Water pollution

Water pollution: world and India

1. DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY NAME- SUBHASISH SUTRADHAR Reg. No.- VB 211 of 2012-13 B.A. SEM- V

2. WATER POLLUTION: RIVER POLLUTION Macro level study and India

3. INTRODUCTION Water is an essential resource for life on the Earth. Many ancient civilizations have developed in river valleys of the Nile, Indus, Tigris and Euphrates etc. Even now water resource provides a base for social, cultural and economic development. WHAT IS WATER POLLUTION? Water pollution is any chemical, physical or biological change in the quality of water that has a harmful effect on any living thing that drinks or uses or lives in it. WHO has defined water pollution as- “ any foreign material either from natural or other sources that may contaminate the water supply and make it harmful to life, cause of their toxicity and leads to reduction of normal oxygen level of water, causes aesthetically unpalatable effects and spread of epidemic diseases. ” Water pollution simply means contamination of water due to any external material. The problem of water pollution was first recognized by Hippocrates (450B.C). River is one and only water supply that linked with ocean and river play a major role in water pollution.

4. WHAT ARE THE MAJOR WATER POLLUTANTS? Many different chemicals are regarded as pollutants, ranging from simple inorganic ions to complex organic molecules. The water pollutants are all divided up into various classes. Every class of pollutants has its own specific ways of entering the environment and its own specific dangers. All classes have major pollutants in it that are known to many people, because of the various health effects. BIOLOGICAL IMPURITIES: i)Bacteria, virus and parasites.   INORGANIC IMPURITIES: i) Sediment or turbidity ii) Total dissolved solids iii) Toxic metals or heavy metals iv) Asbestos v) Radioactivity

5. C) ORGANIC IMPURITIES: i) Tastes and odors ii) Pesticides and herbicides iii) Toxic organic chemicals iv) Chlorine

6. SOURCES OF WATER POLLUTION:

7. WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF WATER POLLUTION (RIVER POLLUTION) ? With the fast increase in our industrial civilization, the demand for water is also increasing day by day. At the same time pollution increases, urbanization improper sewage disposal, unsafe industrial wastes, radioactive wastes, oil etc . have polluted our water resources so much. 70% rivers and streams, not only of India, but of all the countries contain polluted water. The causes of the water pollution are as follows- Fig- causes of water pollution

8. 1) NATURAL CAUSES: i) VOLCANIC ERUPTION: Sometime volcanic eruption becomes harmful for water. Newly fallen volcanic ash results in short-term physical and chemical changes in water quality . Upwelling magma that is of high temperature , when mixed up with river water, may harmful for aquatic life. Fig- water pollution by volcanic eruption

9. ii) ALGAE BLOOMS: Harmful algae blooms are overgrowths of algae in water. Some produce dangerous toxins in fresh water but even nontoxic blooms hurt the environment . Harmful algae bloom hazardous for aquatic life and human being. Fig- water pollution by algae blooms

10. iii) ANIMAL WASTES: The wastes produced by animals are washed away into the river when rainfall occurs. It gets mixed up with harmful chemicals, causes various water related diseases like- cholera, diarrhea, jaundice, dysentery and typhoid. Fig- water pollution by animal wastes

11. iv) SEDIMENTS: Sediment is the loose sand, clay, silt and other soil particles that settle at the bottom of a body of water. During flood and turbulence in water body , sediment mixed up with water and become harmful for fishes and other aquatic life . It also degrades the water quality. Fig- water pollution by sediments

12. v) NATURAL EUTROPHICATION: Although eutrophication is commonly caused by human activities, it can also be a natural process particularly in lakes . Eutrophy occurs in many lakes in temperate grasslands, for instance paleolimonologists now recognize that climate change, geology and other influences are critical in regulating the natural productivity of lakes. The main difference between natural or anthropogenic eutrophication is that the natural process is very slow , occurring on geological time scale. 2) ANTHROPOGENIC CAUSES: i) DOMESTIC WASTES : Domestic sewage is the wastes water from households. It contains a variety of dissolved and suspended particles. Domestic sewage contains disease causing microbes and chemical contained in washing powders affect the health of all life forms in water. Fig- water pollution by domestic wastes

13. ii) INDUSTRIAL WASTES: Factories use water from rivers to power machinery or to cool down . Dirty water containing chemicals is put back in the river water use for cooling is warmer then the river itself and this is a form of pollution. Damodor river is a highly polluted river due to industrial wastes discharged from Bokaro, Rourkela, IISCO, Bengal paper mills etc. Fig- water pollution by industrial wastes

