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CHAPTER CHAPTER CHAPTER CHAPTER 1111

INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION

Chapter 1: Introduction 1

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1: Preamble

Urbanization can be defined in number of ways. One of the common definitions

of urbanization is “a process which reveals itself through temporal, spatial and sectoral

changes in the demographic, social, economic, technological and environmental aspects

of life in a given society”. Similarly, it is the increase in number of cities and urban

population (Turan, 2008). Urbanization has become a major demographic issue in 21st

century not only in India but also all over the world (Maiti and Agrawal, 2005).

Urbanization refers to general increase in population and amount of industrialization of a

settlement. It includes increase in number and extent of cities. It symbolizes the

movement of people from rural to urban areas. Urbanization happens because of the

increase in the extent and density of urban areas. The density of population in urban areas

increases because of the migration of people from less industrialized regions to more

industrialized areas. In developed countries, urbanization is an old process and it was

formed in parallel with industrialization, technologic reforms and infrastructure services

and it still continues. In underdeveloped and developing countries, this process is more

recent and has been rapidly experienced in a short time (Ludermir, 1998).

The beginning of urbanization can be traced back to Renaissance times in 16th

century. Turkish assaults resulted in movement of Christians from east to western

European countries. As a result, trade grew and European cities along the coasts

developed greatly. A further boost for urbanization was created with the arrival of the

“Industrial Revolution”. Population of cities in Europe and USA started to increase

significantly in the 18th and 19th centuries. However, urbanization started in Asia only in

the first half of the 20th century and in the second half of the 20th century in Africa, when

the countries obtained independence from colonial rule.

The world has experienced tremendous increase in the urbanization in the 19th and

20th century. Industrial transformation can be traced main reason for the urbanization. As

elsewhere in the world, the level of urbanization in Asia, according to United Nations


figures has been steadily increasing (United Nations, 2001). In 1950, 17.4 percent of

Asians were living in urban areas, by 2000 this proportion had climbed to 36.7 percent,

and by 2030 it is expected to increase further to 53.4 percent (Jones, 2002). From this, it

is clear that cities are currently becoming home to nearly half of the world’s population.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, just 16 cities in the world contained a million

people or more but in 2006, almost 400 cities contain a million people or more, and about

seventy percent of them are found in the developing world (Cohen, 2006).

Nowadays, Urbanization is considered as a major driving force of biodiversity

loss and biological homogenization not only in developed countries, but increasingly in

less developed countries (Savard et.al., 2000). Increasing urbanization places enormous

pressure on the local resources of a city and its surrounding area. Due to urbanization

environmental problems like water scarcity intensifies, more and more waste piles, air

quality deteriorates, public transport system get overloaded, traffic jam increases and so

on. Similarly, the garbage waste a major load of the cities placed on open ground and

sewage discharged in rivers magnify the problem of environment.

Urbanization and its allied process have made a profound impact on the

environment of the metropolitan cities of India. During the last three decades, the link

between urbanization and environment and the threat to the quality of life have emerged

as a major issue in India. Due to uncontrolled urbanization, environmental degradation

has been occurring very rapidly and causing shortages of housing, worsening water

quality, excessive air pollution, noise, dust and heat, and the problems of disposal of solid

wastes and hazardous wastes (Maiti and Agrawal, 2005). Noise and air pollution are the

profound impacts of urbanization. Generation of solid waste and plastic in Indian

metropolitan cities is a serious problem and will increase in future because of increase in

packaging of consumer’s goods. Water resources are diminishing not just because of

large population numbers but also because of wasteful consumption and neglect of

conservation. With rapid urbanization and industrialization, huge quantities of

wastewater enter in the rivers (Maiti and Agrawal, 2005).

Among all above problems which urbanization leads, solid and liquid waste

problems are the worst. The generation of these waste in huge amounts in relatively


smaller areas puts pressure on the natural landscape especially on soil and river, because

these wastes generally finds its way in to the river and on soil in nearby areas. Among all

wastes generated by urban areas sewage and solid waste needs lot of efforts in terms of

manpower and financial requirements. The urban areas are mostly suffered from these

wastes.

It is a common phenomenon that all life forms convert raw materials to products

of value to themselves. In this process, waste material is produced. In fact the production

of waste material from any process depends on the type of raw material consumed and

the pattern of consumption. This waste can be described as anything or everything that

has lost value to the user, thus becoming useless or undesired. In general, one can say that

waste is useless, unwanted or discarded material resulting from commercial, communal

and industrial activities of the urban area. These activities covers domestic, commercial,

institutional and industrial sector. The solid waste and the liquid waste (i.e. Sewage) are

the main wastes generated from any activity of the human being in the localized area.

1.2: Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)

Municipal Solid Waste is generally termed as “unwanted or undesired” material.

