HYDERABAD: A poor monsoon has proven fatal for the lakes located in Hyderabad and its suburbs. Monsoon rains usually help in improving water quality in the polluted water bodies, due to the mixing of freshwater from rains.
However, as Hyderabad and neighbouring districts received deficit rainfall during this year’s southwest monsoon season (June-September), the condition of lakes in and around the City has become worse as compared to pre-monsoon season.
Telangana State Pollution Control board (TSPCB) recently released water quality data for the month of October, of various lakes, tanks and rivers in the State that are being monitored as part of the National Water Quality Monitoring Network programme. Comparing the water quality data of lakes in and around the city from October to the data from May, before the start of the monsoon, reveals that the water quality has severely deteriorated in most water bodies.
Of the 29 lakes in GHMC, HMDA and industrial areas where water quality was monitored in October, in 22 lakes the water quality has worsened as compared to pre-monsoon season. Some of these lakes include Hussainsagar lake, Hasmathpet lake, Amber chervu, Noor Mohammad kunta, Mallapur lake, Pragathi Nagar lake, Umdanagar lake, Asani kunta and Isnapur lake. In some lakes the deterioration of water quality has been drastic.
Rise in sewage inflow in lakes
There has also been a drastic rise in the sewage inflow in the lakes. In many lakes, as per the TSPCB’s own data the level of fecal coliforms was either nil or very low in the month of May. However, in October most of the lakes have recorded 200-6,00MPN/100ml of fecal coliforms.For example, in Hussainsagar the level of fecal coliforms increased from 70 in May to 540 in October. In Amber cheruv it increased from 20 to 540. Fecal coliforms are bacteria found in feces, that get into the lake water due to mixing of sewage.
Drastic deterioration
In some lakes the deterioration of water quality has been drastic. For example in the Isnapur lake in Patancheru the Biochemical Oxygen Demand(BOD) which should ideally be 3mg/L, fell from 3.2 in May to 52 in October. In Asanikunta, one of the most polluted lakes, located in Bollaram industrial area the BOD increased from 110 to an unbelievable 172.