Reduction In Water Pollution In Yamuna River Due To
The Pharma Innovation Journal 2020; 9(12): 84-89ISSN (E): 2277- 7695ISSN (P): 2349-8242NAAS Rating: 5.03TPI 2020; 9(12): 84-89 2020 TPIwww.thepharmajournal.comReceived: 23-09-2020Accepted: 03-11-2020Mohammad ArifDirectorate of Green IndiaMission, Ministry ofEnvironment, Forest andClimate Change, Govt. of IndiaRajesh KumarDepartment of EnvironmentalScience, School of EarthSciences, Central University ofRajasthan, Ajmer, IndiaShagufta ParveenDepartment of Biotechnology,Kumaun University, Nainital,IndiaNemit VermaDirectorate of Green IndiaMission, Ministry ofEnvironment, Forest andClimate Change, Govt. of IndiaReduction in water pollution in Yamuna River due tolockdown under COVID-19 PandemicMohammad Arif, Rajesh Kumar, Shagufta Parveen and Nemit VermaAbstractThe epidemic of Novel COVID-19 was reported in India in January 2020 and increased day by day dueto the movement of people from abroad to India and then to the different parts of the country. TheCOVID-19 has been declared as pandemic because of its high transmission rate and coved more than2010 countries of the world. Under this scenario when there is no medicine for its treatment, the onlysolution to this problem is to break the chain of transmission and restrict the count of infected people. Tocontain a coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the Government of India announced the nationwidelockdown with effect from the midnight of 24 th March 2020 followed by the extension of the lockdownperiods and presently it is in its 4th phase. The various provisions were made under lockdown for closingthe industries, transportation, etc. except the essential services. It has been very interesting to note thatthe behavioural changes in nature are highly positive and atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere arerejuvenating and it gives an appearance that the earth is under lockdown for its repairing work. Underthis natural recovery, we tried to look at the improvement in the water quality of the Yamuna River inDelhi, which has been one of the burst polluted rivers. To study this river, the concentrations of pH, EC,DO, BOD, and COD have been measured which showed a reduction by 1-10%, 33-66%, 51%, 45-90%,and 33-82% respectively during the lockdown phase in comparison to the pre-lockdown phase. TheNizamuddin Bridge, Okhla U/s, Najafgarh Drain and Shahdara Drain were the major hotspotsresponsible for the deterioration of the water quality of Yamuna River while passing by Delhi region.Five major locations of Yamuna River have been analysed in this paper that showed a very impressiverecovery of the water quality during the lockdown phase as compared to the pre-lockdown status of waterquality.Keywords: Water quality, COVID-19, lockdown, industries, CPCB, DO, BODCorresponding Author:Mohammad ArifDirectorate of Green IndiaMission, Ministry ofEnvironment, Forest andClimate Change, Govt. of India1. IntroductionThe origin of the deadly pandemics coronavirus (COVID-19) has been in December 2019from the City of Wuhan, China [1, 2, 3] and spread to the almost entire globe. The source ofCOVID-19 is reported from the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and would have beenproduced from other mammals [1]. The World Health Organisation (WHO) in his reportupdated on 23 May 2020 at 05:30 GMT said that there are confirmed cases of infection byCOVID-19 to 5,206,614 people while 337,736 has lost their life from 216 countries [4].Recognizing the rate of spread of this virus with the personal contacts, various countries haveimposed complete lockdown in order to maintain forced social distancing and break the chainof the spread of coronavirus. Still if there are some urgent requirements of movement ofpeople, they were asked to under quarantine for 14 days considering the appearance of thesymptoms that take about 14 days. The Govt. of India, taking note of the activities adopted bythe COVID-19 affected countries, first requested the countrymen to be at home for the entireday and Prime Minister of India gave this a name as Janata (People's) Curfew, which wasobserved on 22nd March 2020. On this day of Janta Curfew all flights, trains, bus services,industrial and commercial activities were closed. After its success, an absolute lockdown wasimposed on 25th March 2020 for 21 days to break the chain of COVID-19 [5]. Further, thelockdown has been extended in phases 2, 3, and 4 till May 31, 2020 to control the spread ofinfection through a complete halt on the movement. The total lockdown has elevatedpandemonium among people but helped in reducing the pace of spreading the virus amongsociety. However, under this lockdown period, Nature started to respond very positively andstarted giving several signals of improvement to natural parameters of the atmosphere,hydrosphere, and biosphere. It appears that the earth is rejuvenating under the lockdown periodand it’s a closure for the repairing of earth. 84
