Water is a valuable and precious gift of nature without which life on the earth is impossible and importance is evident from the fact that human cell contains 70-80% of water. A molecule of water is composed of two hydrogen atoms and one atom of oxygen. Our earth is covered by about 71% of water and only about 29% of land i,e. our earth has three- fourths of water and one-fourth of land. Almost 96.5 % of water on the earth is found in the Oceans and less than 3% is fresh water. But unfortunately all this freshwater is not available for consumption. Human beings throughout the world have been polluting water bodies by disposing liquid as well as solid wastes into these water bodies. Humans pollute such water bodies without realizing the consequences of these polluted bodies on humans and other organisms. Since the widespread and intense human wastes pass into water bodies, so widespread contamination of surface water is being predicted. The survival of human beings depend on, the way, we manage and use the environment today. Water quality management, water pollution control and environmental protection are the main issues to save our future. 97% of water is marine water, only 2.7% is fresh water. Of the fresh water, about 90% is either frozen or very deep groundwater at a depth of more than 700 m and is therefore not available to man. It is estimated that if we use 1% more out of our freshwater, we should be able to cultivate all the deserts and the arid and semi-arid land on the earth that cover 41% of the total land. Thus, we will eradicate food deficiency on the earth. It is worth mentioning that the amount of groundwater in the world is estimated to be about 22 million cubic km. The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is bestowed with abundant water resources. The Jammu Division is fed by the rivers like the mighty Chenab and the Tawi where as the Kashmir Division is bestowed with big rivers especially the Jhelum. The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has numerous lakes like Dal lake, Wular lake, Mansbal lake, Mansar lake, Surinsar lake etc. Wular lake is the largest fresh water lake in Asia. One of the biggest problem that living organisms especially humans face is the sewage and pollution caused by it. Sewage is a waste water containing human faeces, urine, microorganisms etc. Sewage is discharged from residential houses, hotels and restaurants. Sewage contains following impurities:
Suspended Solids: They include sand, silt and clay
Colloidal material: They include fecal matter, cloth, bacteria and paper fibres.
Dissolved materials: They include sodium, calcium, ammonia, phosphate and nitrates. The solid wastes in sewage are easy to get removed but the dissolved and liquid wastes are difficult to be removed from the sewage. A mere 0.1 percent of impurities present in the sewage make it unfit for human consumption. Most of globally produced wastewater remains untreated causing widespread water pollution. A global estimate by UNDP and UN-Habitat is that 90% of all wastewater generated is released into the environment untreated. This sewage water runs into the the water bodies and disturbs the foods chains in water and ecological balances.
Biological Oxygen Demand: Sewage containing nutrients enter the water bodies and cause nutrient enrichment of the water body and thereby increasing food for micro organisms. This results in growth of microorganisms in water. These microorganisms consume more and more dissolved oxygen from water for their metabolic activities resulting in increase in Biological Oxygen Demand.
Algal Bloom: The water containing large amounts of nutrients cause excessive growth of planktonic algae. This is called Algal Bloom. It imparts distinct colour to water bodies and also deteriorates quality of water and death of fish. There are some bloom forming algae which are toxic to humans and other organisms like corals.
Bio Magnification: Bio magnification refers to increase in the concentration of toxic substances at successive tropic levels. These toxic substances are found in sewage especially in Industrial Waste waters. Example of a toxic chemical which undergoes Bio magnification is DDT. Bio magnification is also a serious and harmful problem.
