Journal of Scientific & Industrial Research
Vol. 61 , November 2002, pp 948-95 1
Impact of Municipal and Industrial Liquid Wastes on Water Quality and Its
Importance as Potential Water Resources
P arth apratim C ha udhuri , Sa njib Kar and S K G upta '
Uni versi ty Coll ege of Agricu lture. Un iversity of Calcutta, 35, B C Road. Kolkata 700 0 19
Rece ived: 2 1 February 2002: accepted: 25 July 2002
The resu lts obtained amp ly establi sh th e fact th at systemat ic managemen t of wetl and fed by municipal wastewater and
industrial run off not on ly solves th e problem of environment po ll ution but also balances th e ecosystem. The llIaj or adverse
impacts of sewage on water qualit y are deoxygene rati on, hi gh biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) load, rapid eu trophication,
and accumul ation of heavy metals in th e environment. A study of wate r quality in a purified fish cu ltivated pond of Mudiall y
wet lands ncar Ko lkata city was un dertake n in res pect of ph ys ico-chemical properties and heavy metal content in sediments,
water, fi sh. and water- hyaci nth in diferent yea rs. The quality of effluent. as we ll as sediments, fi sh and wate r-hyacinth in
respect of pollutant was much better in the year 1998 in respect to 1994. Thi s is du e to elTccti ve purification of polluted
effluent in different stages of pond and tank by both natural and in chemical ways. The erilu ent contains hi gh amo unt of
protein rich compound which is a good food for fis hes . The yiel d of fish is hi gh and it is ex pected th at such a system wi ll be
able to sati sfy the improvement of wastewater qua lit y. fi sh producti on , and ecological balances in environment.
Introduction
Environmental pollution is a threat to the
ex istance of a ll li ving bei ngs, includin g huma ns.
Wide spread urbani sation and indu stria li sati o n has led
to the resu lta nt discharge of toxic a nd often let ha l
materials into the ai r, wate r and so il , depriving
mankind of hi s peaceful habitat. The eco logical ,
hydro log ica l, and econo mi c advantages of wetlands
have been hig hli g hted throughout the wo rld . Tn most
of the deve lopin g countri es the rura l economy is
partly de pe nde nt o n the wetl and w hi c h provide many
things and there is a n urge nt need to estab l ish an
environmen ta ll y sound manage me nt o r w ise use of
wetl a nds.
Aquati c ecosyste m near c ity area has been
subjected to various nat ura l a nd maninduced stresses
w hi c h have adversly e ffected the ag ricultura l
production, pi sc ic ulture, and irri ga ti o n. Now it is
becoming a n everinc reas ing de mand for susta in a bl e
utili zati o n of different types of waste material to
inc rease the econo mic growt h and ag ri c ultura l
production and sometimes to reduce the po lluti o n
load from the e nvironme nt.
•Author for correspondence
The present study observes the quality of o ur
sewage fed fi sheries w hich can be used as a definite
pote nti a l water resources for pisc iculture a nd
agric ulture often an a lmost natural treatment. It is the
ri g ht time now to think as how to ut ilize th ese wa te r
logged bodies acc urate ly fo r o ur soc ia-eco nomic
conditi o ns and e nviro nme nta l protec tio n.
In Indi a, a n estimated area 8803 sq km (ref. I ) is
water logged o r ma rshy la nd . Even in Ko lkata
metropo lita n area (KMA) of total area 1350 sq.km
a nd popu lat io n about 15 mi II io ns, we have good
numbe rs of wa te r logged a reas" a nd many of these
remain dry during winter and summer, he nce they are
utilised . A si mpl e indege no us me thod deve lo ped after
yea rs of experi ence w i II he lp the de partme nt of
fis he ri es, agriCUlture, e nviro nme nt, rive r sanitat io n.
urban deve lo pme nt, rura l deve lopmen t, a nd many
othe rs. The treatment process of sewage is mainl y
natural with min or chemica l treatme nt. The overa ll
result is unique. The fishes from s uc h se wage treated
wetland s sat isfy a good pe rcetage of fi sh de mand of
Ko lkata c ity people fo r mo re than 150 y. Moreove r
the vegetables g rown , us ing the wate r from
sewage trea ted pond, meet th e de mand o f the
Ko lkata peop le a lso .
CHAUDHUR I el al.: MUNICIPAL & INDUSTRIAL LIQUID WASTES -
Observin g the sources of sewage water treated
wetland for pisciculture and agriculture, we had taken
Mudially fishery project (M udi al ly Fishermen's Cooperative Socie ty , MFCS) for study ing the feasibility
of sustainabl e utilisation of liquid wastes.