Though the term is universal it has different concern depending upon the location and

living standard of people. According to Indian Municipal Solid Waste Management and

Handling Rules, 2000 “Municipal Solid Waste” includes commercial and residential

wastes generated in a municipal or notified area in either solid or semi-solid form

excluding industrial hazardous wastes but including treated bio-medical wastes.

If we look at the history of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), we will found that in

the early days the disposal of human and other waste did not pose any significant

problem because the population was small and the amount of land available for

accumulation of waste was large. Now, the scenario has changed quite a lot owing to

rapid urbanization and industrialization. This has resulted in tremendous increase in the

migration of public towards urbanized pocket and considerable change in socioeconomic

status and the subsequent infrastructural requirement for their safe, healthy and

comfortable living, which result into generation of large amount of waste in urban area.


In past, MSW have been disposed of mostly by a combination of open dumping

and open burning. For number of reason “Sanitary Landfill” has now replaced these

techniques in many countries. During the flourishing of the Minon civilization on Crete

from 3000 to 1000 BC, solid waste in the Capital of Knossos were placed in the large pits

with layer of earth at interval. However, the Romans had no organized system of waste

removal, disposal and waste accumulated in the street and around the towns and village.

This practice was said to have persisted until the 19th century (Trivedi et.al., 1992).

Around 320 BC food scraps and other waste were simply thrown on the unpaved

streets; therefore the first known law for binding the practice was established to remove

the waste in several eastern mediterian cities. In Rome, property owner was responsible

for cleaning streets fronting their property; however disposal methods were very crude

like open pits dumping, just outside city wall. But population-increased efforts were

made to transport the waste further out, and city dump was thus cleaned (Nathansan

et.al., 2002).

1.2.1: Solid Waste- A World Scenario

The rapid urbanization and industrialization has brought about many changes in

the quantity and quality of the MSW generated. Solid waste generation, as one would

expect, varies between countries, cities and parts of cities. With continuous economic

development and an increase in living standards, the demand for goods and services is

increasing quickly, resulting in an increase in per capita generation of solid waste.

Increasing population levels, booming economy, rapid urbanization and the rise in

community living standards have greatly accelerated the MSW generation rate in

developing countries, especially in China. Because, World Bank pointed out that no

country had ever experienced as large or as fast an increase in solid waste quantity as

China (Yuan et.al., 2006). During 2005, China surpassed the United States the world’s

largest MSW generator. Furthermore, China’s annual solid waste generation is expected

to grow from about 190 million tons in 2004 to over 480 million tons by 2030 (World

Bank, 2005). This poses enormous challenges for environmental protection and

sustainable development.

The waste generation rate in KualaLumpur, the capital city of Malaysia is


continuously rising up every year due to the uncontrollable consumption owing to the

increasing population, the attitude towards shopping and the high living standard. It is

expected that the amount of solid waste generated in KualaLumpur reach double in the

next twenty years; from 3.2 million tons a year during 2000 to 7.7 million tons a year in

2020 (Hassan, 2002 and Hassan et.al., 2000)

The Latin America was generating about 369,000 tons a day of municipal solid

waste during 2005. 56 % of this total waste was from large urban centers, 21 % from

medium-size ones, and 23 % was from small ones (PAHO, 2005). The total per capita

rate of waste generation was about 0.8 kilogram a day, though it can exceed 2.4

kilograms a day during peak tourism seasons in some municipalities. The United States is

a ‘‘throwaway’’ society whose total and per capita waste has been increasing for more

than 40 years. The average American produces about 4.4 lbs of MSW each day, resulting

in roughly 210,000,000 tons/year for the nation (Statistical, 1998). Most of MSW from

this goes to landfills (Lester et.al., 1999).

1.2.2: Asian Perspective

Solid waste management and disposal is an alarming problem encountered by

many of the urban and industrial areas in developing economies in Asia. Waste

generation has witnessed an increasing trend parallel to the development of

industrialization, urbanization and rapid growth of population. The problem has become

one of the primary urban environmental issues. Enormous amount of waste is generated

daily and its management is a huge task. Final disposal is usually a matter of transporting

the collected waste to the nearest available open space and dumping it. However, only a

fraction of waste were properly collected and transported. Sometimes it is burnt to reduce

its volume and to minimize attraction of animals and vermin and also to retrieve

recyclable items. The trend of solid waste generation in most Asian countries is

increasing. The primary factors affecting waste quantity are population, urbanization,

industrialization and the changing lifestyle. Urban areas in Asia are generating about

760,000 tones of MSW or approximately 2.7 million m3 per day. In 2025, this figure will

increase to 1.8 million tonnes of waste per day or 5.2 million m3 of waste (World Bank,

1999).


1.2.3: Indian Context

There has been a significant increase in MSW generation in India in the last few

decades. This is largely because of rapid population growth and economic development

in the country. Solid waste management has become a major environmental issue in

India. The per capita of waste generated daily, in India ranges from about 100 g in small

towns to 500 g in large towns (Singhal and Pandey, 2001) and this quantity is increasing

day by day.