The Pharma Innovation Journalhttp://www.thepharmajournal.comWith the understanding of this natural recovery, we tried tolook at the water quality status and improvement, if any, forthe Yamuna River in Delhi, which has been famous for itshigh pollution level in Delhi. The concentrations of pH, EC,DO, BOD and COD have been measured at various hot spotsfor the pollutions on the bank of river Yamuna. The waterquality parameters were compared between the lockdownphase and the pre-lockdown phase. Five major locations ofYamuna River have been analysed in this paper that showed avery impressive recovery of the water quality during thelockdown phase as compared to the pre-lockdown status ofwater quality. This showed that Nature is flourishing duringthe coronavirus pandemic followed by the lockdown in thelarger part of the world forcing the closure of the sources ofanthropogenic pollution. Yamuna river is one of the highlypolluted rivers in India, especially in Delhi [6] where the recentobservations reflected that the water pollution has reducedacross the Yamuna River channel during the lockdown phase.Hence to quantify the status of water pollution in one of thehighly polluted locations of Yamuna river, we have carriedout an analysis of pH, Conductivity (EC), DO, BOD andCOD at various locations of the Yamuna River, wherecomplete lockdown has been imposed.2. Study Area and MethodologyThe Yamuna River is the second-largest and longest tributaryof Ganga which enters Delhi at village Palla. It traverses 22km to Wazirabad barrage where entire water is impounded tomeet the drinking water requirement of Delhi. River Yamunaceases to exist downstream of Wazirabad Barrage in most ofthe periods of the year and receives its flow from theNajafgarh drain at Wazirabad downstream. No major freshwater is allowed to flow downstream of Wazirabad barrageexcept during the monsoon season (Fig. 1). As the rivertraverses further downstream the flow is blocked by a barrageat Okhla.Fig 1: Yamuna River, showing various Pollution Sources and location of Barrage [7]There are a total of 23 drains discharging wastewater in theriver Yamuna. Out of 23, a total of 16 drains are dischargingwastewater in river Yamuna between Wazirabad downstreamto Okhla upstream and 04 drains meet the Yamuna indownstream of Okhla Barrage and 03 remaining drainsdischarge their wastewater further down at Agra Canal andGurgaon Canal. There are 05 drains having interception anddiversion provision of sewage to the nearby STPs for ensuringfurther treatment. During the year 2019, the total flow ofwastewater was estimated as 3026.24 MLD and BOD loadwas estimated as 0.10-61.44 TPD [7]. The water quality data ofvarious pollutants were collected from the Central PollutionControl Board (CPCB). The data were analyzed for theYamuna at 5 monitoring stations i.e. Palla, NizamuddinBridge, Okhla (U/S), Najafgarh Drain and Shahdara Drain forthe period from 1st March to 7 April 2020 which have beenstudied in two phases as pre-lockdown phase (11-23 March,2020) and lockdown phase (24 March - 7 April, 2020).transportation, etc. were put on halt. The academic institutionsand hospitality services were also adjourned. Under thesecircumstances, the improvement in water quality was noticedin the river system of the country. Delhi, which is the hub ofair pollution and being counted as number one for most of thetime has resulted in a noticeable improvement in the waterquality of Yamuna during the lockdown period of the country.Scattered rains in Delhi on 27th March and during March 2829, 2020 further helped in improving the water quality ofYamuna River during the lockdown phase. This result hasbeen substantiated while analyzing the data of water pollutionand water quality before and after the imposition oflockdown. The similar results were also reported in GangaRiver and lack during the lockdown period [9, 10, 11].3.1.1 pH level in Yamuna River, DelhiThe pH of the Yamuna River observed alkaline in naturewhich varies from 7.1 to 8.7 with a mean value of 7.6 duringthe pre-lockdown phase (Fig. 2) while it has been