Raipur is a fast growing city in central India due to being commercial centre for the steel, cement and forest products of the country. Large quantity (≈300 million lit/day) of untreated sewage waste water is discharged into seven reservoirs located in the city. Sewage carries excessive nutrients, heavy metals, organics, bacteria, yeast and fungi by leaking contents into the drinking water which cause acute health problems, ranging from common diarrhoea to deadly diseases such as hepatitis, cholera, typhoid fever, etc. Therefore, in this work, the microbial and chemical contamination of sewage waste of Raipur city, Chhattisgarh, India is described.
Sewage is transported by water wastes resulting mainly from human activities such as washing, cooking, sanitation, commerce, industry, agriculture and surface runoff, etc. [
Raipur city is experiencing rapid growth with corresponding increase of economic and commercial activities in an unsustainable order. The city is being the commercial center for steel, cement and forest products. More than two million people living over »1000 km2 area discharges »300 million L/day waste flowing into seven open reservoirs constructed in the city,
The composite water sample (100 × 5 mL from five points of each location) was collected into sterile glass bottles (500 mL) in April 2015 as prescribed in the literature [
The microbes i.e. TBC (total bacterial count, all aerobic species of bacteria), pseudomonas, E. coli or yeast + fungi were detected by the bactaslyde (presterilized slide, coated with specially developed media of lactose and indicator) method established by Rakiro Pvt. Ltd. [
The sample was filtered through glass fibre filter (0.45 µm) for analysis of ions and metals. The F− content was analyzed by using Metrohm-720 ion meter using the fluoride selective electrode.
The Dionex chromatography DX120 equipped with anion separation columns (AS9-HC, 250 × 4 mm), cation separation column (CS12A, 250 × 4 mm) and conductivity detector was used for analysis of the ions (i.e. Na+, K+, Cl−,
A 0.25 g of the sample was digested with acids (3 mL HCl and 1 mL HNO3) in a closed system with P/T MARS CEM (Varian Company) microwave oven for use of metal analysis. The Varian ICP-OES-700-ES series was used for monitoring of metals (i.e. Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn and Pb) in the extract. The GF-AAS SpectrAA 220 Zeeman was used for the analysis of As, Cd and Hg. The NCS DC 73382 CRM sediment sample was used for the quality control.
For this study, ten parameters i.e. pH, EC, DO, hardness, alkalinity, Mg, Ca, Cl−,
where:
qn = Quality rating of the nth water quality parameter;
Vn = Estimated value of the nth parameter of a given water;
Sn = Standard permissible value of the nth parameter;
Vio = Ideal value of the nth parameter of pure water (i.e., 0 for all other parameters except pH) and Dissolved oxygen (7.0 and 14.6 mg/L, respectively);
Wn = Unit weight for the nth parameter;
K = Proportionality constant.
The physical, chemical and microbial characteristics of the water are presented in Tables 1-4. The water was colored with offensive smell. The value of pH, EC, DO, RP, total hardness (TH) and alkalinity was ranged from 6.9 - 7.8, 698 - 1520 µS/cm, 5.2 - 7.7 mg/L, 86 - 337 mV, 270 - 670 mg/L and 320 - 940 mg/L with mean value of 7.4 ± 0.2, 1075 ± 252 µS/cm, 6.8 ± 0.6 mg/L, 157 ± 63 mV, 447 ± 107 mg/L and 503 ± 156 mg/L, respectively.
S. No. | Location | Area, km2 | Color | pH | EC µS/cm | DO mg/mL | RP mV | TH mg/mL | Alk mg/mL |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Gudhiyari | 4 | BBr | 7.8 | 720 | 7.7 | 168 | 270 | 320 |
2 | Bhatagaon | 3 | BBr | 7.6 | 816 | 7.1 | 161 | 350 | 580 |
3 | Saddu Mowa | 4 | BBr | 7.2 | 1058 | 6.1 | 127 | 390 | 490 |
4 | Urla | 4 | BBr | 6.9 | 1520 | 5.2 | 86 | 350 | 360 |
5 | Siltara | 3 | BBr | 7.4 | 1364 | 7.0 | 107 | 530 | 940 |
6 | Heerapur | 2 | BG | 7.2 | 1350 | 7.2 | 337 | 670 | 410 |
7 | Pachpedinaka | 2 | BG | 7.6 | 698 | 7.4 | 111 | 570 | 420 |
TH = Total hardness, Alk = Alkalinity, BBr = Blackish brown, BG = Blackish green.
