Download A Case Study of an Industrial City of Punjab

Proceedings of the International Conference on Environmental Pollution and Remediation
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 17-19 August 2011
Paper No. 221
A Case Study of an Industrial City of Punjab - Victim of Rapid
Industrialization
Maninder Kaur Sidhu
PEC University of Technology, Civil (Environmental) Engineering Department
Sector 12, Chandigarh, Pin-160012 India
[email protected]
Abstract - Intensity of man's activities, the diversity and magnitude of the wastes introduced into the environment
as a consequence there of is increasing at an accelerating rate. Improvement in technology, advancing
industrialization and explosive population growth is adding up to problem. Ludhiana is one of the biggest city of
Punjab occupying central place and is one of the most polluted settlement of the country due to rapid growth of
industrialisation. Out of approximately 30,000 industries, 1585 are highly polluting while others fall in the category
of marginally polluting. The only surface water feature flowing in the area is the „buddha nallah‟, a tributary of
Satluj, which serves as a open dustbin for dumping of industrial effluents. To better understand the extent of
pollution due to industrialization the drinking water samples have been collected from various sites in Ludhiana. The
samples were analyzed for different water quality parameters and were then compared with the permissible level
prescribed by Indian standards and WHO. It is recommended that at those places where the drinking water is not
meeting the prescribed permissible level should be treated and then furnished to the people.
Keywords: groundwater , industrialization , pollution , effluents, population.
1. Introduction
The city of Ludhiana is totally dependent on groundwater for its drinking water and other needs. The
only surface water stream Buddha Nallah flowing in the city is choked with human waste and industrial
effluents and soil charged with heavy metals and disease agents. Presently about 50% of Ludhiana City is
covered by Municipal water supply. Population residing in rest of the area is devising their own means of
water extraction through hand pumps, motorized pumps and shallow tube wells. The present Supply of
water to the Ludhiana city is based on deep tube wells (60-100 m depth). There are more than 210 tube
wells in operation. Out them 172 tube wells are under Municipal corporation control. There are about
3000 hand pumps and 500 shallow tube wells in the rest of the city. Total annual recharge to groundwater
works out to be 23 mcm (million cubic meters).
Earlier, water quality assessment studies carried out by punjab pollution control board indicate that
the ground water quality from tube wells in ludhiana is by and large free from industrial pollution, though
the hand pumps/shallow tube well water has been affected adversely in respect of some of the health
related inorganic parameters (PPCB 2009). Detection of some heavy metals in shallow water exceeding
the desirable limits in some pockets is alarming, which clearly forewarns that if the ongoing trend of
pollution of ground water continues to be unabated, it can lead to disaster in the forthcoming years.“In
recent years, the increasing threat to groundwater quality due to human activities has become a matter of
great concern. Rapid urbanization and industrialization in India has resulted in steep increase of
generation of wastes( Web-2)”. Kaushik A et al. (2002) developed Water quality index of underground
water in all the land-use zones to check its suitability for consumption.
Marwaha and Mehta (1999) studied the groundwater pollution in the Ludhiana city and concluded
that the shallow aquifers are getting polluted due to continuous discharge of industrial effluents in the
Buddha nallah, In order to keep check on pollution they have recommended „Dilution‟ as a remedial
measure. Pertaining to water, an essential role of the environmentalist would be to ensure to the
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community a supply of disease free potable water to consumers and to dispose off wastes in a manner that
would prevent the development of septic conditions in water bodies. A study indicated high concentration
of Cr+6 due to industrial effluents, which were exposed to environment without treatment (Singh et al.,
1993)
2. Site Specification
The Ludhiana City occupies an area of 165 sq. km and is inhabited by about 30 lakh people. The city
is an alluvial plain formed by the Satluj River. Ludhiana an Industrial town of Punjab. Ludhiana is one of
the 17 critically polluted areas in the country identified by the Ministry of Environmental and Forests,
Govt. of India on the basis of Manchester of India where it occupies a place of pride on the industrial map
of the country (Web-1) . Therefore, it is called the home of small-scale industries. The number of existing
industries of ludhiana city are shown in table 1 below.
Table 1
Number of Existing Major Industries of Ludhiana City.
S.No
Category
1.
Dyeing
No. of Industries
268
2.
Hosiery / Washing / Printing
66
3
Electroplating
482
4
5
6
7
8
9.