Total quantity of solid waste generated in urban areas of the country is about 1.15

lakh tones per day. Out of this 19643 tonnes of waste is generated in metro cities per day.

The survey conducted by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) puts total municipal

waste generation from Class I and Class II cities to around 18 million tonnes in 1997

(CPCB, 2000). The solid waste generated in Indian cities has increased from 6 million

tonnes in 1947 to 48 million tonnes in 1997 and is expected to increase to 300 million

tonnes per annum by 2047 (CPCB, 2000). More than 25% of the municipal solid waste is

not collected at all, 70% of the Indian cities lack adequate capacity to transport it and

there are no sanitary landfills to dispose of the waste. The existing landfills are neither

well equipped nor well managed. Also, they are failed to protect against contamination of

soil and groundwater.

Increasing population levels, rapid economic growth and rise in community living

standard accelerates the generation rate of municipal solid waste (MSW) in Indian cities.

The management of municipal solid waste is the major problem being faced by

municipalities because it involves a huge expenditure and receives scant attention (Bhide

and Sundersan, 1983). It is not only a technical problem but also is strongly influenced by

political, legal, socio-cultural, environmental and economic factors, as well as available

resources. Moreover, these factors have interrelationships that are usually complex in

waste management systems (Kum et.al., 2005). Many cities in developing Asian

countries face serious problems in managing their solid waste (Sharholy et.al., 2007). The

annual waste generation increases in proportion to the rise in population and

urbanization, and issues related to disposal have become challenging as more land is

needed for the ultimate disposal of these solid wastes (Idris et.al., 2004). MSW is


normally disposed of in an open dump in many Indian cities and towns, which is not the

proper way of disposal because such crude dumps pose environmental hazards causing

ecological imbalances with respect to land, water and air pollution (Kansal et.al., 1998).

Fig. 1.1 gives clear idea about the generation of solid waste in the class I cities of

different states in India. The solid waste generation and collection gap can also observed

from the figure.

It can be observed from fig 1.1 that Maharashtra state is leading in the generation

of municipal solid waste with the huge amount of 14061 MTD from around 40 class I

cities. In India, the amount of waste generated per capita is estimated to increase at a rate

of 1% - 1.33% annually (Shekdar, 1999). For example, the population of Mumbai grew

from around 8.2 million in 1981 to 12.3 million in 1991, registering a growth of around

49%. On the other hand, municipal solid waste generated in the city increased from 3200

tonnes per day to 5355 tonnes per day in the same period registering a growth of around

67% (CPCB, 2000).

Fig 1.1. Showing State wise Solid Waste Generation (in MTD), Collection (in percent) and number of Class-I Cities (Source-CPCB, 2008(a))


On an average 1000–1200 mt solid waste is generated per day from the Pune

municipal area. This unsegregated solid waste is disposed at a landfill site near Urali-

Devachi village. About 43 ha of land have been allocated for solid waste disposal, of

which 15 ha area is already land-filled and has been sealed-off permanently. The present

practice of solid waste disposal consists of biological decomposition of waste and land

filling. Extra molecular culture is applied over solid waste for decomposing the organic

matter. However, due to the unsegregated waste, complete decomposition is not possible.

Only 150 mt decomposed organic matter is segregated per day and collected from local

farmers, to be used as manure, while the remaining solid waste is left as it is for land

filling. This solid waste disposal and management practice causes various environmental

problems in Urali-Devachi village. The burning of solid waste creates heavy smoke and

dust pollution. On inhalation this results in various respiratory problems among the

habitants. The leachate produced from the landfill site has changed the characteristics of

the ground aquifer. Therefore, various issues have arisen due to solid waste disposal

practices of the Pune municipal authority (Dhere et.al., 2007).

1.3: Sewage

Waste water may be defined as a combination of the liquid (or water) carrying

wastes removed from residences, institutions, commercial and industrial establishments,

together with such groundwater, surface water, and storm water as may be present.

Domestic waste water by definition is the discharge from domestic residences,

commercial or institutional premises in to public sewer, originated from all aspect of

human sanitary water usage. It typically constitutes a combination of flows from

bathrooms, toilet, floor traps, kitchen sink, dish washer, and washing machines. However

apart from domestic waste water originated from residence other premises such as

commercial, institutional and industrial also contribute domestic waste water component

to the sewer system (Shoaimikling, 2007). Generally, the wastewater discharged from

domestic premises like residences, institutions, and commercial establishments is termed

as “Sewage / Community wastewater”. It comprises of 99.9% water and 0.1% solids and

is organic because it consists of carbon compounds like human waste, paper, vegetable

matter etc. Besides community wastewater / sewage, there is industrial wastewater in the


region. Many industrial wastes are also organic in composition and can be treated

physico-chemically and/or by micro-organisms in the same way as sewage.

