolution pushing up agricultural
productivity, the incremental increases in productivity of
agriculture are vital, considering that agriculture accounts
for 80% of water requirements.
18

WHERE THE
OPPORTUNITIES ARE

The broadest range of opportunities for new products and

services falls into three areas: improving the productivity of
water treatment and distribution, of water-intensive
industrial and power processes, or of water usage in
agriculture.

Global industrial players, such as ABB, GE, and Siemens,

already have large water businesses and continue to
develop new products in this area for large industrial users
and water utilities. IBM provides technologies to measure
and track water efficiency efforts and to improve water
treatment and irrigation.

In 2009, PepsiCo conserved more than 12 billion liters of

water through efficiency improvements.
19

Water conservation
Following strategies can be adopted for conservation
of water
1. Decreasing run off losses through contour
cultivation, water spreading through channeling or
lagoon-levelling Chemical wetting agent
(surfactants),surface crop residue, chemical
conditioner like gypsum.
2. Reducing evaporation losses
3. Storing water in soil
4. Reducing irrigation losses
5. Reuse of water
6. Preventing wastage of water

Water pollution
Can be defined as a change in the
quality or composition of water
directly or indirectly as a result of
mans activities ,so that it becomes
unsuitable for drinking ,domestic
,recreational and agricultural
purpose.

Sources of water pollution.

Uncontrolled dumping of solid degradable
and non degradable waste
Indiscriminate flow of effluents from various
industries
Deterioration of the self purification process
of water.
Domestic waste : a common and widespread
source of water pollution is the discharge of
domestic waste directly into the river could
be biodegradale or non biodegradable.

 Sewage :fluid consisting of human faecal

matter ,material and organic nutrient in a
dissolved state in a solid condition is called
sewage.
Industrial wastes: industries such as sugar,
textile petrochemical, chemical industries
etc. conveniently discharge their effluents
into water bodies without any consideration
of consequences. some of these effluents
contain toxic chemical .
About 180 million liters of toxic effluents
are discharged every day into Periyar river
in Cochin area.

 Fertilizers and Detergents: a fairly large amount

of fertilizers added to increase soil fertility is
washed off through the irrigation, rainfall and
drainage and ultimately reaches the rivers.
These pollute the water and make it toxic.
Pesticides :the use of pesticides has a common
now a days popularly used pesticides are DDT,
Malathion etc. These are non bio degradable in
nature.
Radioactive waste: radioactive waste enter into
the water bodies in various ways eg processing
of uranium ore, wastes from radio isotopes using
research laboratories, or waste generated during
nuclear weapon testing

 Thermal pollution: pollution arising

from sudden increase in the
temperature of water is known as
thermal pollution. Several industries
utilize water for cooling purpose and
release it to the river at higher
temperature such releases lethally
affect the aquatic biotic
communities.
Oil: pollution arising from oil spillage
from tankers in sea.

 Eutrophication: is the enrichment of the

water bodies resulting from addition of
organic and inorganic nutrients.it leads to
the increased growth of algal blooms,
which on their death become a medium
for bacterial growth and for decomposition
process.it in turn leads to oxygen
depletion and associated form of water
pollution .this result in the death and
decay of aquatic organism and
consequently the water become foul
smelling and unfit for life activities

Effects of water pollution

1. Domestic sewage : a number of epidemic diseases
such as cholera,thypoid,dysentery
,diorrhoea,infectious hepatitis and jaundice are
caused by water pollution.
2. Industrial effluents: contains large amount of toxic
chemicals ,heavy metals and non biodegradable
waste. The toxic chemical are detrimental to aquatic
life to terrestrial life ,directly or indirectly and disturb
the whole ecosystem.eg heavy metal contamination
of water causes severe ailments of human being
mercury poisoning causes minamata disease
detected in Japanese soldiers consuming mercury
contaminated fish of minamata bay of japan.

 Methyl mercury causes numbness of limbs,

lips and tongue of human ,deafness, blurring
of vision .
Heavy metal causes cancer of liver and lungs.
3. Ground water pollution: seepage of industrial
and municipal waste has contaminated the
ground water. Accumulation of nitrates in
water from fertilizers when consumed by
man and animals are reduced to toxic form
in body and causes disease known as
methaemoglobinemia which is damaging of
respiratory system resulting to suffocation.