observedbetween 7.1-7.4 in Najafgarh and Shahdara drain during thepre-lockdown phase. However, pH varies from 7.1 to 7.8 witha mean value of 7.3 in the Yamuna during the lockdownphase. The highest pH (8.7) was recorded at village Palla(entry point of Yamuna in Delhi) and lowest (7.1) at Shahdaradrain during the pre-lockdown phase. During the lockdown3. Results and Discussion3.1 Effect of lockdown on Yamuna River water qualityThe nationwide lockdown has come in effect since themidnight of March 24 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.Under the lockdown, the major sectors responsible for waterpollution like industries, power plants, construction activities, 85
The Pharma Innovation Journalhttp://www.thepharmajournal.comphase, a slight reduction in pH has been observed due to thereduction of industrial activities, the nonfunctioning ofessential commercial units, and prevailing weather conditions.The maximum reduction (10%) of pH has been observed atVillage Palla during the lockdown phase. The concentrationof pH was also correlated with the primary water qualitycriteria for a bathing water and designated best usable m/Primary Water Quality Criteria.pd)8. These exercises helped in understanding that theconcentrations were greater than the threshold limit of pH(6.5-8.5) daily at the village Palla which is vulnerable to thehealth problem. During the pre-lockdown phase, the pH levelswere lower than the threshold limit (6.5-8.5) except at villagePalla while it became much lower during the lockdown phaseat all locations. The pH drives most of the chemical andbiological changes in water. It acts as the driving force incontrolling species distributions in aquatic habitats. Thevarying pH values provides space to different species toflourish within however the optimum pH range is 6.5-8.0 formost of the aquatic organisms. The variability of pH outsidethis range physiologically put stress on numerous species andmay affect decreased reproduction and growth, attack ofdisease, or even death. Hence beyond the optimum value ofpH can adversely affect the biological diversity in waterbodies.Fig 2: average pH level in the Yamuna River at Palla, Nizamuddin, Okhla U/S, Najafgarh and Shahdara drain during pre-lockdown (March 1124, 2020) and lockdown (March 25-April 7, 2020)at village Palla during the pre-lockdown phase. During thelockdown phase, a slight reduction in conductivity has beenobserved due to the reduction of industrial activities, thenonfunctioning of essential commercial units, and prevailingweather conditions.3.1.2 Conductivity level in Yamuna River, DelhiIn the Yamuna, conductivity varies from 688 to 2485 µS/cmwith a mean value of 1526 µS/cm during the pre-lockdownphase (Fig. 3) while it observed between 273-1657 µS/cmduring the lockdown phase. The highest conductivity (2485µS/cm) was recorded at Shadra Drain and lowest (688 µS/cm)Fig 3: average conductivity level in the Yamuna River at Palla, Nizamuddin, Okhla U/S, Najafgarh and Shahdara drain during pre-lockdown(March 11-24, 2020) and lockdown (March 25-April 7, 2020)The maximum reduction (66%) of conductivity has beenobserved at the Nizamuddin bridge followed by village Palla(59%), Okhla U/s (43%), and Nazafgarh/Shadra drain (33%)during the lockdown phase (Table 1). 86
The Pharma Innovation Journalhttp://www.thepharmajournal.comTable 1: Comparative analysis of various water parameters during pre-lockdown and lockdown phases and their change in percentage (-vevalues shows reduction and ve shows increase) at different hotspot locations of Yamuna River in DelhiLocationsPhasePre-LockdownPalla (Yamuna)Lockdown%Decrease (-ve)/Increase ( ve)Pre-LockdownNizamuddin Bridge (Yamuna)Lockdown%Decrease (-ve)/Increase ( ve)Pre-LockdownOkhla U/s (Yamuna)Lockdown%Decrease (-ve)/Increase ( ve)Pre-LockdownNajafgarh DrainLockdown%Decrease (-ve)/Increase ( ve)Pre-LockdownShahdara DrainLockdown%Decrease (-ve)/Increase ( ve)Note: ND: Not Detected; NA: Data not AvailableDischarges into the streams are capable of changing theconductivity depending on their makeup. A failing sewagesystem raises the conductivity because of the higher presenceof chloride, phosphate, and nitrate. It may be noted that 16drains are discharging wastewater in river Yamuna which areinfluencing the conductivity of the Yamuna River.pH8.77.8-107.37.2-17.27.1-17.37.307.17.2 29518-81271150-45574383-33Delhi region of Yamuna during the lockdown phase. Duringthe lockdown phase, improvement in DO has been observedat both the Nizamuddin Bridge and Okhla U/s due