I acknowledge my utter gratitude to our respected Life

Science teacher Banerjee sir without whose excellent

teachings and guidance I could hardly complete the project
competently. I also acknowledge Wikipedia for providing me
with the text of this project and other websites who provided
me the pictures related to this project.

Teacher’s Signature Student’s Signature

Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities.
Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers and groundwater. Water pollution results
when contaminants are introduced into the natural environment. For example, releasing
inadequately treated wastewater into natural water bodies can lead to degradation of aquatic
ecosystems. In turn, this can lead to public health problems for people living downstream.
They may use the same polluted river water for drinking or bathing or irrigation. Water
pollution is the leading worldwide cause of death and disease. Water pollution affects the
entire biosphere. Plants and organisms living in or being exposed to polluted water bodies are
impacted. The effect can damage individual species and impact the natural biological
communities they are part of. Water pollution can be grouped into surface water pollution
and groundwater pollution. Marine pollution is a subset of water pollution, and can be studied
separately. Nutrient pollution is also a subset of water pollution. The introduction of excess
nutrients can affect surface water and groundwater. The overgrowth of plant species that
thrive on newly-introduced nutrients can clog the water system. Sources of water pollution
are either point sources and non-point sources. Point sources have one identifiable cause of
the pollution, such as a storm drain or stream. Non-point sources are more diffuse. Pollution
is result of the cumulative effect over time. For example, runoff from agricultural fields that
slope toward river beds is a non-point source of pollution. The causes of water pollution
include a wide spectrum of chemicals and pathogens. Environmental changes such as
elevated temperature can also lead to polluted water. Warmer water enables new organisms to
thrive, upsetting the existing balance. Thermal pollution refers to water that is heated or
cooled when water of a different temperature is introduced. An example of this is urban
runoff from parking lots flowing into canals or streambeds. Water pollution is measured by
analysing water samples. Physical, chemical and biological tests can be done.
Water is typically referred to as polluted when it is impaired by anthropogenic contaminants.
Due to these contaminants it either does not support a human use, such as drinking water, or
undergoes a marked shift in its ability to support its biotic communities, such as fish. Natural
phenomena such as volcanoes, algae blooms, storms, and earthquakes also cause major
changes in water quality and the ecological status of water. Water pollution is a major global
problem. It requires ongoing evaluation and revision of water resource policy at all levels
(international down to individual aquifers and wells). It has been suggested that water
pollution is the leading worldwide cause of death and diseases, and that it accounts for the
deaths of more than 14,000 people daily. India and China are two countries with high levels
of water pollution: An estimated 580 people in India die of water pollution related illness
(including waterborne diseases) every day. About 90 percent of the water in the cities of
China is polluted. As of 2007, half a billion Chinese had no access to safe drinking water. In
addition to the acute problems of water pollution in developing countries, developed
countries also continue to struggle with pollution problems. For example, in a report on water
quality in the United States in 2009, 44 percent of assessed stream miles, 64 percent of
assessed lake acres, and 30 percent of assessed bays and estuarine square miles were
classified as polluted.
 Rabindra sarobar

LOCATION :- Rabindra Sarobar (previously known as Dhakuria Lake) is an artificial lake in

