Control of Water Pollution The key challenges to better management of the water

quality in India comprise of temporal and spatial variation of rainfall,

uneven geographic distribution of surface water resources, persistent
droughts, overuse of ground water and contamination, drainage and salinisation and
water quality problems due to treated, partially treated and untreated
wastewater from urban settlements, industrial establishments and runoff from
irrigation sector besides poor management of municipal solid waste and animal
dung in rural areas (CPCB Report, 2013). Some of the control measures are given
below:
1. The Ganga Action Plan and the National River Action Plan are being implemented
for addressing the task of trapping, diversion and treatment of municipal
wastewater. 2. In most parts of the country, waste water from domestic sources is
hardly treated, due to inadequate sanitation facilities. This waste water,
containing highly organic pollutant load, finds its way into surface and
groundwater courses near the vicinity of human habitation from where further
water is drawn for use. Considerable investments should be done to install the
treatment systems. 3. With rapid industrialization and urbanization, the
water requirement for energy and industrial use is estimated to rise to about
18 per cent (191 bcm) of the total requirements in 2025 (CPCB Report, 2013). Poor
environmental management systems, especially in industries such as thermal
power stations, chemicals, metals and minerals, leather processing and sugar
mills, have led to discharge of highly toxic and organic wastewater. This has
resulted in pollution of the surface and groundwater sources from which water is
also drawn for irrigation and domestic purpose. The enforcement of regulations
regarding discharge of industrial wastewater and limits to extraction of
groundwater needs to be considerably strengthened, while more incentives are
required for promoting waste water reuse and recycling. 4. For the agricultural
sector, water and electricity for irrigation are subsidized for political reasons.
This leads to wasteful flood irrigation rather than adoption of more
optimal practices such as sprinkler and drip irrigation. Optimized irrigation,
cropping patterns and farming practices should be encouragde for judicious use of
water. 5. The water quality management in India is accomplished under the provision
of Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 that was amended in 1988.
The basic objective of this Act is to maintain and restore the wholesomeness of
national aquatic resources by prevention and control of pollution. The Water
(Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act was enacted in 1977, to provide for
the levy and collection of a cess on water consumed by persons operating and
carrying on certain types of industrial activities. 6. The Central Pollution
Control Board (CPCB) has established a network of monitoring stations on aquatic
resources across the country. The water quality monitoring and its
management are governed at state/union territory level in India. The network covers
28 states
and 6 Union Territories (CPCB Report, 2013). Water quality monitoring is
therefore an imperative prerequisite in order to assess the extent of maintenance
and restoration of water bodies. 7. There should be ban on washing of clothes and
laundry alongside the river bank. 8. Industries should install Effluent Treatment
Plant (ETP) to control the pollution at source. 9. All towns and cities must
have Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) that clean up the sewage effluents. 10.
Improper use of fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides in farming should be stopped
and organic methods of farming should be adoped. Cropping practices in riparian
zone should be banned to protect the riparian vegetation growing there. 11.
Religious practices that pollute river water by dumping colourful paints
of idols containing harmful synthetic chemicals should be stopped. 12. Rain water
harvesting should be practiced to prevent the depletion of water table. 13. Making
people aware of the problem is the first step to prevent water pollution. Hence,
importance of water and pollution prevention measures should be a part of
awareness and education programme. 14. Polluter pays principle should be adopted
so that the polluters will be the first people to suffer by way of paying the
cost for the pollution. Ultimately, the polluter pays principle should be
designed to prevent people from polluting and making them behave in an
environmentally responsible manner. 15. As riparian vegetation helps in making
the river water clean because of the multiple functions, to prevent people
from felling and clearing down of riparian forest zones for road construction,
agricultural practices, recreational and tourism , sand mining, quarrying and clay
mining etc. community should play a regulatory role.
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