Inlel
,..--_--" 4 ,-I
' _ _- ,
~I
Raw Effluent
a
en
~
~
On the south-west e nd of the Kol kata port tru st
property is situated a wet la nd covering approx imate ly
50 ha o f land commonl y known as Jheel. Thi s
wet land is fed by runoff and combined sewage/waste
wate r of the area wh ich serves as recycl ed resource
for prote in rich food producti o n by a fi she rman
comm unit y dwe lling in nea rby vi ll ages. The
organi sed aq uacu lture in success ive po nd s in seri es
not on ly fulfill s the nutri e nts and mine ral contents of
the sewage but a lso trea ts it fin a ll y to quality water,
lettin g the sa me off into Manikhal cana l syste m
throug h Jhee n Jhee ra kha l, w hi ch eventua ly join s the
river Hoog ly. The indi genous tec hnology devel o ped
converted the sewage into prote in rich microal gae for
g rowin g fish without much suppl e mentary feedin g or
conventional manuring, thereby reducin g operationa l
cost of aq uacu lture.
The a verage daily loading of sewage from
various municipal areas and indu stries to the pond is
23 m L, and o ut of that about 70 pe r cent is from
industrial efflu ent and the rest 30 pe r cent from
do mestic waste. Earlier, this sewage was discharged
throu gh a canal to ri ver Ganga . Mudi a lly fish e rman
co-operative soc ie ty is ma nag in g this wastewater fo r
pi sc ic ulture . The efflue nt , after initi a l sc reening.
deposited in two sta bili zation po nd s success ively and
the reafte r passed thro ug h various small po nd s
purifying with natural process like air, and li g ht,
followed by fl ow ing thro ug h water-born plant which
they have ide ntifi ed as good purifi e rs of water and
fina ll y littl e chemical treatme nt in the wet land s to
rai se fish production (F ig ure I). There are in a ll s ix
ponds where fis h is cu ltivated but the main fish
cultivati o n po nd is khlldi-I , khlldi -2, and khudi-3.
Effl uent, sediment , fis h, and water hyac inth
have been co ll ected from the three se lec ted pond (
khudi-I , khlldi -2, khudi -3) of the Mudia ll y fishery
project and are take n in the laboratory for
preservation , accordin g to standard method s of
analysis,3 of efflue nt and sedime nts. Fi sh sa mpl e were
cut into pi eces by a sta inless stee l ti ss ue c utter and
dried in a g lass container at a constant weight. They
were c rushed and se ived for di gestion by HN03 ,
Ii ....---1stSTAGECHEMICAL
TREATMENT
I~
~
~
1'i
Materials and Methods
949
IMPACT
J____
Holding Poasnd
1 ..
2nd STAGE CHEMICAL
TREATMENT
'r-Iq
~rllC;TTaannk;2~~I JbIJ
~
I
21 ----+E
Holding Pend 2
U Khudi 4 -.:
L ! Khudi 5
lI:
-
I
I ~~
I
~I
-
L-s-;;n~
3
-
.,
Khudi2
,.-J ~"~,
J L.,!
Taltala
'
lill
Tank 7
-
~
U
Ii
~ j
It~
Tank 6
I
. ~
Khudl1
'----_ -'J1---'l'-_ _ _ _ _ _~,
~I
Figure I-Di agra m for the di stributi o n of water in jhcc l
H2S04 and H202 into a teflon bomb fo r hea vy me tal
determination a nd take n for atomic absorbtion
spectrometry
(Perkin
E lmer
Mode l-3 100)
determination after suitable dilution'!. Effluents and
sed ime nts for phys ico-chemical and hea vy metal
determin ati o n were processed , accord ing to standard
method s of ana ly sis) a nd carried out for AAS
determination. Water hyaci nth was collected , cut into
pieces, dried at 600 c, crushed and sieved and
processed for AAS dete rmination.
Results and Discussion
The results of analysis for effluent para meter
and heavy meta l of fish , sediments, and water
hyacinth is shown (Tab les l-3 ). The res ults shown are
the average of th ree khlldi pond (khlldi-l , khlldi -2 and
khudi-3). The res ults of analysis were tabulated in the
year! 994 and 1998 o n average basis of two seasons.
It is observed that the concentration of so me
paramete rs is a lmost ha lf in the yea r 1998 with
respec t to 1994. Bioche mical oxyge n demand (BOD)
and ch e mical oxygen demand (COD) (3 1.5 mg/L and
62.0 mg/L in the year 1994) which is impo rtant
paramete r of effluent for toxicity indicator, has been
reduced to 13.3 mg/L; and 27.4 mg/L, respec tti vely,
in the yea r 1998. Simi larl y, total so lid is reduced from
950
J SCi IN D RES VOL 6 1 'OVEMBER 2002
790.0 mg/L in the yea r 1994 to 565.0 mgfL in the
yea r 1998. Dissolved solid and suspended so lid has a
simil ar trend of reduction. Disso lved oxygen. total
alkalinit y and sul phate have sim ilar tendenc ies . Thi s
ind ica tes the effect ive reducti on of po lluti onal load in
the fish cult ivated pond.