About 75 % water pollution is caused by sewage, domestic waste and food

processing units. It includes human excreta, soap, detergent, metals, glass, rubbish garden

waste and sewage sludge. Domestic sewage and other wastes are thrown untreated or

partially treated into water bodies such as rivers, ponds, lakes etc. Since the dumping is

uncontrolled especially near big cities, the water bodies are not able to recycle them and

their self regulating capacity is lost. This is leading to number of serious problems

(Sharma, 1994).

1.3.1: A Historical Perspective

Before late 1800s, the general means of disposing human excrement was the

outdoor privy while the major proportion of the population used to go for open

defecation. Sewage treatment systems were introduced in cities after Louis Pasteur and

other scientists showed that sewage borne bacteria were responsible for many infectious

diseases. The Early attempts, in the 900s, at treating sewage usually consisted of

acquiring large farms and spreading the sewage over the land, where it decayed under the

action of micro-organisms (SulabhENVIS, 2003). It was soon found that the land became

'sick'. Later attempts included the discharge of wastewater directly into the water bodies,

but it resulted in significant deterioration of the water quality of such bodies. These

attempts relied heavily on the self-cleaning capacities of land and water bodies and it was

soon realized that nature couldn’t act as an indefinite sink. Methods of wastewater

treatment were first developed in response to the adverse conditions caused by the

discharge of wastewater to the environment and the concern for public health. Further, as

cities became larger, limited land was available for wastewater treatment and disposal,

principally by irrigation and intermittent filtration. Also, as populations grew, the

quantity of wastewater generated grows rapidly and the deteriorating quality of this huge

amount of wastewater exceeded the self-purification capacity of the streams and river

bodies. Therefore, other methods of treatment were developed to accelerate the forces of

nature under controlled conditions in treatment facilities of comparatively smaller size.


Discharge of untreated sewage in water courses both surface and ground waters is

the most important water polluting source in India. Out of about 34000 million liter per

day of sewage generated treatment capacity exists for only about 12000 million liter per

day. Thus, there is a large gap between generation and treatment of wastewater in India

(CPCB, 2008(a)). The gap between sewage generation and its treatment in India can be

easily understood with the Figure 1.2. The sewage generation and partial treatment given

by different states and union territories of India by the year 2008 (CPCB, 2008(a)) is

given in following table.

Fig 1.2: Showing Status of Sewage Generation, Treatment Capacity and Capacity Gap in Class-I Cities & Class-II Towns in India (Source- CPCB, 2008(a))


Table: State-wise Sewage Generation and its Treatment in India (Year 2008)

No. State/Union Territory Sewage Generation (in MLD)

Treatment Capacity (in MLD)

Capacity Gap (in MLD)

Percent Treatment Facility

1. Himachal Pradesh 29 35.63 -6.63 100

2. Goa 21.5 18.17 3.33 85

3. Maharashtra* 5882.7 4288.15 1594.55 73

4. Delhi 3800 2330 1470 61

5. Haryana 541 312 229 58

6. Andhra Pradesh 1635.9 694.04 941.86 42

7. Chandigarh 402 164.79 237.21 41

8. Uttar Pradesh 3746.8 1238.03 2508.77 33

9. Gujarat 2376.4 783 1593.4 33

10. Punjab 1685 453.8 1231.2 27

11. Tamilnadu 1348.3 334.47 1013.83 25

12. West Bengal 2761.6 567.8 2193.8 21

13. Chhattisgarh 356.5 69 287.5 19

14. Uttarakhand 180.9 24.5 156.4 14

15. Madhya Pradesh 1429.9 186.1 1243.8 13

16. Karnataka 1887.5 231 1656.5 12

17. Bihar 1277.9 137.5 1140.4 11

18. Jammu & Kashmir 193.7 15 178.7 8

19. Orissa 692.2 53 639.2 8

20. Rajasthan 1509.6 54 1455.6 4

21. Kerala 721.2 - 721.2 0

22. Jharkhand 645.8 - 645.8 0

23. Assam 423.8 - 423.8 0

24. Pondicherry 66 - 66 0

25. Mizoram 29.6 - 29.6 0

26. Manipur 26.7 - 26.7 0

27. Tripura 24.4 - 24.4 0

Contd…..


28. Meghalaya 24.3 - 24.3 0

29. Nagaland 23.9 - 23.9 0

30. Andaman & Nicobar 12.9 - 12.9 0

Total 33,757.00 11989.98 21767.02

* In Mumbai (Maharashtra) there are two marine outfalls of 3686 MLD capacity (Source-CPCB, 2008(a))

1.4: Water Scenario

There is no doubt that environment and sustainable development are inextricably

linked. Once viewed as an infinite and bountiful resource, water today defines human,

social, and economic development. Without adequate supplies and management of fresh

water resources, socio-economic development simply cannot take place. If we look at the

present scenario, we are leading towards crisis. About 85 % of rural population in India is

solely depended on ground water, which is depleting at a fast rate. In the urban areas

though about 60% of the population is depend on surface water sources; the availability

and quality are questionable.

