Bhoj Brief 7Dec03
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1 7Dec03 BHOJ WETLAND Dr.M.S.Kodarkar, Head, Indian Association of Aquatic Biologists (IAAB), Hyderabad – 500 095 (Andhra Pradesh) India 1. INTRODUCTION : South Asia, home to over one fifth of the world’s population is facing water crisis. This region is in the grip of flood and draught cycles and there is a need to have a long term strategy for management of its water resources. Big and small water bodies in the form of lakes and reservoirs dot landscape of south Asia. These ecosystems impound precious freshwater and make up the most easily accessible source for many human uses. Historically, major cities in this region flourished in geographical regions with assured water supply that sustained civilization for centauries. Unfortunately, last half of 20th Centaury is witness to large scale degradation of environment in general and water resources in particular, due to a number of anthropogenic factors like un-precedented population growth and consequent urbanization, industrialization and chemical intensive agriculture (Kodarkar, 1995). The first victims of this degradative process were the lakes and reservoirs in the vicinity of urban areas that underwent large scale pollution due to sewage and/or industrial effluents and toxic chemicals. In most of the cases nutrient enrichment led to eutrophication (Edmondson, 1991) with a number of negative manifestations like : 1. Permanent algal blooms and poor water quality 2. Wild growth of macrophytes like water hyacinth and loss of biodiversity 3. Water pollution and Breeding of vectors like mosquitoes and snails and impacts on public health* (*water contamination could spread water borne diseases such as Cholera, typhoid, paratyphoid, diarrhea, and dysentery. Mosquito nuisance will give rise to several vector borne diseases like Malaria, Filaria. Amoebiasis and Giardiasis, which are protozoan parasites, and infectious Hepatitis, Poliomyelitis which are viral diseases). 4. Foul smell due to gases like hydrogen Sulphide (H2S), Ammonia (NH3) etc. 5. Fish/Bird kills and 6. Ground water pollution** (** The contaminated recharge from the lakes is a serious health problem. The total requirement of drinking water in Hyderabad is 720 MLD. The Hyderabad Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board is supplying about 330 MLD. The rest is believed to be met from ground water resources through 38,000 bore wells. The report of the Ground Water Department of the State government, which gives these statistics, also says that the nitrate concentration range varied from 5.00 mg/lit to 522 mg/lit . In 80% of the cases it is more than the tolerance limit of 45 mg/lit. Thus with 54% of requirements being met from ground water the danger to health from polluted ground water sources is very serious). Further, there was drastic alteration in morphometry and water holding capacity of lakes and reservoirs due to dumping of garbage, solid waste and silt. The process is further aggravated by encroachments and unauthorized construction activities in the catchment and on the lake bed. When compared with rural, the impact of degradation is more severe in urban areas due to high population density. Due to ecological, economical and recreational potential of lakes, there is an urgent need of their protection, rehabilitation and conservation as precious natural resource. By suitable remedial measures a lake can bestow a number of benefits like : 1. Charging of groundwater table : Water bodies by acting as percolation source recharge the groundwater table. In India in the last two decades there is constant fall of water table in urban areas due to poor recharge on account of wanton destruction of surface water resources. Depletion of water table may even endanger the food security due to loss of agricultural production for want of adequate groundwater for irrigation. 2. Aquaculture : If properly utilized urban water bodies can be effectively utilized for fish production. Unfortunately the planners give very low priority to this aspect and many water bodies are rendered useless due to heavy pollution from domestic sewage and consequent eutrophication. Apart from supplying food, aquaculture can be an effective measure for reducing nutrient load on a water body. 3. Flood regulation, moderation and control : Almost all cities in the country experience flooding even after moderate rains. This is happening mainly due to inadequate drainage facilitties in haphazardly developing urban zones and destruction of water bodies. The latter use to act like buffers moderating the impact of flooding. 4. Conditioning of the climate : Urban areas are developing into concrete jungles with very less greenery leading to hotter climate. A water body acts as an effective climate conditioner and maintains temperature at lower levels in the surrounding areas. 5. Sustenance of colloidal water for vegetation : Greenery depends on colloidal water in the soil which is replenished by surface water resources. 