to thereduction of industrial activities and rainfall in Delhi. It maybe noted that DO was not detected at both Nizamuddin Bridgeand Okhla U/s during the pre-lockdown phase due dischargeof huge amount of industrial and domestic wastewater. Thecomparative analysis is given in Table 1. The concentration ofDO was also correlated with the Primary Water QualityCriteria for bathing water and designated best use waterquality criteria of India. The DO levels were lower than thethreshold limit (5 mg/l) except at village Palla during bothpre- lockdown and lockdown phase at all locations. Low DOaffects most biological processes in water and responsible forlower biological diversity in water bodies.3.1.3 Dissolved Oxygen level in Yamuna River, DelhiDissolved oxygen (DO) is one of the most importantindicators of water quality on which the survival of aquaticlife depends. When DO becomes too low, fish and otheraquatic organisms cannot survive. The data for DO was notavailable at Nizamuddin Bridge and Okhla U/s locationduring the pre-lockdown phase while it was 17.01 mg/l atvillage Palla in the same period (Fig. 4). However, DO varyfrom 1.2 to 8.3 mg/l with a mean value of 3.9 mg/l in theFig 4: average dissolve Oxygen level in the Yamuna River at Palla, Nizamuddin, Okhla U/S, Najafgarh and Shahdara drain during pre-lockdown(March 11-24, 2020) and lockdown (March 25-April 7, 2020)forms of aquatic life. The consequences of the high BOD aresimilar to the effect of less oxygen availability putting aquaticlife under stress, suffocation and could be lethal. The majorsources of increase of BOD in the Yamuna river include deadplants and animals; animal manure; industrial/domesticeffluents, wastewater treatment plants, failing septic systems;and urban storm water runoff.3.1.4 Biological Oxygen Demand level in Yamuna River,DelhiBiological Oxygen Demand (BOD) is one of the mostimportant indicators of water quality. BOD directly affects theamount of dissolved oxygen in water bodies. The greaterdemand for BOD more rapidly depletes the oxygen in thewater bodies making lesser availability of oxygen for higher 87
The Pharma Innovation Journalhttp://www.thepharmajournal.comFig 5: average biological oxygen demand in the Yamuna River at Palla, Nizamuddin, Okhla U/S, Najafgarh and Shahdara drain during prelockdown (March 11-24, 2020) and lockdown (March 25-April 7, 2020)BOD vary from 7.9 to 163 mg/l with a mean value of 66.58mg/l during the pre-lockdown phase (Fig. 5) while it observedbetween 2-89 mg/l during the lockdown phase. The highestBOD (163 mg/l) was recorded at Shahdara Drain and lowest(7.9 mg/l) at village Palla during the pre-lockdown phase.However, improvement in BOD (i.e. the reduced demand) hasbeen observed at all locations in the lockdown phase due tothe reduction of industrial activities and prevailing weatherconditions. The maximum reduction (90%) of the BOD levelhas been observed at the Nizamuddin Bridge during thelockdown phase followed by Okhla U/s (77%), village Palla(75%), Shahdara drain (45%) and Najafgarh drain (29%). Thecomparative analysis is given in Table 1. The concentration ofBOD was also correlated with the primary water qualitycriteria for bathing water and designated best use waterquality criteria of India. The BOD levels were much higherthan the threshold limit (3 mg/l) at all locations during thepre-lockdown phase. A similar trend was also observedduring the lockdown phase except for village Palla. HigherBOD affects most biological processes in water and canultimately lead to reduced biological diversity in streams.3.1.5 Chemical Oxygen Demand level in Yamuna River,DelhiChemical oxygen demand (COD) is an indicator ofcontamination that shows the amount of dissolved matter inwater susceptible to being oxidized. COD is responsible forthe reduction of DO in water bodies. Higher concentration ofCOD is responsible for quick deterioration of oxygen in waterbodies and reduces oxygen availability for higher forms ofaquatic life. The major sources that increases the COD in theYamuna River are industrial/domestic effluents, wastewatertreatment plants, failing septic systems; and urban stormwaterrunoff.Fig 6: Average chemical oxygen demand in the Yamuna River at Palla, Nizamuddin, Okhla U/S, Najafgarh and Shahdara drain during prelockdown (March 11-24, 2020) and lockdown (March 25-April 7, 2020)COD varies from 28 to 574 mg/l with a mean value of 211.6mg/l during the pre-lockdown phase (Fig. 6) while it observedbetween 6 to 383 mg/l during the lockdown phase. Thehighest COD (574 mg/l) was recorded at Shahdara drain andlowest (28 mg/l) at village Palla during the pre-lockdownphase. However, improvement in COD has been observed atall locations in the lockdown phase due to the reduction ofindustrial activities, rainfall, and prevailing weatherconditions. The maximum reduction (82%) of the COD levelhas been observed at the Nizamuddin Bridge during the 88