14. iii) AGRICULTURAL WASTES: Farmers put fertilizers and pesticides on their crops, so that, their crops grow better, but these fertilizers and pesticides can be washed through the soil by rain to end up in river . Fertilizers and pesticides care harmful because, they cause algae growth . The algae then destroy water plants. In recent years, use of chemical fertilizers has increased manifold. The green revolution of India is a reflection of the increased use of fertilizers. Fig- water pollution by agricultural wastes

15. iv) MAN MADE EUTROPHICATION: Fertilizers are often used in farming. Sometime, this fertilizers run-off into nearby water, causing an increase of nutrient levels. This cause phytoplankton to grow and reproduce more rapidly, resulting algae blooms. These algae blooms caused several problems for aquatic lives. Fig- water pollution by eutrophication

16. v) OIL SPILL: Oil spill pose a huge concern as large amount of oil enters into the sea and does not dissolve with water, there by opens problem for local marine wildlife such as- fish, birds, and sea otters. For example a ship carrying large quantity of oil, may spill oil, if face with an accident and can cause varying damage. A dramatic incident was that of tanker ‘Torrey Canyon’, when it struck off the southern tip of the British Island in March 1967. Fig- water pollution by oil spill

17. vi) RADIOACTIVE WASTES: Nuclear energy is produced using nuclear fission or fusion. The element that is used in production of nuclear energy is uranium which is highly toxic chemical. Such as, Strontium 90 (can cause bone cancer) percolates down through the soil into ground water reservoirs or is carried out into rivers or pond. Nuclear wastes can have serious environmental hazards if not disposed of properly. Few major accidents have already taken place in Russia and Japan (2011). Fig- water pollution by radioactive wastes

18. vii) THERMAL WASTES: Thermal pollution is the degradation of water quality by any process that changes ambient water temperature. A common cause of thermal pollution is use of water as a coolant by power plants and industrial manufactures. It cause dangerous for the lives of aquatic animals and plants. Fig- water pollution by thermal wastes

19. viii) ACID RAIN: Air pollution can cause also have a direct effect on water pollution. When particles like- sulfur dioxides get high into the air they can combine with rain to produce acid rain . Acid rain can turn lakes acidic , killing fishes and other aquatic animals. pH level of water increases by acid rain and degrade the water quality. Fig- water pollution by acid rain

20. IMPACTS OF WATER POLLUTION: Impacts of water pollution can be categorized into three basic categories. Such as- 1)Impacts on ecosystem 2)Impacts on animal health 3)Impacts on human health 1) IMPACTS ON ECOSYSTEM: i) Ecosystems can be severely affected or damaged by water pollution.  ii) Contamination of groundwater from pesticides causes damage to the reproductive system in the wildlife ecosystem .  iii) Destruction in ecosystem is caused due to the rise in temperature in water like the coral reefs are affected by the bleaching effect due to warmer temperatures.  iv) Water pollution may also cause flooding due to accumulation of solid waste and soil erosion in streams and rivers.  v) Water pollution kills life that inhabits the water-based ecosystem, disrupting the natural food chain.  vi) The non-biodegradable pesticides and chemicals cause mass destruction of aquatic life.  vii) Steep increase in the BOD [Biological Oxygen Demand] levels of water. 

21. 2) IMPACTS ON ANIMAL HEALTH: i) Water pollution kills life that depends on these water bodies .  ii) Fishes and the aquatic organisms are poisoned due to industrial chemicals and agricultural pesticides .  iv) Oil spills in water causes animals to die as they ingest it or come across it. Oil cannot be dissolved in water so it causes suffocation in fish and birds .  v) Oil-contaminated water causes water birds to die from exposure to cold water and air due to feather damage .  vi) Animals that eat dead fish from contaminated streams are affected .  vii) Fish, birds, dolphins and many other animals are killed by pollutants in their habitat . viii) Reproduction rate in reduced in aquatic organisms. ix) Incidences of diseases increase.

22. 3) IMPACTS ON HUMAN HEALTH: i ) Humans are affected by water pollution. Diseases like hepatitis are caused by eating seafood that is poisoned or contaminated.  ii) In developing nations, there are frequent outbreaks of cholera and diseases due to poor drinking water quality from contaminated waters.  iii ) Swimming and drinking in contaminated water can causes skin diseases and also can lead to cancer, reproductive problems, typhoid fever and stomach ailments in humans. iv) Highly polluted water can harm internal organs like heart and kidneys .  vii) Pesticide contamination of ground water can cause endocrine and reproductive problems to animals and humans. ix) Synthetic organics cause serious damage to human health . x) Chemicals like fluoride, arsenic, lead, chlorine and petrochemicals in water can causes adverse effect on human health.