10
11
12
13
14
Galvanizing units
Wire Drawing / Pickling
Engineering Goods
Milk Plant
Pulp & Paper
Beverages/ Soft Drinks
Brewery
Used Oil Refining units
Rubber Industries / Tyre & Tube
Pesticide Formulation Industries
Miscellaneous
9
111
12
3
4
2
1
6
22
1
173
The growth has also been enhanced due to various facilities and incentives provided to the industries
by the government for setting up industrial areas/focal points in Ludhiana. The total number of industrial
units in and around Ludhiana city has increased from 6918 to 1972 to more than 8000 in 2001. Among
these there are 1585 units, which are highly polluting. These industries are responsible for major emission
and responsible for generating large quantity of wastewater and hazardous waste, which communicate the
waste consumed by general public.
3. Material And Methods
With the ever-increasing use of water for municipal and industrial purposes, it has become paramount
to appraise water quality on a continuous basis. There are three basic criteria to evaluate the Quality of
water viz. Physical, Chemical and Biological.
3.1 Location of Sample Source
Water samples are collected from various sites in Ludhiana. Water samples are collected from public
taps, hand pumps etc. The water samples are collected taking all necessary precautions and are analyzed
as per the standard methods prescribed, APHA (1992a, 1998b). For the purpose of sample collection
ludhiana has been divided in to three parts :221-2
1) Residential Area.
2) Industrial Area
3) Mixed Area
These are shown in Fig. 1
Buddha
Nallah
Figure 1 :- Ground Water Quality- Sampling Points , Ludhiana City
4. Results and Discussion
The quality of ground water of ludhiana city under the various headings namely bacteriological,
health related and aesthetic parameters, indicates that the quality of ground water from hand pumps &
shallow tube wells has been impaired in some of the areas.
Out of the total samples collected from ludhiana city none of samples in industrial area was found to
have ph higher than 8.5 however in mixed and residential area it has been observed to be more than 8.5.
But by & large the pH of ground water samples was found to be within the permissible range. Most of the
samples both of tube well and hand pumps were found to have TDS with in 1000 mg/l except a few hand
pump samples (Fig.2). The range of TDS (mg/l) in some of the localities is as below:
Industrial area
Mixed area
Residential area
Minimum
212
190
152
Maximum
1160
1800
895
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Graphical Representation of TDS Results.
2000
1800
minimum
average
maximum
1600
TDS Value (mg/l)
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
Industrial
Mixed
Residential
Areas
Figure 2:- Graphical Representation of TDS Results
Chloride being an aesthetic parameter determines the taste of drinking water. Only sample collected
Mixed area was found to exceed the limit where as in the rest of the samples chloride concentration has
been found to be within the limit (Fig. 3).
Graphical Representation of Chlorides Results
450
400
Chlorides Conc.(mg/l)
350
300
250
minimum
average
200
maximum
150
100
50
0
Industrial
Mixed
Residential
Areas
Figure 3:- Graphical Representation of Chloride Results
A number of industries are using sodium salts, even in the treatment of the trade effluent of some of
the units sodium salts are quite extensively used, thus the fear of sodium accumulation in the ground
water is always there. The minimum & maximum values of sodium in mg/l (Fig.4 ) as obtained in various
localities of ludhiana city are as follows:
Industrial Area
Mixed Use Area
Residential Area
Minimum
11
8
6
Maximum
68
63
54
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Graphical Repsentation of Sodium Results
80
70
Sodium(mg/l)
60
50
minimum
40
average
maximum
30
20
10
0
Industrial
Mixed
Residential
Areas
Figure 4:- Graphical Representation of Sodium Results
Dissolved oxygen is one of the most important indices of water purity and the decrease in its value is
the first indication of the entry of organic pollution. The DO value of water samples from industrial area
varies from 2.6-5.1 mg/l and DO values of mixed area varies from 2.1-6.0 mg/l and from residential area
value varies from 2.5-5.7 mg/l (Fig.5).
Graphical Representation of DO Results
7
6
DO(mg/l)
5
4
minimum
average
maximum
3
2
1
0
Industrial
Mixed
Residential
Areas
Figure 5 :- Graphical Representation of Dissolved Oxygen Results
Moving further to health related parameters ,Chromium in water comes from industrial activity
especially metal finishing industry. Hexavalent chromium has been found in the hand pumps in focal
point, industrial area and localities adjacent to buddha nallah. Toxic chromium presence is because of
heavy concentrations of electro plating industries in these zones. It is found in hand pump samples only.
The limit for MPN is 10/100 ml. It has been found to be within limits in most of areas except a few
like haibowal dairy complex, sherpur muslim colony, focal point and areas adjoining buddha nallah where
the values area as high as 20/100ml. This might be because of the fact that the depth of these hand pump
bores is quite less and the distance from buddha nallah in most of the cases is very short. There is
therefore, every likelihood that the faecal water of buddha nallah mixes with or seeps in to the ground
water thereby causing the detection of colifom in such water samples of hand pumps.