Eutrophication: The process of eutrophication is the natural ageing of a lake. It takes place by biological enrichment of its water. In a young lake, water is not much nutritionally enriched by nutrients like phosphates, nitrates etc. But over the period of time the draining of water rich in nutrients like phosphates, nitrates etc. into the lake increases fertility of the lake. This results in growth of plants and other organisms. Death and decay of these organisms results in accumulation of organic matter and silt at the bottom which over the centuries fills the entire lake and makes it shallow. Sewage water has nowadays become a major cause of some communicable as well as non-communicable diseases in human beings. Moreover, it degrades the natural environment and diminishes the beauty of the landscape. The bad smell of sewage water also causes allergic reactions in the body especially in eyes and nose. The constitution of India has made water as a state subject under Seventh Schedule. By the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, control of water supply and sanitation was given to Urban Municipal Councils. The Government of India has undertaken many initiatives regarding the management of waste water. Some of the important initiatives are given as under: “Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1974”(EPA): This Act was passed by the Parliament of India. It is an important Act which governs the water and it’s control. It was amended in 1988. The Act provided for the establishment of two important boards in India i.e., Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and State Pollution Control Board (SPCB). These Boards enact laws regarding sewage and Industrial effluent disposal and treatment.
“Environment (Protection) Act of 1986”: This Act is also called as EPA. It determines the limits for the discharge of pollutants into various regions of the environment. These different zones of environment include coastal areas, sea areas, land areas and surface water bodies.
“National Urban Sanitation Policy (2008)”: This programme among other objectives provides for complete sanitation and completely safe garbage disposal.
“People need to reduce the production of sewage from their kitchens. The Government on its part need to formulate policies and devise plans for preventing sewage getting discharged into the water bodies. The Government needs to construct and establish proper sewage disposal sites. The Government also needs to provide SBM Toilets and Soakage Pits to those households which are yet to avail such benefits. In order to make water of Rivers and streams pure an clean, a separate Department should be created for the conservation of Rivers and Streams.”
The Government of India has undertaken a number of other essential flagship national programs. Here special mention may be made of “Namami Gange”(2015) programme. It provided for the construction and renovation of sewage treatment capacity. It also provided for the installation sewerage network. The Government as well as the Non-governmental Organizations need to provide Awareness programmes on sewage and sewage water pollution. The general public must be provided information about the sewage and it’s consequences on living beings in water and above water as well. Such programs can be undertaken by organizing Seminars, Camps, Rallies, Road shows. etc. These awareness programmes will highlight the sewage as a threat to life on the planet. People must adopt such lifestyles which will result in the reduction of Sewage from our households especially the kitchens and bathrooms. The Government needs to devise policies aimed at containing sewage and sewage water pollution. The Government needs to devise environment friendly policies. The Government needs to provide soakage Pits to rural and urban poor people who cannot construct such Pits on their own. These Pits must be modernized to act as proper Sewage disposal sites. The Government buildings and Offices need to be provided soakage Pits Hospitals must be checked regularly to inspect whether the sewage and biomedical wastes are disposed off properly and whether soakage Pits are used for such purposes. The Government needs to provide SBM Toilets to the deserving poor people so that sewage pollution is controlled and open defecation is reduced. The Government of India need to create a separate Department for conservation of Rivers and Streams. The Department must keep check on the pollution levels in Rivers and Streams. The Department will also look into the sewage problems in rivers and streams. The Government needs to construct embankments on river banks to control discharge of Sewage into the water and to prevent flooding. The embankments need to be constructed in such a way that the sewage is prevented from flowing into the river. Now, it is clear that sewage has increased from past few years due to advancement in human consumption, modernization and improvement in lifestyle. Earlier a person had been using only a few liters of water for his family but nowadays each member of the family consumes huge quantity of water on daily basis for bathing, washing clothes, washing kitchen items etc. People are making no efforts in properly discharging and disposing off the sewage discharged from households. Need of the day is to make dedicated efforts to solve the problem of sewage and sewage water pollution. In this regard, the responsibility lies not only on people but also on the Government and Non-Governmental Organizations. People need to reduce the production of sewage from their kitchens. The Government on its part need to formulate policies and devise plans for preventing sewage getting discharged into the water bodies. The Government needs to construct and establish proper sewage disposal sites. The Government also needs to provide SBM Toilets and Soakage Pits to those households which are yet to avail such benefits. In order to make water of Rivers and streams pure an clean, a separate Department should be created for the conservation of Rivers and Streams.
(The author is a teacher at Govt Higher Secondary School Kandoora .The views, opinions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the author and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”)
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