Water Pollution in India: Effective Management and Control

Seema Yadav

Departmental of Education, The Bhopal of Social Sciences, Bhopal, India

Keywords: Water Pollution, Sources of Pollution, Contamination, Anthropogenic Sources.

Abstract: India, the second-most populous nation in the world, uses more than a third of the world's groundwater

resources, more than 90% of which are for agriculture. In order to stop the deterioration of water quality and

preserve rivers' aesthetic value for future generations, many developing countries including India urgently

need to focus on sustainable management of rivers. Industrial wastewater and home sewage have been

produced in significant quantities as a result of urbanisation and industrialization, which has worsened the

environment of the river water. In order to improve the accuracy and relevance of water quality management,

which will have a substantial impact on the quality of the water environment and the ecological system, it is

vital to identify the primary sources and the impact of the present comprehensive water quality

1 INTRODUCTION

According to the United Nations Environmental

Programme (UNEP), the dental industry utilises

roughly 340 tonnes of mercury annually in dental

amalgams (Tibau & Grube, 2019). The United

Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and WHO

should assess the state of arsenic poisoning

worldwide and initiate a global campaign to raise

awareness of this issue among the general public,

medical experts, health workers, and administrators

(Shaji et al., 2021). Groundwater is the primary

source of drinking water for more than 2.5 billion

people worldwide, making its provision one of the

most pressing issues facing modern society. Although

groundwater is regarded as harmless, large levels of

heavy metals, such as arsenic (As), can present

significant risks to human health (Shaji et al., 2021).

The global community is very concerned about the

environmental issue of water contamination.

Defecating, dumping trash, disposing of industrial

waste, washing clothes, and other human activities

significantly contribute to water contamination.

Water quality management is given top emphasis

globally since surface water quality is one of the most

important environmental challenges on the planet.

India's river water quality has significantly declined

over time, and surface water quality urgently needs to

be improved (Matli & Nivedita, 2021). With their

unmatched utilitarian qualities at a relatively lower

cost, plastics have emerged as the all-pervasive

driving force of contemporary society. India, which

has a population of nearly 1.2 billion, is now one of

the world's top consumers of plastics. However, an

estimated 40% of its yearly 9.4 million tonnes of

plastic garbage stays uncollected due to inadequate

infrastructure and poor waste management practises

(Vanapalli, Dubey, Sarmah, & Bhattacharya, 2021).

Programs for monitoring water quality are essential

for creating water conservation policies, but it is

becoming difficult to make sense of the vast and

haphazard statistics they produce. Rapid

urbanization, industry, and population increase put

surface water sources at risk of pollution. Expensive

interventions may be unsuccessful, wasting limited

financial resources, without cooperation and careful

balancing of interests. The difficulties the basin is

facing are made worse by the lack of a working

governance system for the management of its water

resources.

2 WATER POLLUTION AND

SOURCES OF WATER

POLLUTION

One of the essential resources that sustain life on the

earth is water. Surface water sources, primarily rivers,

lakes, and reservoirs, are prone to water

contamination from many anthropogenic and natural

causes, which results in the degradation of water

672

Yadav, S.

Water Pollution in India: Effective Management and Control.

DOI: 10.5220/0012500900003792

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 1st Pamir Transboundary Conference for Sustainable Societies (PAMIR 2023), pages 672-677

ISBN: 978-989-758-687-3

quality. While anthropogenic sources include

wastewater from home and industrial activity,

agricultural runoff, etc., natural sources include

erosion, weathering, the breakdown of soil minerals,

etc (Matli & Nivedita, 2021). The urban water supply

system is seriously threatened by pollution accidents

that take place in surface waters, particularly near

regions where drinking water is sourced. There are

complex conditions for pollutant spreading and a

wide range of pollutant concentrations during the

localisation of the source of water pollution.

Due to the unlawful transfer of dental mercury into

the artisanal and small-scale gold mining industry,

crematoria emissions from the deceased, and sewage

sludge that is sold to farmers, dental amalgam is a

hidden source of mercury contamination throughout

the world. These substantial mercury sources lead to

contaminated food, water, and air, which adversely

affects human health (Tibau & Grube, 2019). Dental

amalgams are one product and method that uses

mercury, which is a global contaminant and a poison

that kills from birth to death (Tibau & Grube, 2019).

Even for developing and rising nations, affordable

mercury-free dental restoration materials are

commonly available. Dental amalgam use will be

discontinued, which will stop the current unlawful

flow from that source into ASGM and support current

non-mercury mining techniques. According to

reports, cremation is becoming more commonplace

worldwide (Tibau & Grube, 2019).