south Kolkata in the Indian state of West Bengal. The name also refers to the area
surrounding the lake. It is flanked by Southern Avenue to the North, Rashbehari Avenue
(Russa Road) to the West, Dhakuria to the East and the Kolkata Suburban Railway tracks
to the south.
POLLUTION :- The dependence of the local slum dwellers on the lake for their daily
sustenance and exploitation of the fish resources of the lake indiscriminately, are a serious
threat with respect to the ecology and biodiversity of the lake. In addition, idol immersion,
irresponsible dumping of domestic wastes, plastic carry bags, bottles and containers,
besides defecation, bathing/washing by slum dwellers have been a local nuisance. Erosion
along the east banks of the lake has been possibly due to extensive use by the local slum
residents as bathing stations in the past and is in urgent need of critical care.
Idols immersed in lake water have detrimental impact due to shifts in the
water pH, temperature, biochemical, chemical and dissolved oxygen(O2) demands. They
impact the level of water colour, turbidity, total dissolved solids, alkalinity, hardness and
calcium. Oil and grease levels of the water negatively impact the health of the aquatic
ecosystem. Further, toxic pollutants such as nickel(Ni), lead(Pb), chromium(Cr),
cadmium(Cd) and mercury(Hg) used in the paints of idols and use of plaster of Paris,
paper, wood and thermocol increase water contamination and sedimentation.
Lack of proper maintenance in clearing the lake water from invading
aquatic vegetation is a third challenge, that hinders & the ecological health of the lake. The
quality of service and maintenance is inadequate, monitoring is a challenge and poor
lighting conditions create security concern.
Mobile food vendors inside the premises are another causal factors for
local pollution and garbage dumping. The pathways and cycling avenues have been
improved; however, without proper maintenance they have started showing signs of
degradation. Lack of awareness among the public is hampering the restoration of the
ecological and environmental quality of the lake premise. A comprehensive urban
planning will be needed for long term sustenance of the lake and adjoining area.
Effect on population :-
East Kolkata township
 LOCATION :- The East Calcutta Wetlands, also known as the East Kolkata
Wetlands (22 0 27’ N 88 0 27’ E), are a complex of natural and human-
made wetlands lying east of the city of Calcutta (Kolkata),of West Bengal in India. The
wetlands cover 125 square kilometres.

EFFECT ON POPULATION

As for the East Kolkata Wetlands, this unique ecosystem impacts the daily lives of
people in Kolkata and in the region in several ways. If the Maidan is the lungs of Kolkata, the
East Kolkata Wetlands may well be described as the kidneys of the city. Originally a
patchwork of low-lying salt marshes and silted-up rivers, East Kolkata Wetlands is a vast
network of man-made wetlands bordered by green embankments and channels.

East Kolkata Westland

This is how it works: Urban waste water supplied by the municipal corporation is routed
through a series of small inlets, each managed by a fishery cooperative. The cooperatives
control the inflow of the waste water, they let it settle so that only the clear top layers of
water flow into the shallow wetland. A parabolic fish gate separates the wetland water from
the waste water. The parabolic structure is there to prevent fish swimming into the oxygen-
less urban waste water, where they would die.

In the meantime nature does its work.  In the inlets, organic waste settles down and is
partly decomposed in the warm shallow water. In a series of biological steps, the organic
waste in the wetland is converted into fish feed. There are several ecological processes at
work: soil bacteria, macro-algae, plant bacteria and plants themselves convert nitrate, and
absorb phosphate and heavy metals. The sediments in the waste water settle down. As the
water becomes less turbid, sunlight accelerates some of these processes. Through this process
(called bio-remediation), the waterways clean the city’s wastewater in less than 20 days. This
purified nutrient-rich water is then channelled into ponds, called bheries in local parlance, where
algae and fish thrive.

The famed fisheries of the Kolkata wetlands that are locally known as bheries.

This water is also used to grow paddy and vegetables on the verdant banks. On any
given day, take the road to the East Kolkata Wetlands and you’re met by a stream of
motorbikes towing four-wheeled trailers, piled high with vegetables and fat silvery carp being
lugged from the wetlands to city markets. Though from time to time there has been some
debate about the possible contamination of fish and food grown on wastewater, data from
institutions like Jadavpur University and State Pollution Control Board (SPCB), West
Bengal, have allayed such fears.

Also, these wetlands act as a natural flood control system for the city. The gradient of
the land in Kolkata is away from the river Hooghly (west to east), and the city’s sewage and
drainage systems have been designed to take advantage of this. Gravitational force takes the
discharge eastward and the wetlands serve as a natural spill basin, a giant sponge of sorts.
This function becomes particularly relevant during the monsoons when the entire Gangetic
delta is prone to flooding.

