Kirari Suleiman Drain,Delhi

Kirari Suleiman Drain,Delhi

Pre-treatment water sample was collected by the Delhi Jal Board by DTQC Team collected had parameters that were much beyond the range. BoD was 125 mg/l and Ammonia was at 34 mg/L. The drain water was deep black in colour indicating the level of contamination from domestic, commercial and industrial effluents. The drain had a very strong foul smell which was apparent even far away. The sludge was found accumulating in the channel indicating that the algae and native microbes were unable to degrade the incoming load. In sum, the drain was not only struggling to survive but had also become a public health risk.

Water clarity is a physical characteristic defined by how clear or transparent water is. Clarity is determined by the depth that sunlight penetrates in water. The turbidity of drain water  that was highly turbid in nature  was brought down to low turbid level within 30 days of treatment.

Fish and aquatic animals cannot split oxygen from water (H2O) or other oxygen-containing compounds. Only green plants and some bacteria can do that through photosynthesis and similar processes. Virtually all the oxygen we breathe is manufactured by green plants. A total of three-fourths of the earth’s oxygen supply is produced by phytoplankton in the ocean. The DO level in the Kirari Suleman drain has now started increasing gradually after the Aquaritin waste water dosing. Urban segments of drain pose a tough challenge for remediation. The daily inflow of untreated sewage, run off from residential and industrial areas add to the woes. The first casualty is the Dissolved oxygen which crashes down as microbes draw on it to degrade the incoming pollutants. Without adequate DO, the rivers struggle to survive eventually becoming a Dead Zone for aquatic life. The poor water quality with high level of E Coli and pathogens become a risk to public health, the foul smell from H2S makes the riparian community uncomfortable. The plant-animal imbalance leads to prolific growth of water hyacinths and weeds which is not only a nuisance but becomes home to vectors. It further prevents the sunlight from piercing through the water and causing further putrefaction at the bottom.

Phyco Remediation appears to be the answer to these challenges. Within 30 days, the BOD in the drain was brought down from 125 mg/l to 5.3 mg/l, a fall of 95.76%. Ammonia level decreased from 34 mg/l to 0.017 mg/l. This is unprecedented. The normal treatment runs for a period of 6 months during which it is expected that the whole drain eco system would be restored. Scaling up to match the flow of large rivers or larger distances, or different water quality, is not an issue at all, as the technology is readily scalable.