The degradation of water quality is caused by an

increase in pollution from industry, residential

sources, and agriculture (cultivation, animal farming,

and aquaculture). China's ambient water

contamination is still primarily caused by industry.

Then comes home pollution and agricultural

pollution, with the latter having the least effect on the

quality of the water (Xu, Gao, & Yuan, 2022). The

effects of pollution sources on the quality of the water

varies greatly between basins. The Yangtze and

Yellow River Basins' primary sources of water

pollution are industrial and domestic activity,

respectively. The two basins' primary agricultural

causes of water pollution, respectively, are cultivation

and aquaculture. Seasonal fluctuations can affect how

agriculture pollution affects water quality (Xu et al.,

2022). Due to the growth of plastic waste in a variety

of sectors, microplastics (MPs) are pervasive in the

aquatic environment. The number of studies

examining their prevalence, distribution, and toxicity

in various regions of India has increased dramatically

in recent years. The main objective of this paper is to

assess the sources, abundance, and properties of MPs

reported in the sediments, water, and biota of the

aquatic ecosystems in India (Vanapalli et al., 2021).

Accidental pollution in surface waters, particularly

near sources of drinking water, poses a serious threat

to the city's water supply system. There are complex

conditions for pollutant dispersal during the

localisation of the source of water pollution, and

pollutant concentrations range widely.

3 IMPACTS OF WATER

POLLUTION

Water is a necessary and widely distributed element

needed to maintain life. Groundwater is an incredibly

significant resource and is very helpful to people.

However, the toxic substances released from sources

like industries, landfills, as well as non-point causes

of pollution like pesticides and fertiliser from the

previous year showed high levels of pollution in

ground water. As a result, it is extremely important to

assess the water quality not only for its current usage,

but also an its capacity to develop as a sustainable

source of water for human use. In metropolitan

locations, overpopulation causes water contamination

to worsen. The main contaminants in agnatic

environments are residential, agricultural, and

industrial wastes. When dumped into freshwater

bodies, sewage is the largest pollutant. Sewage is the

largest and healthiest source of water pollution in

society, and the discharge of untreated sewage into a

river is tremendous (Owa, 2013). Long-term

exposure to arsenic-contaminated groundwater

causes serious health problems such bronchiectasis,

arsenicosis, hyperkeratosis, skin, lung, kidney, and

bladder cancer. Since geogenic processes are the

primary source of arsenic in groundwater, the extent

of pollution is intricately tied to the geometry and

characteristics of the local aquifer (Shaji et al., 2021).

By building up in the tissues of fish due to

contaminated river water, cadmium and arsenic may

be transferred to people via the food chain. In order

to identify an effective, affordable, and

environmentally appropriate opponent to heavy metal

contamination, regular water quality monitoring is

required (Sarah, Tabassum, Idrees, Hashem, &

Abd_Allah, 2019). A solution to this issue involves

assessing the dangers to human health in places with

high uranium prevalence, developing effective

remediation technology, and, most importantly,

putting preventive management practises into

practise.

Water Pollution in India: Effective Management and Control

673

4 WATER POLLUTION IN

INDIAN CONTEXT

With 1.324 billion people, India has the second-

largest population in the world after China, which is

essential for industrialization and fast urbanisation.

Indian cities are experiencing environmental

problems as a result of the vast amount of solid

garbage that is produced daily by the country's

developing population moving from villages to cities.

One to four percent of all solid trash is made up of

plastic waste, the majority of which is produced by

household, industrial, food, and water bottle use

(Padgelwar, Nandan, & Mishra, 2021). For India, the

country with the second-largest population, the need

for river conservation and revitalization is currently

crucial. Development of natural water resources, such

as springs, rivers, and groundwater supplies, must be

environmentally sustainable. Sustainable utilisation

of water resources will be facilitated by a process-

based understanding of the river basin ecology. The

environmental flow concept aids in determining the

development of river water resources within

sustainable bounds (Parihar, 2021). In order to

overcome its water crisis, India today sorely needs

solutions. Improving the production of fresh water for

drinking is a major challenge the nation faces.

Without guaranteeing a consistent supply of high-

quality drinking water, neither socioeconomic

progress nor even political stability can ever be

achievable. It follows that river revitalization will

require a national approach (Parihar, 2021).

The survival of all life on earth depends heavily on

water, which is a natural resource that is necessary.

