WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT IN RURAL INDIA
Wastewater is sewage and non-potable water that flows back into the environment, and most of it is untreated. In the majority of rural areas, untreated wastewater is discharged directly into the local surroundings and water bodies. This leads to the contamination of surface as well as sub-surface water, having negative effects on the environment and human health. Since the water supply for domestic purposes in rural areas has improved considerably over the years, the quantity of wastewater that is disposed of has also increased. Hence, effective wastewater management systems need to be introduced in rural areas to mitigate the problem of contamination. Wastewater management programs in rural areas are aimed at treating and managing sewage and water used for non-potable purposes. The purpose is to avoid pollution and damage to the environment and to sustain the water table and water sources. This would result in a continued and clean supply of safe drinking water to the masses and lead to improved hygiene and sanitation.
Wastewater management programs in rural areas are aimed at treating and managing sewage and water used for non-potable purposes. This would result in a continued and clean supply of safe drinking water to the masses and lead to improved hygiene and sanitation.
HISTORY OF WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT IN INDIA: AN EXAMPLE TO FOLLOW
The Harappan civilization was one of the earliest yet most-advanced civilizations in the world. The Harappan civilization first developed architecture with sophisticated drainage systems and wastewater management provisions. Agriculture as the primary economic activity dependent on water required preserving it and keeping it free from contamination. Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro made the world’s first attempt at sanitization systems. The wastewater management systems were adaptable to the cultural and economic conditions of the society. Wastewater disposal and drainage systems were made of complex networks. Latrines, pipes and channels, cesspools, and soak pits were key elements of sewage systems of that era. Channels covered with bricks and stones were connected to all the settlements of Mohenjo-Daro. Terra-cotta pipes were used to collect household wastewater through sedimentation into the drainage channels on the streets. To avoid clogging the drains, cesspits were placed at the junction of the drains. However, over time, the historical knowledge of these systems is all but forgotten.
The Harappan civilization was one of the earliest yet most-advanced civilizations in the world that developed architecture with sophisticated drainage systems and wastewater management provisions. However, over time, the historical knowledge of these systems is all but forgotten.
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PRESENT ISSUES IN WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT
With population growth and rapid industrialization, wastewater management has become a serious issue. Rural India with old or no infrastructure has reached a tipping point. The problem is reaching serious proportions and adding to the woes of a hapless rural population who have little or no access to potable water. With much of it coming from underground sources that are contaminated due to over-exploitation or pollution, wastewater management takes immediate importance. India has the highest number of people who do not have access to clean drinking water. Even the abundance of water in certain places does not guarantee access to safe, reliable, clean drinking water.
The people of Samastipur, until recently, were unhappy and suffering a great deal as they, like most people in rural India, did not have access to potable water. A hand pump was the common source of water, but the water was unfit for consumption as it contained biological impurities, iron and arsenic contamination, and turbidity. People had to purchase potable water, which was costly, to meet their daily cooking and eating requirements.
With population growth and rapid industrialization, wastewater management has become a serious issue. Rural India with old or no infrastructure has reached a tipping point where they have little or no access to potable water. The inhabitants have to purchase potable water for their daily requirements.
Here are a few contributions of S M Sehgal Foundation
INNOVATION AND COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS: THE NEED OF THE HOUR
United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 focuses on access to clean water and sanitation for all. Sehgal Foundation works with rural communities under the project Adarsh Panchayat Bhandari, in Sitamarhi district, Bihar. The goal of the initiative is to sensitize communities to the advantages of hygiene and sanitation. Apart from creating awareness, sanitation drives are conducted to sensitize the community, build engagement, and motivate them to adopt healthy practices.
Wastewater disposal was an issue in the area due to a lack of proper drainage. This resulted in accumulation and water-logging, leading to a host of vector-borne diseases for villagers. The Sehgal Foundation constructed soak pits that could be built with locally available materials and little assistance.
The soak pit is five feet deep with a diameter of four feet. It is connected to a silt chamber that is one foot by one foot. The silt chamber helps to sort and block other solid waste so that only water goes into the pit. The silt chamber controls the water force so that water runs smoothly into the soak pit. The size of a pit varies according to the amount of wastewater generated and the soil quality. It employs a process of filtration that segregates solid waste, treats the wastewater, and ultimately recharges the water table with groundwater that is free of contaminants. These pits do not cost much and are virtually maintenance-free.
Besides creating awareness, the S M Sehgal Foundation organizes sanitation drives to sensitize the community, build engagement, and motivate them to adopt healthy practices. They even contributed to constructing soak-pits to segregate solid waste, treat the wastewater, and ultimately recharge the water table with groundwater.
Arsenic Removal In Groundwater
Groundwater plays a significant role in India’s rural and urban domestic needs, industrial needs, and irrigation purposes. (Bhattacharya, et al., 2019). A potent environmental pollutant – Arsenic (As) is a silent toxic the concentration of which depends on the geology, and geochemical characteristics of the aquifer, and the local hydrology. India is one of the countries struggling with the geogenic contamination of arsenic. Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Assam, Manipur, Punjab, and Karnataka are the arsenic-affected states in India. Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) reports 1,657 arsenic-affected habitations in Assam, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Punjab).