In short, these wetlands are Kolkata’s free sewage remediation works, a fertile aquatic
garden and, most importantly, a natural flood defence for the low-lying city.
However, for all their usefulness, these wetlands face a dwindling future thanks to the
city’s rapacious real estate market, which wants to fill up the large fishponds, locally known
as bheries and build on them. The ever-increasing hunger for land exerts a relentless pressure
on this unique ecosystem of vegetable gardens and shallow fishponds that has been
recognized as a Ramsar site since 2002.

One engineer-turned-environmentalist has been leading the movement to save the East

Kolkata Wetlands and its sustainable symbiosis with the metropolis.

Dhrubajyoti Ghosh

In 1981, Dhrubajyoti Ghosh used to travel every day from Kolkata to examine the
wetlands. A sanitation engineer, he had been asked to investigate what happened to Kolkata’s
waste water. The city produced a lot of sewage, didn’t have a treatment plant, but didn’t seem
to have a pollution problem, either. What he discovered at the wetlands was a unique urban
ecology that combined the dual benefits of environmental protection and resource recovery.
He realised that this precious ecological subsidy is what makes Kolkata the cheapest major
city in India – the wetlands produce 10,000 tonnes of fish each year and provide 40 to 50% of
the green vegetables available in city markets.
Determined to protect this one-of-a-kind ecosystem, he began his campaign by identifying the
uniqueness and opportunities of the ecosystem.

After establishing the utility of the wetlands in the 1980s, Ghosh’s next task was to define
their area. He drew up a map of these ponds and waterways. He also sought to demonstrate
the effectiveness of Kolkata’s free filtration system to the politicians, policy makers and civil
society activists.

A decade-old law barring new construction on the wetlands has been unable to dissuade
property developers and land sharks. Illegal developments are going up all over the wetlands,
and staying up, with the long-term value of the wetlands being trumped by their short-term
price as prime real estate. Fishing families allege that ponds are being deliberately sabotaged,
with channels blocked up, to force them to abandon their livelihoods.
 INFERENCE

Control of pollution
Municipal wastewater treatment
Main articles: Sewage treatment and Wastewater treatment

Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Plant serving Boston, Massachusetts and vicinity.

In urban areas of developed countries, municipal wastewater (or sewage) is typically treated by

centralized sewage treatment plants. Well-designed and operated systems (i.e., with secondary
treatment steps or more advanced treatment) can remove 90 percent or more of the pollutant
load in sewage. Some plants have additional systems to remove nutrients and pathogens, but
these more advanced treatment steps get progressively more expensive.
Nature-based solutions are also being used instead of (or in combination with) centralized
treatment plants.[6]
Cities with sanitary sewer overflows or combined sewer overflows employ one or
more engineering approaches to reduce discharges of untreated sewage, including:

 utilizing a green infrastructure approach to improve storm water management capacity

throughout the system, and reduce the hydraulicoverloading of the treatment plant[30]
 repair and replacement of leaking and malfunctioning equipment [21]
 increasing overall hydraulic capacity of the sewage collection system (often a very
expensive option).
On-site sanitation and safely managed sanitation
Further information: Sanitation

Households or businesses not served by a municipal treatment plant may have an

individual septic tank, which pre-treats the wastewater on site and infiltrates it into the soil. This
can lead to groundwater pollution if not properly done.
Globally, about 4.5 billion people currently (in 2017) do not have safely managed sanitation,
according to an estimate by the Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation.
[31]
 Lack of access to sanitation often leads to water pollution, e.g. via the practice of open
defecation: during rain events or floods, the human feces are moved from the ground where they
were deposited into surface waters. Simple pit latrines may also get flooded during rain events.
The use of safely managed sanitation services would prevent this type of water pollution. [31]

Industrial wastewater treatment

Main article: Industrial wastewater treatment
Dissolved air flotation system for treating industrial wastewater.

