Bengaluru lakes most polluted, water unconsumable even for animals

Bengaluru: In a startling revelation, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) in its water quality survey report stated not a single lake across the city can be used for drinking water purpose. The lakes are so contaminated that the water, as a matter of fact, cannot be used for even bathing. Further, the water in the lakes can even endanger the lives of animals if they consume the water. Surprisingly, the water quality has not improved even during the lockdown period when most of the industries were shut down.

According to the water quality index (WQI) statistics (from the month of April to May), accessed by The Hans India, reveals that of the 106 lakes and tanks, not a single water body has satisfactory WQI.

Pilikula Tank in Mangalore is the only water body in the state which was classified as Class B. The board found that of 175 water bodies (lakes and tanks) in the state, only 15 have satisfactory WQI.

Muhammad Iqbal, co-founder of WaterScience India, said "Borewell water in most metros in India are hard, with some places like Noida, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, being harder than the others. We need to set up more centralized treatment plants. But to reduce the load and improve the efficiency of treatment and filtration, we need to make decentralized recycling systems (at building level) mandatory- they are in some cities like Bangalore, where it is implemented to a large extent," he said.

A senior official at the KSPCB said the discharge of sewage and industrial effluents into the lakes is one of the reasons for the poor WQI. "Ensuring industrial effluents are not released into water bodies by monitoring them strictly and penalizing harshly, we can prevent irregularities such as lakes which catch fire. By repairing and maintaining sewage lines, ensuring better sewage treatment, we will avoid contamination of good groundwater," Iqbal said.

He said there are several ways the state government can improve the quality of water. "Policy level changes to make agricultural irrigation more efficient, invest in distribution infrastructure, decentralized treatment systems at building complex levels and rain /surface run-off harvesting systems along with increased water tariffs to ensure maintenance and technology upgrades for water treatment and distribution are taken into account - will make things better for our future generations," he said.

Class "A" – Drinking water source without conventional treatment but after disinfection.

Class "B" – Out door bathing (organized)

Class "C" – Drinking Water Source with conventional treatment followed by disinfection.

Class "D" – Propagation of wild life, fisheries

Class "E" – Irrigation, Industrial cooling, Controlled Waste disposal

Bangalore University Water Institute in collaboration with Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) and Friends of Lakes will conduct a 20 hours certification course on Lake rejuvenation in terms of engineering and environmental standards and design principles from September 19. The course is open to environmentalists, engineers, NGO's and academic institutions.