6. Sustenance of biodiversity : It is universally accepted fact that survival of man is dependent on survival of plant and animal species which form mosaic of biodiversity. Areas like estuaries and wetlands are hotspots of productivity and flora-fauna interaction. Thus water bodies in general play an important role in sustenance of biodiversity. 7. Recreational sites : Lakes and reservoirs can be protected as aqua-parks and recreational centers generating jobs and services. 8. The sediment of most of the lakes is rich in organic matter and can be effectively used as manure for kitchen gardens and parks. 9. The livelihood of lake dependent communities like washer men and small dairy farmers belonging to weaker sections of the society depends on healthy lakes. These communities are one of the key stake holders of these resources. 10. Community asset with cultural and educational value: To achieve this, there is a need of a clearcut lake protection strategy as an integral component of national water policy. Fig. 1. Upper Lake and Lower Lake (Bhoj Wetland), Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. Fig. 1. Bhoj wetland, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India Table 1. Profile of the lakes (physical). Item UPPER LAKE LOWERLAKE Constructed in 11th Century A.D. Late 17th Century Type of dam Earthen Earthen Latitude 230 12'- 23o 16'N 23 o 14'- 23 o 16'N Longitude 77 o l 8' - 77 o 23' E 77 o 24'- 77 o 25'E Catchment area (Sq.lcm.) 361 9.6 Submergence area at FTL 36.54 0.90 (Sq.km.) Full Tank Level (MSL) (m) 508.04 499.88 Dead Storage Level (MSL) (m) 503.53 499.88 Storage capacity (million cum.) 117.05 4.3 Maximum depth (m) 11.7 9.4 Source of water Rain water & Sewage Rain water, Seepage from Upper Lake and Domestic Sewage Main use of water Potable water supply Washing and Boating Lakes of Bhopal (Fig. 1., Table 1.) : Bhopal, the historical city and the capital of state of Madhya Pradesh, can be called limnological capital of India as pioneering work in this field was initiated on two lakes dominating the landscape of this urban sprawl. Further, these lakes are perhaps the first ecosystems that were subjected to intensive management and lessons learnt in this field can be applicable in whole South Asian region. The historic Upper Lake impounded in the 11th century is a classic prototype of urban water body. With well-protected catchment, its water quality was of potable standard up to recent times (Singh. and Anandh, 1996). However, in the last two decades of 20th Centaury as the city grew many sections of the Lake were encircled by habitation. These developments generated the anthropogenic pressures on the Lake thus accelerating the process of eutrophication and making the water unfit for human consumption without proper treatment (IS, 1984). Table 2. Water quality of Lower lake in Bhopal (1991-92). Parameter Range Temperature (0C) 19-30 pH 7.15-9.7 Transparency (cm) 14-98 Conductivity (µS at 25 0C) 259-374 Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) mg/L 86-169 Hardness (mg/L) 68-154 Chlorides (mg/L) 14.9-88.9 Total phosphorus 0.106-1.02 Total nitrogen (mg/L) 1.08-1.46 The Lower Lake, constructed in the late 18th Century is an integral part of upper lake ecosystem and a source of raw water for the urban development and domestic water needs like washing, bathing etc. As in the case of many urban water bodies all over India, the Lower Lake was subjected to all kinds of negative anthropogenic stresses. Further, drastic alteration of its morphometry and degradation of water quality (Table 2) prompted the authorities to initiate the action plan for rehabilitation, protection and conservation of the two lakes. The outcome of this initiative was Bhoj Wetland Project, which is funded by Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC) and is a fine example of Indo-Japanese co-operation in the field of ecology and environment. A soft loan of 7055 million yens was sanctioned covering 85% of financial outlay of the project, while remaining 15% was contributed by Govt.of India (GOI) and the State Government. The State Govt. sent the project proposal to Govt.of India for foreign funding and after due process of evaluation JBIC sanctioned the project. To summarise, the two lakes represent classical examples of surface water resources in South Asia, while Upper lake is the major source of potable water and meets 35% demand of drinking water for city's growing population, Lower lake can be mainly a recreational site. Moreover, water of the latter can be effectively utilized for fish production and other non- potable uses by restoring its water quality to grade B (Table 4). Further, the livelihood of more than 500 traditional fishermen and 250 washer-men families belonging to socio- economically weaker sections of the society is dependent on these lakes. 3. BHOJ WETLAND PROJECT: The Lake Conservation and Management Project also known as Bhoj Wetland Project, envisages tackling of various issues associated with conservation and management of the Upper and Lower Lakes of Bhopal, under a multi-pronged strategy.