Although India occupies only 3.29 million km2 geographical area, which forms

2.4% of the world’s land area, it supports over 15% of the world’s population. The

population of India as on 1 March 2001 stood at 1,027,015,247 persons. Thus, India

supports about 1/6th of world population, 1/50th of world’s land and 1/25th of world’s

water resources. India also has a livestock population of 500 million, which is about 20%

of the world’s total livestock population. More than half of these are cattle, forming the

backbone of Indian agriculture. The total utilizable water resources of the country are

assessed as 1086 km3 (Kumar et.al., 2005).

Population growth is expected to result in a decline in the per capita availability of

fresh water. In 1947, this was measured at 5,150 m3. By the year 2000, it was around

2,200 m3. It has been recently estimated that by 2017 India will be `water stressed' - per

capita availability will decline to 1600 m3. Studies put the amount of available aggregate

annual utilizable water in India, surface and ground together, at about 1,100 BCM. Such

aggregate figures, however, are quite misleading, since there is considerable spatial and

temporal variation in rainfall. Some areas receive slight rainfall, whereas others


experience monsoon conditions, which often result in flooding, loss of life and increased

poverty. Another problem areas are the fast-growing urban centers, where water

requirements are expected to double by 2025. The situation concerning industrial supplies

is even more difficult to analyze. Agriculture, the largest consumer of water resources in

India, will probably require 770 BCM by the year 2025 to support food demand. The

total estimated demand of 1013 BCM by the year 2025 would be close to the current

available annual utilizable water resource of India. With predicted demands such as these,

the supply of rural drinking water and requirements for ecosystems conservation are sure

to face an uncertain future unless anticipatory policy measures are taken.

Groundwater is of major importance in providing the mains water supply, and is

intensively exploited for private, domestic and industrial use in many urban centers of the

developing world. At the same time, the subsurface has come to serve as the receptor for

much urban and industrial wastewater and for solid waste disposal (World Bank, 1998).

Groundwater plays a fundamental role in shaping the economic and social health of many

urban areas. However, no comprehensive statistics exist on the proportion of urban water

supply world-wide derived from groundwater. It is estimated that more than 1 billion

urban dwellers in Asia and 150 million in Latin America probably depend directly or

indirectly upon well, spring and borehole sources (World Bank, 1998).

Groundwater resource is a replenishable but finite resource. Rainfall is the

principal source of recharge, though in some areas, canal seepage and return flow from

irrigation also contribute significantly to the groundwater recharge. Groundwater

resource comprises of two parts – dynamic resource in the zone of water-table fluctuation

which reflects seasonal recharge and discharge of aquifers and static resource below this

zone, which remains perennially saturated (Das, 2006).

1.5: Urbanization and Pollution- A Problem

Throughout the world surface water is most common place for disposal of waste

generated by human activities especially from the urban areas. Maximum of urban

setting are settled on the bank of rivers hence it is a common practice to dispose all the

waste including liquid and solid into the rivers without any treatment and this has put


tremendous pressure on the river water, still it is a major source of drinking water in

allover world.

Today water resources have been most exploited natural system since man strode

the earth. Pollution of water bodies increasing steadily due to rapid population growth,

industrial proliferations, increasing living standards etc. (Sharma 1994). Ground water,

rivers, lakes, ponds and seas are finding it more difficult to escape from water pollution.

In recent years, an increasing threat to ground water quality due to human activities has

become of great importance. The adverse effects on ground water quality are the results

of man's activity at ground surface, unintentionally by agriculture, domestic and

industrial effluents, unexpectedly by sub-surface or surface disposal of sewage and

industrial wastes (CPCB, 2008(b)). Majority of ground water quality problems are

caused by contamination, over-exploitation, or combination of the two. Most ground

water quality problems are difficult to detect and hard to resolve. The solutions are

usually very expensive, time consuming and not always effective. Ground water quality

is slowly but surely declining everywhere. Ground water pollution is intrinsically difficult

to detect, since problem may well be concealed below the surface and monitoring is

costly, time consuming and somewhat hit-or-miss by nature.

Open dumps are the oldest and the most common way of disposing of solid

wastes, and although in recent years thousands have been closed, many are still being

used. In many cases, they are located wherever land is available, without regard to safety,

health hazard and aesthetic degradation (Sabahi et.al., 2009(a)). A landfill is a site for the

disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment. ‘Landfill

Sites’ which usually hold large quantities of MSW, are chiefly responsible for

contaminating the ground water table. The main products of landfills are the leachate and

landfill gas. Among the two, greater threat to ground water is posed by the ‘Leachate’

(Khitoliyal et.al., 2009).