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The people using water from these pumps have been left to their own fate. However deep bore tube
wells have not as yet been affected. The pollution of ground water in the affected areas with respect to
various bacteriological, health related and aesthetic parameters should be viewed quite seriously. Not only
the industrial areas but also the mixed use & some of the residential areas have been adversely affected.
Various localities in mixed areas and in residential area adjacent to buddha nallah have parameters in
excessive proportion. The contamination is restricted to certain isolated shallow ground water pockets
indicting that it is a localized effect. Ground water has been polluted with respect to the concentration of
chrome probably in some areas because of the seepage of the effluent from the electroplating units into
groundwater and because of the deliberate callousness of some of industries which pump
untreated/partially treated effluent into groundwater. All is not well with the sewerage system of the city.
It is inadequate, remains choked and overflows in many areas resulting in stagnations at various places.
Moreover, the untreated sewage is discharged into buddha nallah. This is responsible for the leaching of
pollutants into ground water. Ground water quality of deep tube well deviates from the laid down
standard with respect to hardness, TDS etc, i.e, mineral constituents.
5. Conclusion
Due to increasing population and industrial development water requirements will grow considerably
in future. At the same time in this development may create problems of pollution, both in surface and
ground water resources. Groundwater once polluted is very difficult to regenerate and it is important that
all measures are taken to ensure that the quality of ground water resources is protected (G. S. Dhaliwal et
al.1992). The axiom “prevention is better than cure” is particularly relevant to the maintenance of ground
water quality. Safeguarding the quality of the ground water resources can prevent many potential
problems.
In order to keep a check on the on-going pollution of the ground water resources from various causes
such as industrialization, faulty/sewer systems, stagnation and localized spillage of trade effluents etc., the
following recommendations and remedial measures to be initiated and implemented.
a) The people in the affected localities should be advised to shun the use of hand pump water for
direct consumption. These hand pumps should be abandoned or warning sign boards should be
displayed that “water is not fit for drinking” as they exceeded the limits when compared with the
permissible level prescribed by Indian standards (IS: 10500-1991) and WHO (WHO 1993).
b) The installation of new Tube wells should be regulated may be through legislation or through
executive orders.
c) Industries as well as the general public should be made aware of the consequences of
contaminating ground water resources.
d) Possible sources of pollution to ground water need to be identified.
e) Immediate steps should be taken to check discharge of untreated trade effluents and sewage into
Buddha Nallah.
f) Industries located in the residential areas and mixed areas should be persuaded to shift to industrial
areas or outside the urban limit.
g) Efforts should be made to identify the industries that are pumping their untreated effluent into
groundwater and stop such discharges immediately.
h) Land use controls form an important and optimal method for the control of ground water pollution.
By proper zoning, industrial and other point sources of pollution can be confined to areas which
are hydrologically protected from pollution or in which there are no economically exploitable
ground water resources for other uses.
i) Regular monitoring of ground water quality should be carried out especially in the affected areas to
keep a constant watch. The result of the analysis be documented and published for the purpose of
record and benefit of public.
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References
APHA (1992a). Standard Methods for the examination of water and wastewater‟ 18th, 20th ed., Am.
Public Health Assoc. Washington, DC, USA.
APHA (1998b). „Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater‟, 20th ed., Am. Public
Health Assoc., Washington, DC, US
G. S. Dhaliwal, B. S. Hansara, & N. Jerath (Eds.), Changing Scenario of Our Environment (pp. 197–206).
Ludhiana, India.(1992)
IS: 10500-1991: Indian Standard Drinking Water Specification".
Jameel AA. Evaluation of drinking water quality in Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu, Indian J Environ Health.
2002 Apr; 44(2): 108-12.
Kaushik A, Kumar K, Kanchan, Taruna, Sharma HR. Water quality index and suitability assessment of
urban ground water of Hisar and Panipat in Haryana, J Environ Biol. 2002 Jul; 23(3): 325-33.
Marwaha and Mehta(1999),Groundwater pollution in the Ludhiana city,Punjab,India. In National Seminar
on Geological aspects of Environment, Punjab University, Chandigarh.p3
PPCB 2009 , Manual of “Punjab pollution Control Board”.
Singh KP, Dhami AS, Kansal BD, Ahuja BS, Goyal AK (1993). Trace elements levels in Drinking Water
Scenario of Ludhiana Area. Indian Journal of Environ. Protection, 13: 603-61
WHO (1993),"Guidelines Of Drinking Water Quality” (Vol 1), Recommendations.
Web sites:
Web-1: http://www.ppcb.gov.in/latest_news/ActionPlan.pdf consulted 19 march. 2010.
Web-2: http://www.cpcb.nic.in/upload/NewItems/NewItem_47_foreword.pdf consulted 10 jan 2009
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