23. Fig- River map of the world

24. POLLUTED RIVERS OF THE WORLD: There are some listed polluted rivers- SL NO. NAME OF THE RIVER COUNTRY LENGTH (in K.M) SOURCE DESTINATION 1 MISSISSIPPI USA 3770 LAKE ITASCA GULF OF MEXICO 2 SARNO ITALY 24 MT. SARNO BAY OF NAPLES(NEAR POMPEII) 3 MARILAO PHILIPPINES - UPLANDS OF RAZAL - 4 YELLOW CHINA 5464 BAYAN HAR MOUNTAIN BOHAI SEA 5 JORDON ISRAEL 251 - DEAD SEA 6 YAMUNA INDIA 1376 YAMUNETRI GLACIER GANGA RIVER 7 BURIGANGA BANGLADESH 18 DHALESWARI RIVER DHALESWARI RIVER 8 MANTAZA-RIACHUELO ARGENTINA 64 BUENOS AIRES - 9 GANGA INDIA 2525 GANGOTRI GLACIER BAY OF BENGAL 10 CITARUM INDONESIA - - - 11 CUYAHOGA USA 136.6 - LAKE ERIE

25. 1) MISSISSIPPI RIVER: The term Mississippi refers to ‘big river’. Mississippi is the largest drainage basin of the entire North America it is the greatest natural and economic resource for the U.S. Mississippi river valley is very fertile agricultural region. Now, this river started getting polluted with all agricultural sewage making surrounding areas of the river mouth as a ‘dead zone ’. A recent report by a campaign group in 2012 claimed that in the year 2010, about 12.7 million pounds in the river including poisonous chemicals such as nitrates, benzene and arsenic. Fig- Polluted Mississippi River

26. 2) SARNO RIVER: Sarno River is considered as the most polluted river of the entire Europe , because of the dumping of all the agricultural and industrial wastes . Though it is useful till now, for fishing, transportation and irrigation but large portion of it is covered by waste products. Fig- Polluted Sarno River

27. 3) MARILAO RIVER: This polluted river has a great concern not only to the Philippines Government but also to the whole world. The level of contamination of this river is very high. Various non-cyclic objects like- plastics, bottles, polythene bags and all other objects come from leather tanneries, gold refineries and other industries . Toxic substances like- manganese, zinc, nickel and cadmium are found mixed with river’s underground water making it undrinkable . Such toxicity made the river polluted and dangerous. Fig- Polluted Marilao River

28. 4) YELLOW RIVER: It is the sixth longest river of the world and second longest river of Asia. It is called ‘Yellow River’, because of its muddy water arising from loess in the lower course of the river. It is considered as “ The cradle of Chinese civilization ”. This river was the main source of drinking water and irrigation. But now, it is impossible to drink its water. According to the report by UN Environmental Program, 4.29 billion tons of industrial wastes and sewages were dumped in 1996, making one third of it unusable. Fig- Yellow River Map Fig- Polluted Yellow river

29. 5) JORDAN RIVER: In 1964, the Israelis had built a dam on this river to divert its water to National Water Carriers. But the environmentalists say that these dam constructions have largely disturbed the ecosystem. Human consumption of the water is now contaminated by huge amount of sewage and wastes. This caused a great concern for the environmentalists as they claimed that the level of pollution is increasing , releasing a foul smell due to agricultural wastes. Fig – Jordan River Map Fig- polluted Jordan River

30. 6) YAMUNA RIVER: Yamuna is the largest tributary river of Ganges. This river is now affected deeply by pollution as millions of household garbage, municipal disposal and soil erosion due to deforestation find their way into the river each day. Even the toxic chemical substances including insecticides, fertilizers, pesticides, etc. are also found, making it the second most polluted river in India after Ganges. Fig- Yamuna River Map  Fig- Polluted Yamuna River

31. 7) BURIGANGA RIVER: This river is one of the most important river of Bangladesh and was main source of drinking water and transportation since 17 th century. During 20 th century, the river turned polluted. Pollutants like- polythene, industrial and household sewage, plastics and even dead men and animals spoiled the river water in a grand scale. According to recent reports, 4500 tons of solid waste is dumped into the river everyday from Dhaka. Fig- Buriganga River Map Fig- Polluted Buriganga River