Waste placed in landfills or open dumps are subjected to either groundwater

underflow or infiltration from precipitation. The dumped solid wastes gradually release

its initial interstitial water and some of its decomposition by-products get into water

moving through the waste deposit. Such liquid containing innumerable organic and


inorganic compounds is called ‘leachate’. This leachate accumulates at the bottom of the

landfill and percolates through the soil. Areas near landfills have a greater possibility of

groundwater contamination because of the potential pollution source of leachate

originating from the nearby site. Such contamination of groundwater resource poses a

substantial risk to local resource user and to the natural environment (Mor et.al., 2006).

Chistensen & Stegmann, 1992 also reported that landfills are sources of groundwater and soil

pollution due to the production of leachate and its migration through refuse.

The changing living profile, consumption pattern and ignorance towards careful

use of water in domestic, commercial, institutional and industrial sector is leading to

generation of huge quantity of waste water in urban areas. Due to increased quantity of

waste water various cities from developing countries discharge this water into pits or in

surface water sources, only a small proportion of the wastewater produced by sewered

communities is treated (Sabahi et.al., 2009(c)). Developing country governments and

their regulatory agencies, as well as local authorities need to understand that domestic

and other wastewaters require treatment before discharge or preferably, re-use in

agriculture and/or aquaculture (Duncan, 2003). Municipal wastewater effluents may

contain a number of toxic elements, including heavy metals, because under practical

conditions wastes from many small and informal industrial sites are directly discharged

into the common sewer system. These toxic elements are normally present in small

amounts and, hence, they are called trace elements. Some of them may be removed

during the treatment process but others will persist and could present phytotoxic

problems. Thus, municipal wastewater effluents should be checked for trace element

toxicity hazards, particularly when trace element contamination is suspected (Pescod,

1992).

Sewage discharges are a major component of water pollution, contributing to

oxygen demand and nutrient loading of the water bodies; promoting toxic; algal blooms

and leading to a destabilized aquatic ecosystem (Morrison et.al., 2001). Water

contaminated by effluents from various sources is associated with heavy disease burden

(Okoh et.al., 2007) and this could influence the current shorter life expectancy in the

developing countries compared with developed nations (WHO, 2002). In developing

countries, most of which have huge burdens, population explosion and moderate to rapid


urbanization, people rely heavily on water sources of doubtful quality in the absence of

better alternatives, or due to economic and technological constraints to adequately treat

the available water before use (Aina and Adedipe, 1996; Calamari and Naeve, 1994). The

scarcity of clean water and pollution of fresh water has therefore led to a situation in

which 1/5th of the urban dwellers in developing countries and three quarters of their rural

dwelling population do not have access to reasonably safe water supplies (Lloyd and

Helmer, 1992).

The rapid development of urbanization and industrialization, together with the

shortage of availability of fresh water to be used for irrigation led to the rising use of

sewage for agricultural land irrigation (Chen et.al,. 2009). While sewage provides water

and valuable plant nutrients, it leads to the potential accumulation of heavy metals in

agricultural soils (Abdel, 2003). When the contents of heavy metals exceed the permitted

threshold, they will impact the normal growth of crops or even might enter food chain to

threat human and animal health (Akoumianakis et.al. 2009).

Heavy metal absorption is governed by soil characteristics such as pH and organic

matter content (Salt et.al., 1996). Heavy metal soil contamination is particularly

problematic because they are not degraded in soil. Heavy metals in soil cannot be

permanently eliminated. At best they can be locally reduced by redistribution in the eco-

system or removed from circulation by immobilization (Baker et.al., 1994). Sunil et.al.,

2008 reported that inadequate disposal schemes of solid and liquid wastes have resulted

in pollution of soil and groundwater in the coastal districts of the west coast of India. Soil

profile characteristics can altered to a great extent due to the influence of urban solid

waste accumulating on the soil surface (Rao and Shantaram, 2003). The soil is a primary

recipient of solid wastes (Nyle and Ray, 1999). Millions of tons of these wastes from a

variety of sources including industrial, domestic and agricultural, find their way in to the

soil (Oyelola and Babtunde, 2008(a)). These wastes end up interacting with the soil

system thereby changing the physical and chemical properties (Piccolo and Mbagwu,

1997). The accumulation of contaminants is aided by the capability of soil to bind them

with clay minerals or organic substances. Their accumulation has multiple effects on the

usability and functions of soil in the eco-system (Nielsen, 1997).


Open dumping is extensively practiced in India. The leachate generated from such

landfill sites pose serious environmental risks to the surroundings by causing

contamination of soil and groundwater systems (Sunil et.al., 2008). Leachate tended to

migrate in surrounding soil may result in contamination of underlying soil and

groundwater (Jhamnani and Singh, 2009). The soil pollution arises due to the leaching of

wastes from landfills and the most common pollutant involved is the metals like copper,

lead, cadmium, mercury etc. (Ramanand and Narayanan, 2008).