Atomi c absorbtion spec trophotometry res ults of
heavy metal (Tab le 2) revea l th at metal conce ntrat ion
in sediment is very hi gh in respec t to metal
conce ntrati on in effluent and wa ter hyac inth . Yearwise change is also observed. Zinc co nta in s
max imum in all the sa mpl es ( 140.0 lng/kg in 1994
and 52.0 mg/kg in 1998 in sedi ment. 26. 1 X 10- 3
Tahl e I - Physico-chemical characteristi c of water from fi sh
cu lti vated pond in th e Mudi all y Fishery in the yea r 1994 and
1998(all va lues in mg/ L)
mg/L in 1994 and 15.9 X LO-3 mg/L in 1998 in the
effl uent and 8.2 mg/kg in 1994 and 6.9 mg/kg in 1998
in wate r hyac inth). Lead acc umul ation is also
un sati sfacto ry. In sed iment. it is hi gh, 47.5 mg/kg in
1994 and 25.0 mg/kg in 1998 .Simil arly effluent and
wate r hyac in th conta ined 2.8 X 10- 3 IllgfL and 6. 1
mg/kg in the yea r 1994 and 0.8X 10-3 I11g/L and 5.5
mg/kg in the yea r 1998. The same trend has been
observed in the fish musc le_ Meta l acc ul11 ul ati on is in
the orde r Zn>Cr>Pb>Cu>Cd> Hg.
Parameter
1994
199 8
1.7
0.9
Total solid
790.0
565.0
Di sso l ved sol id
763 0
5-nO
Su spended so lid
270
23 0
Di ssol ved oxygen
14.0
15.0
BOD
3 1.5
13.3
COD
62 .0
27.4
Total alkalinity
18 1.0
1320
Sulphate
28.0
18.0
Elec tical co nducti vit y (ds/ m)
Tabl e 2 -
T he city sewage water of in du strial ori gin
contained considerab ly hi gh amoun t of metal/heavy
metal and other contamin ant in the yea r 1994 in
respect to the year 1998. A signi fica nt difference has
been observed fo r all parameter of effluent, sed iment.
Heavy Illetal st atu s of sedilllenl. enluen t and water hyacinth of th e fish cul tivated pond in the Mudi al ly Fishery in th e
yea r 1994 and 1998
Elements
Sedi men t
( mg/kg)
Water hyacin th
(mg/ kg)
Ertluent
(x 10- 3 Illg/ L)
9-l
98
94
98
94
98
Copper
50. 1
26 .2
7.2
45
7.0
5.7
Zi nc
140.0
52. 0
26. 1
15. 9
8.2
6.9
0.5
0.3
0.3
0. 1
0.1
I3DL
Lead
47.5
25. 0
2.8
0.8
6. 1
5.5
Chrollliulll
633
19.0
1.7
0.4
1.2
1.0
Mercury
0.3
0.2
l.'i
0.0
0.1
BDL
Cadilliulll
T abl e 3 -
I-!cavy metal statu s o f muscle in different fish s:unpl es in the year 1994 and 1998
Elements
Fi sh (x 10- 3 mg/kg)
L. ro llila
Cect/la
94
98
94
L. gO Il ill s
T.lI lOssa lllbica
98
94
98
94
C.PIIlI ClalIl S
98
94
9
Copper
2. 1
1.6
2.5
1.5
2.4
1.6
2.7
1.3
3.8
2. 0
Zi nc
3.8
1.4
5.5
3.0
6.5
3.5
4.8
2.7
10.2
3. 1
Cadmium
0.2
0. 1
0. 1
BDL
0.2
0. 1
0.2
BDL
0.4
0. 1
Lead
2.4
1.6
2.8
1.2
3. 0
1.5
2.4
0.9
].4
1.7
Chromiulll
3.2
1.3
2.4
1.3
25
1.5
1.4
0. 7
2.5
1.8
M ercury
0.2
BDL
02
BDL
0.2
0. 1
0. 1
BDL
0.4
0. 1
CHAU DI-IURI el 01 .: MUN IC IP AL & INDUSTRIAL LIQ UID WASTES- IMPACT
water hyac inth , and fish sampl es during 1994 - 1998.
Sediment acc umul ated hu ge amount of metal beca use
under the va ri ab le pH co nditi on and chemical
trea tment , the metal from efflu ent depos ited on
sediment. Since sediment is the main sources of food
for fi sh speci es . it should contain less heav y metal
and sediments are also refl ec ted in the accumulation
of metals in fish, collec ted from polluted water 6. The
heavy metal s are stable and nonbiodegradable, they
not onl y linge r in the ecosystem but al so get passed
on the li vi ng ti ss ues in increased concentrati ons
th rough bio-magnifi ca ti on7 Water hyacinth pl ays an
important rol e in remov ing heavy metal at different
rates, dependin g on the va ri ab le environmental
facto rs. In the begining of 90s NEERI (ref. 6) and
others studi ed the wa ter quality of thi s wetl and and
found much hi gher va lues of different parameter8 At
that time, there were systemati c techniques for the
puri fication of the e ffl uent.
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