32. 8) MANTANZA- RIACHUELO RIVER: This is a foul smelling river of 64 km long filled with toxic substances released from the household and industrial wastes. Millions of chemical wastes are being discharged in the water by petroleum companies resulting into water pollution. The Government of Argentina including some pressure groups has tried controlling pollution but in vain. Fig- Mantanza-Riachuelo River map Fig- Polluted Mantanza-Riachuelo River

33. 9) GANGES RIVER: It is the holiest river in Hinduism. Due to religious practices, this river has numerous pollutants ranging from household garbage in abundance to industrial wastes and toxic. Amplifying this, the religious offerings made to the river each day along with people bathing and disposal of dead bodies made the Ganges so polluted that the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR ) said that people living in vicinity of the river are vulnerable to cancer. Fig- Ganges River Map Fig- Polluted Ganges River

34. 10) CITARUM RIVER: It plays an important role in serving people great way by supplying water for irrigation and agriculture, industry, fishery and also in the electricity production. There are three hydroelectric power plant dams installed in the river. Despite of being generous, it is filled with tons of harmful substances from the industrial and domestic wastes. One can find bottles, plastic, rubber, gloves etc. , floating on the surface so densely covered by the solid wastes that the water can hardly be seen . It has disturbed the ecosystem severely. According to recent reports, the level of mercury is 100 times more than the legal amount. This has resulted in the dying of the river in certain parts. Fig- Polluted Chitarum River

35. POLLUTED RIVERS OF INDIA: SOME IMPORTANT RIVERS OF INDIA: Brahmaputra Cauvery (Kaveri) Chambal Ganga (Ganges) Godavari Gomati Hindon Indus Jhelum Kali Krishna Narmada Periyar Ravi Sutlej Yamuna

36. River pollution in Western Uttar Pradesh: Western UP has many big and small rivers. Ganga, Yamuna, Hindon, Kali (East & West) and Krishni are the important rivers that sustain the region’s lives. But over the past few decades, these rivers are continuously being polluted. They are so polluted that many think the rivers now take lives Instead of giving it. Major rivers flowing through Western U.P. NAME OF THE RIVER TOTAL LENGTH STARTS FROM ENDS AT Ganga 2525 Sq. km Gomukh (Gangotri) Pathar Yamuna 1376 km. Yamunotri (Uttarakhand) Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh) Hindon 200 km. Saharanpur Momnathal Village (Noida) Krishni 78 km. Krishni Village (Saharanpur) Barnawa (Baghpat) Kali River (East) 300 km. Antwada Village (Muzaffarnagar) Kannauj (Uttar Pradesh) Kali River (West) 75 km. Gagnoli Village (Saharanpur) Pithlokar Village (Meerut)

37. 1) HINDON RIVER: The River Hindon formerly known as Harnandi originates from Saharanpur district and after covering six districts finally meets the Yamuna River near Noida. It is a dead river today. Many of the villagers use the river water for drinking purposes. Owing to high concentration of contaminants like heavy metals and pesticides, the rural community residing on its banks is facing serious health problems . There are thousands of people suffering from serious ailments like cancer, stomach diseases, neurological disorders and skin diseases . A study of the water quality of Hindon river by Janhit Foundation shows that the water in the river has heavy presence of lead, cadmium, chromium and a number of pesticides in hundreds of times more than the permissible limits.

38. PLACE METAL PERMISSIBLE LIMIT (Mg/l) CONTENT EXCEEDING THE PERMISSIBLE LIMIT Sharakthal (Saharanpur) Lead 0.01 179 times Budhana (Muzaffarnagar) Chromium 0.10 122 times Mohannagar (Ghaziabad) Lead 0.01 14 times Momnathal (Gautambudh Nagar) Chromium 0.10 36 times Heavy Metals in Hindon River Source: The study report of Janhit Foundation

39. 2) KALI RIVER (EAST): Kali originates from a village called Antwada in Khatauli Block of Muzaffarnagar district in Western UP. It flows through a distance of 300 kilometers covering Meerut, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Etaha, Farukhabad and Kannauj districts before meeting the Ganga river near Kannauj. There are hundreds of villages situated on the banks of the Kali (East). The people from these villages utilize the water of this river for irrigation and livestock rearing. The untreated effluents of chemical plants, sugar mills, distilleries and slaughterhouses have made Kali River (East) almost dead . The water has turned black with hardly any oxygen left in it. Like other rivers, this river is also considered as holy and pure. The river has got the name since it is believed that its water used to cure black cough (Kali Khansi). Till 1980s, the water in the river was clean . However, now the river has changed literally black in colour very similar to its name. Fig- Kali River  