This problem is increasing day by day throughout the world. The developing

cities are most vulnerable to this problem. Hence, in present investigation an attempt has

been made to evaluate the impact of such problem and its associated features in

Sangamner area, Maharashtra State, India.

1.6: Study area

The study area i.e. Sangamner is one of the densely populated and well known

towns in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra state in India and geographically located on

74011’25” to 74013’35” E Longitude to 19032’50” to 19035’ N Latitude (Fig. 1.3). The

city is situated on river Pravara a major tributary of Godavari river. It has an average

elevation of 549 meters (1801 feet) from the sea level. It is famous for its cloth market,

educational facilities, sugar factory and agriculture as well as tobacco products. The city

has acquired an area about 16.32 sq. km (municipal boundaries) and having population

around 61,958 as per 2001 census. As on today the population of the city must have

reached up to 90,000 (including floating population. This population is unevenly

distributed into 9 different wards. Along with this, Sangamner city experiences huge

floating population due to its commercial and market value.

Climate of the study area

Sangamner city is away from the sea. The climate of the area is hot and dry, on

whole extremely genial and is characterized by a hot summer and general dryness during

major part of the year except during south-west monsoon season. In the cold season

which lasts from November to February the air is dry. The period from March to the first

week of June is the hot season. It is followed by the south- west monsoon season which


lasts till the end of September. October and November constitute the post-monsoon or the

retreating south-west monsoon season. The average annual rainfall in the Sangamner area

is ranging in between 400 - 500 mm. May is the hottest month & that December is the

coldest month. On few occasions thin film of fog is being observed in the early mornings

of December & January.

Fig. 1.3. - Showing Map of the Study area

19035’

74013’35’

19032’50’’

74011’25

India Maharashtra

Ahmednagar

Study Area


There are various developmental activities which are contributing the solid waste

generation, like construction of buildings, vegetable as well as agriculture market,

slaughter house, institutional activity, hotels and restaurants etc. in the city. The growth

of city is very fast towards high living standards which result into increased consumption

of raw material and hence increased waste per capita as compare to other cities. Due to

heterogeneity in consumption pattern, living standards and income status, the waste

products are also of heterogeneous quality and of quantity.

Sangamner city is generating 30 ton of solid waste per day which increases up to

35 ton at the time of festivals and celebrations. This waste is thrown in the dust bins

(Photo 1.1) provided at different corners of the city. But these dust bins are not adequate

to accumulate the huge quantity of solid waste. Hence this waste can be found on the

open ground at various corners of the city in different sectors. Due to the huge quantity,

the municipal authority is not able to lift the solid waste. Hence the waste remains in the

dust bins and on open ground and due to moisture and temperature it starts to degrade in

the same area. This degradation leads to the disturbance of the beauty of the city. The

hips of the waste in different parts of the city also act as a host for different disease

causing organisms leading to spreading of diseases like malaria. This waste is being

carried to the disposal area i.e. dumping area which is located outside the city (Photo 1.2)

Photo 1.2: Showing solid waste dumping site in the study area

Photo 1.1: Showing failure of collection in dust bins


The dumping site is approximately square in shape with an area of about 3.3 acre.

The east side of the dumping site is bounded by national highway no. 50 i.e. Nasik-Pune

highway. Other boundaries are straight with fence and other means of protection for man

as well as for animals. Dumping area is compartmentalized into 2 zones: I filled zone and

II open dumping zone. The filled zone occupies an area of about 5 acre and has piled up

to a height of 5 m. The height of the landfill from the bottom of the cell is today is

expected to be 10 meters. The age of the dumping ground is 35 years old. All four sides

of the dumping ground are marked with intensive agriculture and domestic area. There is

no treatment facility for the solid waste dumped at the dumping site except few attempts

of the land filling which is also unsanitary landfill. Hence due to continuous

accumulation of waste the hips are rising day by day. The open dumping of the solid

waste has disturbed the natural beauty of the place. This huge area has become the

breeding ground for various disease causing microorganisms since years. The hips of the

waste also attract various birds and animals which are also resulting in the physical

disturbances for the population in and around the area. The agricultural activities are also

disturbed due to spreading of plastic and other light material from the dumping area. The

wind carries these particles in to the nearby agricultural field resulting in to decreased

productivity. The most important things needs to mention here that, when rain falls on the

dumped waste it results in the generation of leachate in the dump as well as landfill which

carries huge amount of toxic chemicals in the ground water resulting into contamination

of ground water source making it unsuitable for the consumption and agriculture as well.

The odor, physical disturbances and environmental pollution are the leading cause of

problems in the population living around the dumping area.

The different sectors of the city consumes huge amount of water for different use.

