Lakes and Ponds: Pollution Abatement and Environmental

Sustainability

National Environmental Engineering Research Institute

Dr. Rakesh Kumar, Chief Scientist and Head, Mumbai Regional CenterEmail: r_kumar@neeri.res.in; rakeshmee@rediffmail.com

Phone: +91-22-24973521/24974607

Urban Lakes: Under Constant ThreatWhat has gone wrong!!!

— Degradation of quality –— Untreated sewage discharge— Solid waste disposal— Eutrophication— Floating weeds

PROTECTION METHODS— PROTECTION METHODS— Degradation of quantity –— Abstraction of Water for variety of usages— Encroachment— Drainage & Alternate Land Use— Silt influx from degradation of catchment area

Water Bodies – Current Status-Across India

Ground water Recharge: Lakes Help!

Qualities of a Healthy Lake..

High Water Clarity [ No floating matter ]

No Stench

No Floating Weeds

No Floating Solid Waste

High Dissolved Oxygen (D. O.)

High Biodiversity

1st Step: Prevent — Prevent –vMunicipal and/or Industrial Effluent disposal

vSolid waste disposal

v Idol Immersion

v Introduction of exotic and/or invasive species

vEncroachments

vOver-exploitation of resources like fish, water

vCatchment Area degradation

vSlope Instability

Cure is Necessary..

Eutrophication

Floating Treatment Wetlands

Floating weeds Removal

Brine Spray

Physical Removal

Introduction of biological predator

(insects, fungi, herbivorous fish)

Sedimentation

Dredging: When and Where??

Low D.O.

Does Aerationalways Help??

A Healthy Ecosystem in the Lake = A Healthy A Lake

2nd Step: Treatment of Inputs

— Any unwarranted flow of solids and liquids need to be treated and suitably discharged

— Liquid Waste can become an additional source of water

— Achieve discharge standards: Below 10 ppm of BOD

INPUT TREATMENT USING CONSTRUCTED WETLAND

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3rd Step: Peripheral and In-situ Treatment

— Water bodies (lake or impounded water in dam) need peripheral arrangement for:

— prevention of silt and sediments

— Prevention of nutrient from rainy runoffs

— In-situ removal of contaminants

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The Shahadara Lake Rejuvenation Project

Sewage Water will be treated by the “PhytoridTechnology” based on constructed on constructed wetland and will be used for Rejuvenating the lake in the Shahadara locality of East Delhi

Floating Treatment Wetland: In-situ treatment

Advantages..— Low Cost

— No Power Requirement

Low on maintenance— Low on maintenance

— Eco-friendly

Lake/PondLake/Pond StatusStatus

Bhujale Ongoing

Lonar Completed

Telebandha Phase I

Kot Lake On progress

Shahdara Under

implementation

Eco-Unfriendly Activities

— Solid waste disposal— Nirmalya disposal— Fish feeding— Idol Immersion

Environmental Issues— Pre-monsoon water quality poor; water was high in

suspended solids, floating debris, foul smell, BODand COD

— It appeared faint yellow-green in color and theclarity was poorclarity was poor

— Local fishermen around complained of itching whentheir skin came in contact with the water

— No aquatic plants or birds observed— Fishes like magur and guppy have been introduced

Some Work of NEERI’s Some Work of NEERI’s Technology for Lakes and

Nalla Waste Water Treatment

NEERI’s Floraft TechnologyPilot scale implementation of NEERI's Floraft technology,

which is our improvised version of the Floating Treatment Wetland technology has been undertaken at the Bhujavale Talao in Malad (W), Mumbai

Common native aquatic plants planted in Florafts

Phragmites karka Typha latifolia Justicia americana Eleocharis Alternanthera

Bhujale Talao: Location of Study Area

ØDimensions: 71.43 m, 73. 1 m, 18.54 m, and 32.23 m

ØApproximately 16-18 feet deep at the 18 feet deep at the center

ØRoughly bowl shaped

Mumbai Reels under Water Pollution Stress

Florafts are made of PVC pipes and plastic nets of about 5ft by 5ft size

Florafts are given adequate thickness through thermocol

paddings and double net layers so that plants are adequately supported

Florafts can be tethered to nearby trees or poles

Or, allowed to float freely

Idol-in-Net Technology

Water Quality of Bhujale PondDO

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OPERATION & MAINTENANCE

ØLittle or no maintenance required on a daily basis as the system is biological and requires no electricity or sophisticated set-up

ØManpower is required for harvesting excess emergent biomass every few months

ØLocal wetland plants will be

ADVANTAGES

ØIn-situ method of water treatment

ØLow cost, aesthetic and eco-friendly

ØNo electricity requirement

ØNo skilled manpower required

ØNatural Oxygen production

ØReduction in BOD, NO3-N, TSS ØLocal wetland plants will be needed for re-populating floating rafts

ØBriquetting and sale of harvested biomass

ØReduction in BOD, NO3-N, TSS and coliforms has been reported

ØNew land mass for use by all kinds of creatures including fish and aquatic birds

ØSequestration of carbon and other greenhouse gases

ØHarvested biomass can be sold as briquettes

Lonar Lake (under threat), Maharashtra

Nabi Lake

Lonar Lake

Under Consideration

Phytorid Plant on Nabi Lake

Lake Area: 3 HaPhytorid Capacity 500 KLDPlant commissioned

Entire Sewage from Lonar

Telibandha Lake, Raipur

Lake Area: 11 HaPhytorid Capacity 2 MLDProposed to develop 3 plant at periphery

Second Phase started

Kot Lake Brahmapuri, Maharashtra

Phytorid capacity 450 kldproject design initiated

Shahadara Lake, Delhi3 MLD Capacity Phytorid

Beds for Rejuvenation of an 8 acre surface area Lake –which is currently totally

dried up

Proposed Outlay

Existing Conditions

Proposed design of Phytorid for Nag Nadi (Nalla)

Already 500,000 lit/day already being treated and used (Punjab Rao KrishiVidyapeeth)

Estimated land area required: 2563 m2Estimated land area required: 2563 m2

For a plant capacity of 1000 m3/day

Entire length of the plant: 267mFor a plant capacity of 1000 m3/day

Length of the Phytorid bed: 184 mDimension: 1.5m depth X 184m length X 8m width

Project completion period: 12 months

The Result….

More varieties of fishBirds among visitors

Clean waters and no stink

No itch for swimmers

Study Area— Thane: One of the cities in Mumbai

Metropolitan Region

— Lat – Long: 900 12’ N 730 92’ E

— Also known as “City of Lakes”

(35 lakes in the city)

Sampling Site: Siddheshwar Lake

ü Location: Near Uthalsar Ward Office

ü Area: 3 Hectares

ü Type of settlement: Completely urbanized water body

Ref: TMC’s ESR, 2009 -2010

Water Quality Index

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295

166

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WQ

I Val

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Seasonal Variation in WQI Values

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W S M PMSeason

ü Based on the seasonal WQI values for Siddheshwar lake, it can be

concluded that the water quality of this lake is very poor in all the seasons

üWater is unsuitable (based on drinking standards)

W= Winter, S =Summer, M= Monsoon, PM= Post Monsoon

Conclusions—Without understanding the social

connectivity with water bodies, its difficult to solve issues—Protection methods (modern) are —Protection methods (modern) are

actually harming them— Input control technologies (sustainable

and power free)— In-situ Control—Continuous monitoring with local

participation

Dream or Reality?!