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has set the limit of arsenic to 10 ppb (parts per billion) in drinking water. The consumption of arsenic concentration beyond the said limit has an ill impact on the health including the respiratory and gastrointestinal systems, along with an increase in the risk of several skin diseases and even cancer. This contamination can be removed by leveraging some conventional technologies like adsorption, oxidation, membrane filtration, and ion exchange process.
S M Sehgal Foundation innovated JalKalp, a sustainable bio-sand filter technology that is capable of addressing manganese, iron, and microbial contamination.
The community had a positive impact on the study conducted in their area, in terms of health improvement and economic generation. The community members who believed that drinking contaminated water would not be harmful to their health, now considered the filtered water as pure as holy water. In this regard, the S M Sehgal Foundation has built awareness and sensitized the formally educated children in the family to pass on the awareness and knowledge to the entire household.
Groundwater plays a significant role in India’s rural and urban domestic needs, industrial needs, and irrigation purposes. The S M Sehgal Foundation innovated a sustainable bio-sand filter technology that is capable of addressing manganese, iron, and microbial contamination.
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More On The Bio-sand Filter
An undergraduate student in Community Health (BSPH Program), School of Public Health: Indiana University Bloomington – Natalia Walker visited the S M Sehgal Foundation projects in Nuh, Haryana, in March 2017. Before this visit, she did not know much about the bio-sand filter and its functions, however, with the help of the S M Sehgal Foundation, she did not only learn but also have hands-on experience.
The Bio-sand filter is inexpensive and maintenance-free. While visiting the schools, the volunteers used a water tester to measure the concentration of contaminants in the water in parts per million (PPM).
Another interesting thing Natalie noticed at one of the schools was the wall drawings and paintings on educational and public health topics. For instance, there was a picture of the bio-sand filter on the wall explaining what it is and its workings. She thought this was a very creative way of educating young minds about the filter.
The wastewater management project included underground storage of all the waste that flooded the rural areas. The water that drained into the system was filtered for final storage underground. To keep the filtering systems long-lasting and working correctly, they must be cleaned every twenty-four hours. This project was not just advantageous to the environment, but also mobilized the community to quite an extent, and villagers worked together to keep the systems functioning well.
There was one wall, that showcased all the projects done by the S M Sehgal foundation team, and how many of them were implemented. The S M Sehgal Foundation team truly cares about the rural inhabitants and the environment and tries its best to make sound decisions as much as possible.
An undergraduate student from Indiana University visited the S M Sehgal Foundations and not only learned, but also had a hands-on experience with the bio-sand filter and its functions.
TO CONCLUDE: WHY TREAT WASTEWATER AT ALL?
Wastewater treatment is interconnected with the water chain, and thus affects the environment. Water used by rural homes gets converted to sewage or gets contaminated with chemicals and other pollutants. It must be treated before it is released back into the environment. While nature can process and cope with a small amount of wastewater, imagine the huge volume produced every day before being released back into the environment.
Health and the environment are two major reasons to have an urgent focus on this oft-neglected area: health. A contaminated water chain can have disastrous effects on human health, agriculture, marine life, wildlife, and our food chain, to name a few. According to the 2015 report of the Central Pollution Control Board, India has the current capacity to treat approximately only about 30 percent of its wastewater, most of it in urban India. An urgent need for community participation along with government and private initiatives are the needs of the hour. Rural growth, prosperous existence, and development will be driven by the methods we use to manage wastewater in times to come.
Wastewater treatment is interconnected with the water chain, and thus affects the environment. Health and the environment are two major reasons to refocus on neglected areas such as agriculture, marine life, wildlife, human health, our food chain, etc.
FAQs
Wastewater is sewage and non-potable water that flows back into the environment, and most of it is untreated. Wastewater management is the process of treating and managing sewage and water that would lead to a supply of clean and safe drinking water to the masses and lead to improved hygiene and sanitation.
With population growth and rapid industrialization, wastewater management has become a serious issue. Rural India with old or no infrastructure has reached a tipping point where they have little or no access to potable water. The inhabitants have to purchase potable water for their daily requirements.
One way of doing it is by removing Arsenic in the groundwater. Groundwater plays a significant role in India’s rural and urban domestic needs, industrial needs, and irrigation purposes. S M Sehgal Foundation innovated a sustainable biosand filter technology that is capable of addressing manganese, iron, and microbial contamination.
To tackle the groundwater salinity issue, S M Sehgal Foundation constructed rainwater harvesting models. These recharge well structures store and recharge the sweet rainwater below the groundwater table, as a freshwater pocket within a saline aquifer.
Wastewater treatment is linked to the water chain, and hence, affects the environment. Health and the environment are two major reasons to recenter our focus back to the neglected areas such as agriculture, marine life, wildlife, human health, our food chain, etc.
Water supply to such rural communities can be sourced from rainwater, groundwater, or spring/surface water. Through simple rainwater harvesting techniques, household as well as community needs for water in arid and semi-arid regions, where no other water sources are available or feasible, can be met. Water harvesting structures were designed taking the ecology and diversity of the region, into consideration.
Water augmentation increases the availability and supply of water through active recharge of water and protection of water recharge areas. Traditionally, water augmentation has been followed in India where harnessing rainwater and recharging the water tables allows recharge through infiltration into aquifers.
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