Environmental Impact of Water and Sanitation Issues
Puri is a small coastal town of Orissa in India on the Bay of Bengal. The town is famous for Lord Shree Jagannath temple built in 12 th century A.D. Over the years, floating population has been increasing. Tourism is the biggest industry and contributes to economic growth of the town. The environmental degradation is visible. Puri town is bestowed with groundwater aquifers. Intrusion of saline water in few wells occurs due to over pumping. The water table is high. Disposal of household liquid waste through septic tank and soak pit in sandy underground formation led to pollution of groundwater. Estimate suggests 60% of solid wastes generated are collected and treated in a compost plant. The waste is not segregated at source, collection mechanism in the narrow streets are inefficient. Leachate is not monitored. Lack of public awareness and participation contribute to management problem. Detailed groundwater quality monitoring revealed travel of nitrate plume from a dump site towards the water well field. The geo-hydrological investigation coupled with groundwater modelling study provided information on aquifer potential. The study also revealed that impacts on groundwater source are linked due to the particular geography and location of the town. The town is implementing a well designed sewerage system to deal with sanitation and pollution.
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