 Excess fluoride in drinking water

causes teeth deformity and skeletal
fluorosis in which bones become stiff,
hardened and joint painful .disease
knock knee syndrome out ward
bending of knee ,in w.bengal the
presence of excess of arsenic in
ground water causes black foot
disease .chronic lead poisoning
symptoms include fatigue, weakness
etc. Copper causes hypertension and
uremia and zinc causes vomiting and
renal damage.

4. Eutrophication: in nutrient rich water

reservoirs, algae grow abundantly and develop
water blooms or algal blooms which, causes
loss of species diversity. Many blooming blue
green algae secrete toxin in water and induce
oxygen deficiency, as a result aquatic animal
die.
5. Bio magnification :is a phenomenon through
which certain pollutants are accumulated in
tissues in increasing concentration along food
chain e.g. DDT an insecticide used to kill
mosquitoes .in an island of USA the regular
use of DDT has been found to reduce the
population of fish eating birds.

6. Thermal pollution: release of hot

water form thermal power stations
and various industries directly to the
water bodies often kills both aquatic
plants and animals.

Water borne diseases

Waterborne diseases are caused by pathogenic
microorganisms that most commonly are
transmitted in contaminated fresh water. Infection
commonly results during bathing, washing,
drinking, in the preparation of food, or the
consumption of food thus infected. Various forms
of waterborne diarrheal disease probably are the
most prominent examples, and affect mainly
children in developing countries; according to the
WHO. Deaths due to water related diseases in
India are in the range of nearly 80 percent.

Water Related Diseases

in India
Diarrhoea
Diarrhoea remains the most prevalent water related disease in
India. It mostly affects children under the age of 5 and often leads
to death.
Diarrhoeal infection is spread through food and drinking water that
has been contaminated.
A diarrhoeal attack can last up to 2 weeks and leave the person
completely dehydrated.
Symptoms of diarrhoea include, severe dizziness, loss of
consciousness, dehydration and pale skin, little or no urination
and in some case bloody stool.
Diarrhoea can spread through multiple viruses that is found in
contaminated water. The poorer sections of the society come in
daily contact with this water and that is the why the rate of
diarrhoea is highest amongst them.

 II. Cholera
Thousands of people fall prey to cholera every year in
India.
Cholera is a water related disease, and is diarrhoeal
in nature.
It can kill in hours if left unattended.
Cholera strikes when one ingests water that is
infested with the Vibrio Cholerae bacterium.
Symptoms of cholera include watery bowels and fever
in certain cases.
Cholera can happen to both children and adults.
In India cholera related deaths are most common in
places with shortage of good quality water. In 2010,
nearly 140 people died of cholera in Odisha (formerly
known as Orissa).

 III. Malaria
Malaria or Malarial fever is spread by the
Plasmodium parasite mosquito that breeds in
water bodies like lakes. Stagnant water is another
favourite breeding ground for these parasites.
Malaria mostly kills children in India, as adults
slowly form some sort of immunity against the
parasite, over the years.
Malarial fever symptoms include fevers, chills,
headaches and vomiting. Sometimes these
symptoms are also coupled with anaemia.
A malarial infection shows only after a week has
passed. Therefore, treating it immediately is a
necessity.

 IV Filariasis
Filariasis is a parasitic disease and affects people
who live near unsanitary water bodies or sewages.
Filariasis is spread by mosquitoes that breeds in
fresh and stagnant water bodies and is the host of
the filarial nematode worm. This worm affects
humans and leads to elephantitis.
Filariasis can lead to blindness, and rapid skin
pigmentation and the filarial worms can affects
various parts of the body.
Filariasis is a concern for the rural population in
India whose major occupation is agriculture.
Although Filariasis can be treated and prevented
with oral medicines.

River Action Plans

The water quality data generated through National Water

Monitoring Programme and River Basin Studies carried out
since, 1980 indicated deterioration of water quality in riverine
segments and other water bodies. The water bodies not
meeting the desired water quality criteria are identified as
polluted river stretches/water bodies. The deviation of water
quality from the desired water quality criteria in the data
generated for the river Ganga formed the basis for launching
Ganga Action Plan (GAP). Subsequently, the river stretches
not meeting the desired criteria are identified in all the major
river basins. The identified polluted river stretches were
intensively surveyed by State Pollution Control Boards
(SPCBs) and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to identify
the sources of pollution such as Urban Centres and Industrial
Units.