The Pharma Innovation Journalhttp://www.thepharmajournal.comlockdown phase followed by Okhla U/s (81%), village Palla(79%), Najafgarh drain (45%) and Shahdara drain (33%). Thecomparative analysis is given in Table 1.Med Rxiv preprint Server for Health Science . Raibhandari B, Phuyal N, Shrestha B, Thapa M. Airmedical evacuation of Nepalese citizen during epidemicof COVID-19 from wuhan to Nepal. J Nepal Med. a.4857.3. Chauhan A, Singh RP, Decline in PM. Concentrationsover major cities around the world associated withCOVID-19. Environmental Research 187(2020), 4.4. WHO. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) rgencies/diseases/novelcoronavirus2019?gclid EAIaIQobChMIzOrc3 LL6QIVSlRgCh2P5g4OEAAYASAAEgKJWvD BwE5. Long NJ. From social distancing to social containment:reimagining sociality for the coronavirus pandemic. Med.Anthropol 2020. Theory ISSN 2405-691X.6. Upadhyay R, Dasgupta N, Hasan A, Upadhyay SK.Managing water quality of River Yamuna in NCR Delhi.Physics and Chemistry of the Earth 36(2011), 372-378.https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.pce.2010.03.018.7. CPCB. Report on Impact of lockdown on River YamunaWater Quality 2020. h
Kumaun University, Nainital, India DO Nemit Verma Directorate of Green India Mission, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Govt. of India The origin of the deadly pandemics coronavirus (COVID COVID symptoms that take about 14 days. The Govt. of India, taking note of the activities adopted by
Unit 5 : Environmental Pollution Definition Cause, effects and control measures of :- a. Air pollution b. Water pollution c. Soil pollution d. Marine pollution e. Noise pollution f. Thermal pollution g. Nuclear hazards Solid waste Management : Causes, effects and control measures of urban and industrial wastes.
water pollution. " Relate Text and Visuals Circle the potential sources of water pollution in this scene. Sources of Water Pollution Water pollutants can be point or nonpoint pollution sources, classified by how they enter the water. A pipe gushing wastewater directly into a river or stream is an example of a point source.
The maximum amount of pollution reduction is therefore equal to Q1. When the government decides to tax each unit of pollution, pollution is reduced as long as the tax per unit of pollution exceeds the cost producers face to reduce one extra unit of pollution. Producers will therefore cut pollution to the point where the tax equals the marginal .
causing pollution. Nemerow’s pollution index (NPI) is a simplified pollution index introduced by Neme [9] which is also known as Raw’s pollution index. NPI provides information about extent of pollution for a particular water quality parameter with reference to its standard value. By
water pollution and acid Rain caused by the burning of Fossil, cause water pollution. Health hazards of water pollution Polluted water is highly contagious to humans and causes a lot of health-related problem. Drinking untreated water nowadays causes your body immediately to react to it. You will get a stomach ache at the least. Water-borne .
Chapter 10 - Framework for Water Pollution Control 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Initial analysis of water quality problems 10.3 Establishing objectives for water pollution control 10.4 Management tools and instruments 10.5 Action plan for water pollution control 10.6 References Case Study I - The Ganga, India I.1 Introduction I.2 The Ganga river
Diffuse - when there isn't an obvious source of pollution and it occurs over a wide area. Examples include run-off from agricultural land and urban areas. This type of pollution can be difficult to identify and control. In Scotland, diffuse pollution is the largest pollution pressure on the water environment. 1 Making the case: Water of life
4 Pollution reduction Pollution reduction schemes and/or mechanisms undertaken by level 2 activities successfully reduce the levels of discharge into the air, water or land of substances likely to cause environmental harm. 5 Responses to incidents Pollution incidents are investigated and investigations result in improvements in controls.