The total water consumption of the city is said to be 50 MLD. This huge consumption

also leads to generation of huge quantity of sewage which is almost 40 MLD (MPCB,

2006). The sewage is discharged in to the Pravara River flowing from the city without

treatment. The length of the constructed sewage line is around 102 km and the

unconstructed sewage line accounts around 15 km. But these sewage lines often found in

haphazard position with the damaged construction and almost no maintenance for long

period. These sewage lines have various barriers like plastics, papers and growth of


weeds and plants in the sewage line which leads to disturbance in the regular flow of

sewage. Hence, while carrying the sewage due to various barriers it infiltrates in to the

ground resulting into contamination of ground water. This arise lot of health risks as this

contaminated water is used for various purposes including drinking by the outer part of

the city.

The city has natural watershed flow towards south which meets to the river. This

natural watershed flow has been used to carry all sewage from city to the river. The

sewerage lines are discharged into the two natural streams which run from the city and

meets to the river. All the sewage from the city is discharged in to these two natural

streams which then discharge it into the Pravara River (Photo 1.3). This river is only the

main source of water for various purpose like drinking, domestic, commercial, industrial

and agriculture. In the downstream area of the river the water is used for drinking as well

as agriculture purpose. The sewage discharged in to the river add huge amount of toxic

chemicals and the organic material carried from the city. Hence these toxicants

deteriorate the quality of water and arise various health risks to the population using the

same water.

Pravara River is one of important River in Godavari basin of Maharashtra state

and stands a main tributary of Godavari River which originates in western ghat of

Sahyadri range in Maharashtra and flows through Akole, Sangamner, Shrirampur and

Photo 1.3: Showing sewage flowing towards river


Newasa tahesil and meets the Godavari River at Pravara sangam on the border of

Ahmednagar – Aurangabad district. The River flows for around four month in the rainy

season and in other month’s River gets water from the Bhandardara dam constructed on it

on fortnightly/monthly basis. River water is the main source of water for drinking,

domestic, agriculture and industrial purpose. The quality of river water is deteriorated due

to the discharge of the sewage into the river which is posing serious threat to the health of

the community as well as the agriculture.

The city also consumes a little bit of water from ground water. The agriculture

around the city harvests the ground water for irrigation during the summer and when

there is no water in the river. Hence this is also a second source of water for the people

engaged in the agricultural activity. But the solid waste dumps are contaminating this

water source through the leachate which is generated during the rainy season.

1.7: Previous Work

Millions of researchers are working in various fields of specialization in different

parts of the world. Sangamner is also one of the areas where various researchers and

government and non government agencies have worked in different fields including

ground water and soil. Bondre et.al., 2006 have worked on the investigations on geology

and geochemistry of the Sangamner. Sukheswala et.al., 1974 reported the Zeolites and

associated secondary minerals in the Deccan Traps of Western India which also cover

studies on Sangamner area. Pandit and Vaidya, 2007 have studied the zooplankton

diversity of Pravara River near Sangamner.

Deshmukh, 2001 assessed the impact of irrigation on the chemistry of the soils

and ground waters from Sangamner area. Central ground water board, 2007 carried out

the ground water management studies in western and north-western parts of Ahmednagar

district covering parts of Sangamner and its adjacent area. The research on Human-Wolf

Conflict in human dominated landscapes of Ahmednagar District including Sangamner &

Possible Mitigation Measures was carried out by Krithivasan et.al., during 2009.

Rahalkar, 2008 worked on the attitudes of local people to conflict with leopards

(Panthera pardus) in an agricultural landscape of Sangamner. CPCB, 2005 has given the

idea about the sewage generation and its treatment in the Sangamner city. Rai, 2003 have


analyzed the water samples to identify the trace elements in the water and its sources in

Sangamner area. A study around Distillery and Paper Unit of Sangamner Bhag Sahakari

Sakhar Karkhana Ltd. (SBSSK Ltd.) and Mangalam Industries located near Sangamner

city was carried out by Tiwari and Nawle during 2002. The soil of Sangamner tahesil was

also analyzed by Pingle et.al., 2005 for available potassium in relation to

physicochemical properties.

By reviewing all the literature it was observed that many researchers have

concentrated on the Sangamner area for research with different objectives and specialties

like water, soil, rock and human wildlife conflicts etc. But it was observed that no one

has tried to find out the waste characteristics as well as its impact on different

environmental segments in the Sangamner area. Hence in present investigation present

topic for the research was undertaken with following aim and objectives.

1.8: Aim and Objectives of the Study

The study was carried out with the following objectives.

� To study the pattern of solid waste and sewage generation in the city.

� To find out different characteristics of solid waste and sewage.

� To analyze soil for different parameters in different season around solid waste depot.

� To check the health risk associated with solid waste and sewage with the help of

questionnaire.

� To fix the sampling station for collection of surface and ground water.

� To analyze surface and ground water quality for different purpose.

� To study the formation of leachate in laboratory with the help of leachate model.

� To analyze the leachate collected from the experimental model designed in laboratory

for different characteristics.

� To assess the impact of waste on quality of ground water and soil.

� To suggest control measures to prevent contamination by solid waste leachate and

sewage infiltration.

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