40. Heavy Metals in Kali River (East) Source: The study report of Central Ground Water Board (Govt. of India)   PLACE METAL PERMISSIBLE LIMIT (Mg/l) CONTENT EXCEEDING THE PERMISSIBLE LIMIT Ajhota Manganese 0.01 18,250 times Kudla Chromium 0.05 140 times Jalalpur Cadmium 0.003 333.3 times Behchola Nickel 0.02 600 times Ulhaspur Jasta 5.0 248.6 times Kudla Iron 0.3 33,340 times Dedwa Copper 0.05 2,040 times

41. Heavy Metals in Kali River (West) Source: The study report of Janhit Foundation Source: The study report of Central Ground Water Board (Govt. of India)   THE CASE OF JAIBHEEM NAGAR: Jaibheem Nagar, a slum locality in Meerut city is located on the bank of Kali River (East) near the medical college. The water quality of the river is so bad that it has even let to the contamination of underlying ground water. As a result of which, women and children especially young girls have to cover a tiresome journey of 2-2.5 kms everyday to fetch clean drinking water for their families. Preliminary analysis of drinking water samples by Janhit Foundation revealed excessive contamination of the river water . The test found heavy metals like mercury, chromium, cadmium and lead in water samples. These metals can cause many serious health problems. PLACE METAL PERMISSIBLE LIMIT (Mg/l) CONTENT EXCEEDING THE PERMISSIBLE LIMIT Malira (Muzaffarnagar) Chromium 0.10 30 times Pithlokar (Meerut) Lead 0.01 112 times

42. Results of Heavy Metals Study in Jaibheem Nagar Source Metal Permissible Limit (mg/l) Content limit more than the permissible limit Pond water Lead 0-05 5 times Pond water Mercury 0-001 12 times Pond water Cadmium 0-01 6 times Pond water Chromium 0-05 3 times Kalu’s private hand pump Iron 0-3 75 times Kalu’s private hand pump Cadmium 0-01 3 times Ramdhari’s private hand pump Iron 0-3 13 times India Mark II hand pump Iron 0-3 5 times Goraknath’s private hand pump Lead 0-05 3 times Goraknath’s private hand pump Mercury 0-001 3 times Rambhul’s Private hand pump Iron 0.3 66 times Source: The study report of Janhit Foundation

43. HOW TO CONTROL RIVER POLLUTION?   Controlling river pollution is in our own interest. As citizens of India we have constitutional duty to protect our environment. Similarly, the government also has a duty to protect the environment for the welfare of its citizens. There are many ways we can protect the river from pollution. Some immediate ways to control pollution are: • Industries should install good machineries to remove contaminants from their effluents and wastewater . One way to do so is installation of Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP). This way we can control pollution at the source itself. • The towns and cities should also have facilities to clean the sewage effluent. All towns and cities must have Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) that clean up the sewage . • We should stop our religious practices that pollute river Water. • Proper drainage and sewage systems should be adopted that will not allow the polluted water to mix with river water.

44. GOVERNMENT POLICIES: To control water pollution Government of different countries has taken several steps. If we take glance on the laws and rules of India then we can see- ACTS: i) No. 36 of 1977, [7/12/1977]- T he water (Prevention and control of pollution) Cess act, 1977, amended 1992. ii) No. 19 of 2003, [17/3/2003] – The water (prevention and control of pollution ) cess (amendment) act, 2003 iii) No. 6 of 1974, [23/3/1974] – The water (prevention and control of pollution ) act, 1974, amended 1988. RULES: G.S.R. 860(E), [30/11/2012] – The central pollution control board(amended) rules, 2012. G.S.R 840(E), [ 22/11/2012]- The central pollution control board, rules, 2012. Government has made this laws and rules. Besides all this Govt. has taken various action plans to control pollution , such as Ganga action plan in India.

45. HOW SHOULD I CONTRIBUTE TO MAKE THE RIVERS CLEAN?   As pointed out above, it is our duty to protect our environment. An individual effort may not be sufficient to clean our rivers, but when all of us contribute towards this goal it becomes a big effort. Thus it can help in cleaning up our rivers. There are many ways you can contribute towards a clean river in your locality:   • Promoting communities participation in local river cleaning up • Organizing awareness programs and meetings on the river pollution and its threats • Distribution of literature on the causes and ill effects of river pollution • Talking to our family and friends for spreading awareness on the importance of good water quality and clean rivers.    

46. CONCLUSION: We all know the significance of water and river. It is very essential element for human beings as well as all kind of flora and fauna. But now this water is in danger. This polluted water is hampering our present life. It may be harmful for the next generation also. So, we should take prompt action against this problem as we all know the role of water is not less than our Mother!  

47. THANK YOU