 National River Conservation Directorate (NRCD) is

implementing the River Action Plans for restoration of
water quality based on the findings of survey reports
submitted by CPCB/SPCBs. The thrust of NRCD is
towards providing funds to state agencies for
interception, diversion and treatment of sewage
discharged to the water bodies from identified Urban
Centers. At present NRCD is implementing the Action
Plans in 157 cities and towns located along 30 rivers.
The name of the rivers are Adyar, Cooum, Betwa,
Bhadra, Brahmani, Cauvery, Chambal, Damodar,
Ganga, Godavari, Gomti, Khan, Krishna, Kshipra,
Mahanadi, Mandovi, Narmada, Pennar, Sabarmati,
Satluj, Subarnarekha, Tapti, Tunga, Tungbhadra,
Tambiraparni, Vennar, Vaigai, Walnganga, Yamuna
and Musi.

 The schemes taken up by NRCD are related to

Municipal Wastewater Treatment and are
progressing in various stages. The component of
Industrial Effluents contribution to polluted
stretches is required to be addressed by SPCBs
through consent management and surveillance.
The SPCBs may compile information on Industrial
Effluents being discharged in the polluted stretches
in their respective states and come out with a time
targeted plan to restore the water quality in the
rivers. The SPCBs may also carry out performance
study of functional Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) to
evaluate the efficacy of treatment systems. This
exercise shall be helpful in enforcement of
treatment standards imposed by SPCBs and NRCD.

 The Ganga Action Plan (GAP) originated from the personal

intervention and interest of our late Prime Minister Mrs
Indira Gandhi who had directed the Central Board for the
Prevention and Control of Water Pollution, now Central
Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to do a comprehensive
survey of the situation in 1979. CPCB published two
comprehensive reports which formed the base for GAP in
Oct 1984 but was not presented to the nation formally due
to assassination of Smt Indira Gandhi.
In Feb 1985, the Central Ganga Authority (CGA) with the
PM as Chairman was formed, with an initial budget of Rs
350 crore to administer the cleaning of the Ganga and to
restore it to pristine condition by our late PM Sh Rajiv
Gandhi. In June 1985, the Ganga Project Directorate (GPD)
was established as a wing of the Department of
Environment. GAP was launched on June 14, 1986 by Sh
Rajiv Gandhi at Varanasi.

 Failure of the GAP

The Ganga Action Plan launched in 1986 by the
Government of India has not achieved any success
despite expenditure of approximately 2,000 crore
rupees. Even though the government claims that the
schemes under the Ganga Action Plan have been
successful, ground realities tell a different story. The
failure of the GAP is evident but corrective action is
lacking.
The GAP I was extended as GAP II from 1993 onwards
covering 4 major tributaries of Ganga, namely, Yamuna,
Gomti, Damodar and Mahananda. The program was
further broad-based in 1995 with the inclusion of other
rivers and renamed as National River Conservation Plan
(NRCP). Ganga could not be cleaned but 34 other rivers
have been taken up for cleaning with the same failed
model of GAP.

 Objective of GAP
The objectives of the GAP were
broad: to abate pollution and
improve water quality, to conserve
biodiversity and develop an
integrated river basin management
approach, to conduct comprehensive
research to further these objectives,
and to gain experience for
implementing similar river clean up
programs in other polluted rivers in
India.

 The functions of the NRCA are as follows:

To lay down, promote and approve
appropriate policies and programs (long
and short term) to achieve the objectives.
To examine and approve the priorities of
the NRCP.
To mobilize necessary financial resources.
To review the progress of implementation
of approved programs and give necessary
directions to the Steering Committee, and
To take all such measures as may be
necessary to achieve the objectives.

Steps taken by Delhi

Government: water pollution
Major sources: Domestic sewage and Industrial
effluent.
The Govt. of Delhi has ensured that more than 1200
industrial units have installed effluent treatment
plants to treat their industrial wastewater. 11
Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) which
treat wastewater generated from 15 industrial
areas, are being monitored every month
23 Sewage Treatment Plants of 512 MGD(million
gallon per day) capacity, which have been installed
to treat the sewage, are been monitored every
month

 Water Pollution..contd.
Interceptor sewer concept is being
implemented by DJB on 3 major drains
(Najafgarh, Supplementary and
Shahadra drains) to keep Yamuna river
clean.
DPCC conducts monthly Water Quality
Monitoring of River Yamuna and Drains
and informs the concerned agencies to
take corrective action