The primary supply of water to provide the daily

water needs for home, agricultural, and industrial

activities is natural freshwater bodies such as rivers,

lakes, and wetlands. The Ganga River System is

India's largest river system, and it has a delicate

ecosystem. Because of its values in terms of culture,

economy, and the environment, it is vulnerable to

anthropogenic disturbances. Heavy metals (HM)

poisoning of the Ganga River is caused by biotic

(anthropogenic sources) and abiotic (pesticides,

fertilisers) sources, and it is a grave health risk to

people, plants, and edible fish life. The atomic

absorption spectrometer's chemical examination of

the water samples it collected revealed the

accumulation of heavy metals like arsenic (As), lead

(Pb), cadmium (Cd), iron (Fe), and zinc (Zn) (Sarah

et al., 2019). Environmental pollution has frequently

been linked to the textile industry. In India,

particularly in central India, the consequences of

living close to manufacturing enterprises on health

are not well understood. The Ganga Basin in India

encounters issues with water availability, water

quality, and ecological degradation as a result of

excessive surface and groundwater extraction, the

presence of different hydraulic infrastructure, the

discharge of untreated sewage water, and other point

and non-point source pollution. Since industrial

pollution impacts several environmental matrices and

a variety of human organ systems, it is a multifaceted

problem.

Due to the fact that these regions are heavily

inhabited, industrialised, and the centres of several

electronic businesses, there is a strong likelihood that

cadmium will accumulate there. The Moradabad

district likewise had high quantities of Cd in its water

samples (Sarah et al., 2019). The river water should

not be consumed by humans. In order to restore

ecological health, it is necessary to control the direct

flow of wastewater into rivers.

India is a developing nation, so it goes without saying

that sustainable development is important at every

level of its development. The effective management

of plastic trash in the country is one such essential

element that supports its sustainable development

(Padgelwar et al., 2021). Programmes for monitoring

water quality are essential for creating water

conservation policies, but it has become difficult to

make sense of the vast and haphazard statistics they

produce. Surface water bodies in India are under risk

of contamination as a result of rapid urbanisation,

industrialization, and population increase.

5 MANAGEMENT OF WATER

POLLUTION FOR

SUSTAINABILITY

The accuracy and relevance of water quality

management must be improved, and this will have a

substantial impact on the quality of the water

environment and the ecological system. The

identification of the primary sources and the impact

of the current comprehensive water quality are crucial

(Xu et al., 2022). It is essential to comprehend the

quality and degree of groundwater pollution in order

to safeguard future sources of safe drinking water.

The secret to reducing water pollution and improving

water management is the highly accurate prediction

of water quality. Environmental pollution has

frequently been linked to the textile industry. In India,

particularly in central India, the consequences of

living close to manufacturing enterprises on health

are not well understood.

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To address the issue of water pollution, it is necessary

to update India's current programme for monitoring

water quality, assess the risks to human health in

areas with a high uranium prevalence, develop

effective remediation technologies, and, most

importantly, put preventive management practises

into practise (Coyte et al., 2018).

Priority should be given to reducing industrial and

urban pollution in the succeeding environmental

pollution control processes, together with more

specialised regional pollution management. In order

to lessen the unfavourable environmental effects

brought on by production, it is also crucial to increase

inter-basin and inter-regional synergistic control,

taking full consideration of the top-level design of

environmental regulations and other basin-area

factors (Xu et al., 2022). Before using river water for

drinking, it should first be pre-treated using hygienic

techniques such as reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration,

ion exchange, membrane separation, etc. In order to

preserve the aesthetic value of the river and aquatic

life, it is also advised that pre-treatment of industrial

effluent be performed before discharge into the river.

In order to prevent future degradation of the river's

water quality and to restore the river's capacity for

ecological assimilation, these steps must be taken into

account by industries located near the river's

catchment and afterwards by governing authorities.

To address the excessive plastic trash generation and

enhance societal health and environmental quality,

creative measures are required. There is enough

information supplied to demonstrate the enormous

plastic usage and garbage production in each Indian

state (Padgelwar et al., 2021).

The notion of environmental flow and the

development strategy for water resources must be

integrated by planners and policymakers. The

government also understands that access to high-

quality water is a must for all advancements,

including improving the health of the populace

(Parihar, 2021).

To prevent mercury contamination, governmental

regulatory organisations should make it mandatory in

developed and developing nations alike to employ

current methods. Every nation may stop using dental

amalgam (Tibau & Grube, 2019). This can be done

by using mercury-free substitutes, such as atraumatic

restorative therapy, and removing a significant

mercury pollution source in the process (Tibau &

Grube, 2019).

