29/07/2020 - Environment

KEY POINTS

The acceptable maximum limit of ammonia in drinking water, as per the Bureau of Indian Standards, is 0.5 ppm. The DJB presently has the capacity to treat approximately 0.9 ppm.

What is ammonia and what are its effects?

·         Ammonia is a colourless gas and is used as an industrial chemical in the production of fertilisers, plastics, synthetic fibres, dyes and other products. Ammonia occurs naturally in the environment from the breakdown of organic waste matter, and may also find its way to ground and surface water sources through industrial effluents or through contamination by sewage.

·         If the concentration of ammonia in water is above 1 ppm it is toxic to fishes. In humans, long term ingestion of water having ammonia levels of 1 ppm or above may cause damage to internal organs.

How does it enter the Yamuna?

·         The most likely source is believed to be effluents from dye units, distilleries and other factories in Panipat and Sonepat districts in Haryana, and also sewage from some unsewered colonies in this stretch of the river.

·         Water used from the Yamuna for supply to the city is taken before the Wazirabad barrage. Officials of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) claim discharge from industries in Delhi begins after this point.

What is the long-term solution to the problem?

·         Stringent implementation of guidelines against dumping harmful waste into the river, and making sure untreated sewage does not enter the water are two things pollution control bodies are expected to do.

·         This is the minimum amount of water that should flow throughout the river at all times to sustain underwater and estuarine ecosystems and human livelihoods, and for self regulation. It is, however, a sore point between the two state governments.

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