MPCB to set up online water checking facility at Godavari

NASHIK: The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) is planning to set up an online water checking facility at the Godavari soon in a bid to control pollution in the river. MPCB’s member secretary P Anbalagan, who was in the city on Thursday, said besides the Godavari, a similar project will be undertaken at the Krishna-Koyna.
It will be a pilot project and the MPCB is planning to do a trial run during the forthcoming Kumbh Mela.
“The project is in the planning stage, but we will implement this year on pilot basis. The water quality of the river will be analysed. Besides the Godavari, we will be implementing it at Krishna-Koyna at its confluence, that is in Karad. For the project, the river flow should be of 12 months. Krishna-Koyna river has such a flow, but the Godavari is not a perennial river and hence, its natural flow is only of six months. For the remaining eight months, we will have to think of something. We are planning to have a trial run during Kumbh Mela,” Anbalagan said.
He said the MPCB will collect water samples from 12 locations in the Godavari at Nashik and from two Trimbakeshwar for the purpose.
“Altogether 16 water samples will be collected for monitoring the quality online. The analysis using the manual process requires 12-16 hours. In the online system, the device will directly be connected to the website. The process is not based on physical or chemical lab testing. We can monitor the water quality 24x7. The flow of sewage, the correct picture of the river, etc., will be seen first. We are planning online monitoring of 4-5 rivers in the state in future,” he said.
Anbalagan said he has asked the industries to connect with the MPCB’s online monitoring system by June-end.
“The major polluting factor is sewage in the urban areas. Around 80% of the problem is due to the sewage and 20% because of industrial effluents. Nashik has at least tackled 80% of the problem. Small water bodies have also been taken care of here,” said the MPCB’s member secretary.
Meanwhile, a separate station will be set up in the Godavari to check the quality of river water online. Anbalagan said the key is also to create awareness regarding pollution among the students and volunteers in view of the Kumbh Mela.
Moreover, the MPCB is also planning to introduce an auto licence renewal facility for the green industries across the state. At present, these industries have to renew their licences after every three years. The project is expected to be operationtal in a year. Altogether 25% of 45,000 industries in the state are tagged as green industries.
Anbalagan said the MPCB is also planning to extend period of licence renewal from the existing three to 10 years.
Talking about the online monitoring system, MPCB officials said the samples will be collected through an electronic instrument. There will be small pipe inside the river and continuous monitoring will go on. “The ph, biochemical oxygen demand, total organic carbon, dissolved oxygen, chemical oxygen demand, conductivity, turbidity, hardness, etc., can be measured. It will have to be a totally guarded machine. An engineer will also be there to monitor the progress. Regular calibration may be needed as well,” said MPCB officials.