Local water management, which involves collecting

and replenishing ground water where it falls, can only

be accomplished by community involvement.

Localised river rejuvenation is a cost-effective

strategy (Parihar, 2021). Remedial actions must be

planned based on the afflicted area's source-mineral,

climatological, and hydrogeological scenarios. The

available corrective techniques include, among other

things, the installation of nano-filters, the exploration

of deeper or alternative aquifers, the treatment of the

aquifer itself, the diluting method by artificial

recharge to groundwater, and concomitant use. The

vast majority of those harmed by arsenic

contamination in Asian nations are the

underprivileged who reside in rural regions and are

not familiar with the symptoms of arsenic poisoning

and how to treat it (Shaji et al., 2021).

It could be necessary to receive global financial and

logistical support to lower arsenicosis. The

understanding of the incidence, origin, distribution

pattern, and removal of arsenic in groundwater should

also be the focus of creative, interdisciplinary study

(Shaji et al., 2021).

In order to lessen the effects of Arsenic poisoning in

ground-water resources and to increase the use of safe

water in impacted places around the world, WHO and

other pertinent bodies develop new policy

recommendations. Each of the affected nations,

especially those in Asia, should start a public

awareness campaign about arsenic treatment

technology or safe water treatment methods. They

should also look for additional sources of safe water,

like rainwater and groundwater that has been treated

(Shaji et al., 2021). To prevent unforeseen threats to

human health, it is advised that river water be treated

before being utilised for drinking.

For the global Arsenic pollution of groundwater

mitigation programme, WHO or UNEP must

establish a dedicated budget. It is crucial to create

comprehensive management plans that fall under the

purview of primary healthcare and include sufficient

medical, paramedical, and infrastructure assistance

(Shaji et al., 2021). To address the arsenic issue in

drinking water, a Global Policy for Arsenic

Mitigation and Strategic Plan (GPAMSP) may be

created (Shaji et al., 2021). It is necessary to conduct

sustainable treatment of raw water by various suitable

physical and chemical procedures before it is utilised

for drinking purposes because water is not suitable for

direct consumption. The re-establishment of the

community's sense of belonging to the rivers and the

development of grassroots government-public

collaborations for greater effectiveness of

intervention measures in India, where people see the

river as alive and sacred, can both be facilitated by a

socio-emotional connection.

The quality of the environment can be improved by a

short shutdown. It might hurt the economy, but if we

Water Pollution in India: Effective Management and Control

675

consider a sustainable economy that coexists with the

surrounding environment, that is the only option. The

global lockdown has given us a good opportunity to

recognize how nature is being strained and how

patient it is. However, if pollution sources are

successfully controlled, a vibrant earth can result, and

the right to life on our planet earth can be established

(Mandal & Pal, 2020). In particular, environmental

education should be used in schools and should be

included in the curriculum there. They will be less

likely to contaminate the water this way (Owa, 2013).

Policymakers and stakeholders should adopt

catchment area treatment plans in advance to preserve

the aesthetic value and ecological life. To stop the

deterioration of the water quality and aquatic life, it is

recommended that a strategic eco-conservation plan

be created and implemented in advance. To reduce

unforeseen dangers to human health, river water must

be treated before being used for drinking. It is advised

that the water resource planners and managers take

the required steps to preserve the scenic value of the

rivers and further promote aquatic biodiversity.

Monitoring water quality is a crucial first step in

protecting the environment and managing water

resources, two crucial concerns for socially

sustainable development.

6 CONCLUSION

The degradation and pollution of the environment,

caused in large part by human activities such as

industrialisation and agricultural practises, has a

negative impact on water bodies (such as rivers and

the ocean), which are essential for life. UNEP and

WHO should give the issue of worldwide arsenic

poisoning top priority, initiate a global initiative for

surveillance, raise public awareness among people

and professionals, and seek to discover practical

remedies. It is vital to combine investments in

wastewater treatment and reservoir capacity with

actions that minimise water demand, notably for

agriculture, in order to maintain a balance between

the use of surface and groundwater to enable long-

term economic growth and a river that is ecologically

sound. The effects of socioeconomic development

will outweigh those of climate change by a wide

margin. Combining investments in wastewater

treatment and reservoir capacity with actions that

reduce water demand, particularly for irrigation, and

that increase river flow during the dry season is

necessary to maintain a balance between the use of

surface and groundwater to support sustained

economic growth and an ecologically healthy river. It

is advised that future directions be given to

academics, conservationists, planners, and managers

of water resources so that they can take the required

steps to preserve the aesthetic value of rivers and

further promote aquatic biodiversity.

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