River Pollution

Why excreta matters

Water is life and sewage tells its life story. This is the subject of the Citizens’ Seventh Report on the State of India’s Environment, Excreta Matters: How urban India is soaking up water, polluting rivers and drowning in its own excreta. It has a seemingly simple plot: it only asks where Indian cities get their water from and where does their waste go. But this is not just a question or answer about water, pollution and waste. It is about the way Indian cities (and perhaps other parts of the world that are similarly placed) will develop.

The State of our Rivers: First CSE media briefing workshop on rivers, river pollution and cleaning strategies

New Delhi, June 14-15, 2007

Reviving Yamuna_1

	Reviving our river
	Source: Times of India
	:: Change flush-&-forget mindset, cry for Yamuna
	:: Reduce water demand & wastage to revive river
	Blogs: Sunita Narain
	:: From water to water
	:: Excreta's economy: a true experience
	:: Making water-excreta accounts
	Opinion:
	:: Waste, by any other name...
	Report:
	:: Review of the interceptor plan for the Yamuna
	:: State of pollution in the Yamuna
	Presentation:
	:: About Yamuna. But not just Yamuna
	Book:
	:: Sewage canal: How to clean the Yamuna
	Film:
	:: Faecal Attraction: Political Economy of Defecation

How to Clean the Yamuna

While the Delhi government has been debating on what needs to be done to clean the river, the pollution levels have only worsened.

In its book Sewage Canal: How to Clean the Yamuna, published in 2007, the Centre for Science and Environment reported that the Delhi stretch of the river is not only dead but had an overload of coliform contamination. Two years later, the pollution data shows no respite to the river.

The 22-km stretch of the Yamuna, which is barely 2 per cent of the length of the river basin, continues to contribute over 80 per cent of the pollution load in the entire stretch of the river. There is also no water in the river for virtually nine months. Delhi, impounds water at the barrage constructed at Wazirabad where the river enters Delhi. What flows in the river subsequently is only sewage and waste from Delhi’s 22 drains. In other words, the river ceases to exist at Wazirabad. 

This also means that there is just no water available to dilute the waste. The issue of a basic minimum flow in the river has been discussed time and again, but with water becoming more and more scare and contested, Delhi’s upstream neighbours are reluctant to release water. Delhi itself is water greedy and sucks up each  drop that is released as its share. The river is then reduced to a drain for the filth and waste of the city’s inhabitants.

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Ganga and the environmental flow

While going up the meandering road from Tehri to the holy town Gangotri during the thick of monsoon, the Bhagirathi appeared to get uneasily quieter with each hairpin bend; until Chinyali Sor village near Dharasu, 45 km from new Tehri town.

Community Water Pollution Monitoring Programme

On October 1, 2008, Pali - a textile town in Rajasthan near Jodhpur - witnessed a unique jan sabha (public meeting) wherein the farmers, industry and the government sat together to discuss the solutions to deal with a long pending issue of pollution in the rivers Bandi and Luni.

Will Ganga get its life back?

River Ganga is now a ‘national’ river. The Prime minister of India announced this on November 4, 2008 after a meeting, with the ministers for water resources, environment and forests and urban development, to discuss how to bring the river back to life. Though a very important step, it is too early to predict what this ‘national status’ would actually mean to India’s most revered river and its people.

Review of the interceptor plan for the Yamuna

CSE has closely scrutinised the detailed project report of the interceptor plan prepared by the consultants appointed by the Delhi Jal Board and found this hardware plan to be a complete waste of money. The river will remain dead despite the massive investments planned during 2009-2012.

Work Overview: River Pollution

With growing urbanisation and industralisation India faces the challenge of providing clean and safe drinking water to all citizens. In the name of economic growth most rivers and streams are turning into sewers. As more and more rivers are getting polluted, the municipalities are finding it difficult to treat river water to safe levels and supply it to citizens.

Seventh CSE Media Fellowship: Rivers: Used And Abused

October – November 2007