Some industrial facilities generate wastewater that is similar to domestic sewage and can be
treated by sewage treatment plants. Industries that generate wastewater with high
concentrations of organic matter (e.g. oil and grease), toxic pollutants (e.g. heavy metals, volatile
organic compounds) or nutrients such as ammonia, need specialized treatment systems. Some
industries install a pre-treatment system to remove the pollutants, and then discharge the
partially treated wastewater to the municipal sewer system. Industries generating large volumes
of wastewater typically operate their own treatment systems. Some industries have been
successful at redesigning their manufacturing processes to reduce or eliminate pollutants,
through a process called pollution prevention.
To remove heat from wastewater generated by power plants or manufacturing plants the
following technologies are used:

 cooling ponds, man-made bodies of water designed for cooling

by evaporation, convection, and radiation
 cooling towers, which transfer waste heat to the atmosphere through evaporation or heat
transfer
 cogeneration, a process where waste heat is recycled for domestic or industrial heating
purposes.[32]

Riparian buffer lining a creek in Iowa.

Agricultural wastewater treatment

Main article: Agricultural wastewater treatment

Non point source controls

Sediment (loose soil) washed off fields is the largest source of agricultural pollution in the United
States.[16] Farmers may utilize erosion controls to reduce runoff flows and retain soil on their
fields. Common techniques include contour plowing, crop mulching, crop rotation,
planting perennial crops and installing riparian buffers.[33][34]:pp. 4-95–4-96
Nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) are typically applied to farmland as commercial fertilizer,
animal manure, or spraying of municipal or industrial wastewater (effluent) or sludge. Nutrients
may also enter runoff from crop residues, irrigation water, wildlife, and atmospheric deposition.[34]:p.
2–9
Farmers can develop and implement nutrient management plans to reduce excess application
of nutrients[33][34]:pp. 4-37–4-38 and reduce the potential for nutrient pollution.
To minimize pesticide impacts, farmers may use Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques
(which can include biological pest control) to maintain control over pests, reduce reliance on
chemical pesticides, and protect water quality. [35]

Feedlot in the United States

Point source wastewater treatment

Farms with large livestock and poultry operations, such as factory farms, are called concentrated
animal feeding operations or feedlots in the US and are being subject to increasing government
regulation.[36][37] Animal slurries are usually treated by containment in anaerobic lagoonsbefore
disposal by spray or trickle application to grassland. Constructed wetlands are sometimes used
to facilitate treatment of animal wastes. Some animal slurries are treated by mixing
with straw and composted at high temperature to produce a bacteriologically sterile and friable
manure for soil improvement.

Erosion and sediment control from construction sites

Silt fence installed on a construction site.

Sediment from construction sites is managed by installation of:

 erosion controls, such as mulching and hydroseeding, and

 sediment controls, such as sediment basins and silt fences.[38]
Discharge of toxic chemicals such as motor fuels and concrete washout is prevented by use of:

 spill prevention and control plans, and

 specially designed containers (e.g. for concrete washout) and structures such as
overflow controls and diversion berms.[39]
Control of urban runoff (storm water)
Main article: Urban runoff
See also: Green infrastructure

Retention basin for controlling urban runoff

Effective control of urban runoff involves reducing the velocity and flow of storm water, as well as
reducing pollutant discharges. Local governments use a variety of storm water management
techniques to reduce the effects of urban runoff. These techniques, called best management
practices for water pollution (BMPs) in the U.S., may focus on water quantity control, while others
focus on improving water quality, and some perform both functions. [7]
Pollution prevention practices include low-impact development techniques, installation of green
roofs and improved chemical handling (e.g. management of motor fuels & oil, fertilizers and
pesticides).[40] Runoff mitigation systems include infiltration basins, bioretention systems,
constructed wetlands, retention basins and similar devices.[41][42]
Thermal pollution from runoff can be controlled by storm water management facilities that absorb
the runoff or direct it into groundwater, such as bioretention systems and infiltration basins.
Retention basins tend to be less effective at reducing temperature, as the water may be heated
by the sun before being discharged to a receiving stream. [7]:p. 5–58