Biological Pollution

Featured Articles
August 11, 2022 This could lead to water quality crisis reinforcing the need for basin-specific management strategies
Around the world, more than a fifth of nitrogen released by human activity ends up in aquatic ecosystems (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
July 14, 2022 The river is faced with the dual problem of flood plain encroachment and growing levels of water pollution
Illegal transverse check dams (Badhals) built on Ichamati near a village in Basirhat (Image: Prithviraj Nath @ TheWaterChronicles)
May 25, 2022 A study develops a decision support tool to identify polluted river stretches
Ulhas river near Khandpe village (Image: Ganesh Dhamodkar, Wikimedia Commons)
November 12, 2021 Mass fish deaths can pose a challenge to the environment, biodiversity and fisherfolk who depend on them for their livelihoods. Why do they happen?
Algal blooms in a pond in Tamil Nadu (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)
August 4, 2021 Detritivores, scavenger organisms inhabiting freshwater bodies such as streams are crucial for the survival of water bodies. However, anthropogenic changes are killing them!
View of a s stream in Kerala (Image Source: Firos AK via Wikimedia Commons)
June 24, 2021 Freshwater ecosystems in India are known to harbour rich biodiversity, but their health is being increasingly challenged in recent years. And the East Kolkata Wetlands are no exception!
Fishermen use wastewater from Kolkata to rear fish (Image Source: India Water Portal)
Toxins on our plate
There is a need for better regulation and monitoring to bring toxin-free food to the Indian market. Posted on 08 Aug, 2018 03:45 PM

“The recent scare due to the detection of formalin-laced fish across Goa, Kerala, Assam, Manipur, Nagaland and Meghalaya points to a link between water quality and food safety. Fish traders find it cost-effective to use formalin, a carcinogen, instead of ice to prevent the decomposition of fish during transportation to distant markets.

The quality of food products and their safety are mostly decided at the primary production stage itself which is unregulated. (Image: Masahiro Ihara, Flickr Commons CC BY 2.0)
No water security without water quality
A study points out that pit latrines with onsite sanitation systems are a source of groundwater contamination. Posted on 16 Jul, 2018 10:19 AM

Groundwater is a major source of water for a large number of Indians with 66 percent rural households and 27 percent urban households directly depending on it for drinking purposes, as per Census 2011.

Unsanitary conditions lead to groundwater contamination. (Image: SuSanA Secretariat, Attribution [CC BY 2.0])
Treating sewage with plants
Neknampur lake serves as a fitting example of how low cost but effective natural techniques can be used to clean city lakes that are choking with pollutants. Posted on 17 Apr, 2018 04:56 PM

A radical new method is fast emerging as an effective and sustainable solution to increasing pollution in urban lakes. Called floating treatment wetlands (FTW), they are artificial islands with plants that stay afloat on the lake. The plants clean the lake through hydroponics system, resulting in a cleaner, beautiful lake and an improved habitat for creatures that depend on it.

Floating treatment wetland at Neknampur lake. (Pic courtesy: 101Reporters)
Rivers around holy cities teem with faecal coliform
News this week Posted on 03 Apr, 2018 11:22 AM

Faecal coliform contamination found to be significantly higher in rivers around holy sites

Ganga in Varanasi (Photo courtesy: Wikipedia)
Arsenic-affected village gets water after two decades
Kaudikasa village’s two decades of struggle with arsenic contamination in drinking water ends with a new government scheme. Posted on 12 Mar, 2018 05:41 AM

Kaudikasa is a small village with a population of just 350 people in the Ambagad Chowki block of the Rajnandgaon district in Chhattisgarh. Despite its small size, Kaudikasa village has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Severe health problems have been reported from the village, thanks to acute arsenic contamination in its groundwater.

Yuvraj Singh, a former sarpanch of Kaudikasa near the tube well reported to have the highest level of arsenic contamination.
Islands float on Delhi lake
Floating wetlands have been constructed on Hauz Khas lake in an attempt to naturally restore it. Posted on 08 Mar, 2018 06:09 AM

Located in the Hauz Khas urban village in the busy metropolis of Delhi is an exquisitely landscaped lush green patch. This deer park, with spotted deer, peacocks and numerous birds, leads to an incredibly beautiful lake. As per a plaque at the site, the lake is a part of the medieval (13th century) city of Delhi Sultanate.

Phytoremediation principle is used to convert Hauz Khas lake into a water purifying wetland ecosystem. (Image: Tarun Nanda)
Rajim kumbh: Leave Mahanadi alone
Rajim kumbh mela has left the Mahanadi river crying for attention. Posted on 25 Feb, 2018 07:35 PM

Around 25 lakh pilgrims across the country took a holy dip in the Mahanadi during the Rajim kumbh festival held in Rajim from January 31-February 13, 2018. For this annual religious extravaganza at the confluence of the Mahanadi, Sondur and Pairi rivers in Chhattisgarh, the state government organised various religious events.

The entrance of the CG government's culture and tourism exhibition venue at Rajim kumbh 2018.
Slow death of a river
River Mutha, which was once the lifeline of Pune, is in dire straits. Concerted and systematic efforts involving citizens, experts and administrators need to be made urgently to save the river. Posted on 30 Jan, 2018 02:46 PM

River Mutha, the pride of Pune, lovingly called 'Muthai' or 'mother Mutha', is dying a slow death, thanks to the rapidly urbanising city which is depositing huge amounts of untreated sewage and dirt in its waters.

River Mutha, as it flows through Pune city. (Source: India Water Portal)
Hotels and industries polluting the Ganga to be sealed
Policy matters this week Posted on 27 Dec, 2017 11:43 AM

Hotels, industries, ashrams polluting the Ganga to be sealed

Ganga river at Sangam, Allahabad (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Cauvery loaded with toxins
News this week Posted on 27 Dec, 2017 11:10 AM

Cauvery found to be the most toxic river in the country 

Cauvery river at Hogenakal, Karnataka. (Source: IWP Flickr Photos via Claire Arni and Oriole Henri)
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