S. No. | F− | Cl− | NO3- | Na+ | K+ | Mg2+ | Ca2+ | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1.1 | 31 | 492 | 42 | 9.5 | 134 | 73 | 41 | 13 | 48 |
2 | 1.3 | 28 | 512 | 36 | 10.4 | 124 | 136 | 33 | 12 | 50 |
3 | 1.4 | 36 | 610 | 48 | 7.4 | 120 | 112 | 30 | 16 | 68 |
4 | 1.5 | 31 | 589 | 37 | 8.3 | 115 | 134 | 51 | 13 | 48 |
5 | 1.6 | 46 | 485 | 71 | 6.2 | 110 | 137 | 27 | 16 | 80 |
6 | 1.3 | 41 | 680 | 49 | 9.1 | 171 | 125 | 48 | 23 | 96 |
7 | 0.9 | 48 | 560 | 105 | 7.8 | 128 | 83 | 26 | 18 | 84 |
Metal | Se1 | Se2 | Se3 | Se4 | Se5 | Se6 | Se7 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
As | 0.032 | 0.026 | 0.046 | 0.051 | 0.037 | 0.046 | 0.042 |
Cr | 0.18 | 0.23 | 0.19 | 0.31 | 0.16 | 0.0.34 | 0.23 |
Mn | 2.1 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.5 |
Fe | 4.1 | 4.6 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 4.7 | 4.8 | 2.9 |
Ni | 0.13 | 0.17 | 0.22 | 0.18 | 0.31 | 0.28 | 0.16 |
Cu | 0..37 | 0.45 | 0.52 | 0.61 | 0.48 | 0.38 | 0.54 |
Zn | 5.1 | 4.9 | 4.2 | 6.3 | 6.8 | 5.7 | 4.8 |
Cd | 0.010 | 0.012 | 0.014 | 0.009 | 0.008 | 0.013 | 0.011 |
Pb | 0.13 | 0.1 | 0.11 | 0.14 | 0.12 | 0.1 | 0.15 |
Hg | 0.004 | 0.004 | 0.006 | 0.007 | 0.009 | 0.004 | 0.005 |
Se = Sewage.
S. No. | Location | E. coli + TBC | Pseudomonas + TBC | Yeast + Fungi + TBC | Salmonella |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Gudhiyari | 107 | 105 | 104 | Positive |
2 | Bhatagaon | 106 | 106 | 106 | Positive |
3 | Saddu Mowa | 107 | 107 | 106 | Positive |
4 | Urla | 107 | 107 | 107 | Positive |
5 | Siltara | 107 | 106 | 107 | Positive |
6 | Heerapur | 106 | 106 | 104 | Positive |
7 | Pachpedinaka | 106 | 106 | 105 | Positive |
TBC = Total Bacterial Count (comprises of all the aerobic species of bacteria present in the sample), E. coli = Escherichia coli.
The EC and TH value was observed to be higher than the recommended values reported for the water [
The concentration of the F−, Cl−,
The chromatograms of indicative bacteria (i.e. total coliform, E. coli, pseudomonas and salmonella), yeast and fungi are shown in
The content of 15 elements in the solid dried sewage samples is presented in
Among them, the highest content of Fe followed by Ca was observed in the sewage waste. The enrichment factor (Ef) value of As, P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb and Hg was computed by using their background level in the earth crust with respect to Al [
Parameter | Observed mean value | Standard mean value | Unit weight (Wn) | Quality rating (qn) | Wnqn |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
pH | 7.4 | 6.5 - 8.5 | 0.219 | 22 | 4.8 |
EC | 1075 | 300 | 0.371 | 343 | 127 |
Alkalinity | 447 | 120 | 0.0155 | 394 | 6.1 |
Hardness | 503 | 300 | 0.0062 | 143 | 0.9 |
Ca | 68 | 75 | 0.025 | 87 | 2.2 |
Mg | 16 | 30 | 0.061 | 52 | 3.2 |
37 | 250 | 0.0074 | 15 | 0.1 | |
561 | 45 | 0.0412 | 1239 | 51 | |
55 | 150 | 0.01236 | 34 | 0.4 | |
DO | 6.8 | 4.0 | 0.3723 | 53 | 20 |
SWn = 1.131 | Sqn = 2382 | SWnqn = 216 |
Element | Se1 | Se2 | Se3 | Se4 | Se5 | Se6 | Se7 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Al | 9790 | 10,515 | 10,890 | 11,201 | 10,556 | 9876 | 10,471 |
P | 414 | 456 | 499 | 517 | 508 | 622 | 503 |
S | 855 | 912 | 1014 | 1187 | 1241 | 1087 | 1049 |
Cl | 298 | 308 | 317 | 367 | 312 | 336 | 415 |
K | 7704 | 7776 | 8150 | 8217 | 9023 | 7850 | 8120 |
Ca | 30,493 | 31,215 | 32,189 | 33,160 | 31,670 | 32,416 | 31,857 |
As | 37 | 32 | 28 | 38 | 41 | 29 | 34 |
Cr | 191 | 208 | 216 | 261 | 256 | 307 | 240 |
Mn | 1096 | 1130 | 1240 | 1278 | 1190 | 1317 | 1209 |
Fe | 46,215 | 47,690 | 48,075 | 49,148 | 48,706 | 50,157 | 48,332 |
Ni | 52 | 61 | 74 | 67 | 72 | 98 | 71 |
Cu | 185 | 206 | 217 | 236 | 317 | 389 | 258 |
Zn | 429 | 468 | 476 | 580 | 614 | 725 | 549 |
Cd | 0.31 | 0.23 | 0.29 | 0.29 | 0.36 | 0.40 | 0.51 |
Pb | 107 | 98 | 89 | 116 | 124 | 99 | 106 |
Hg | 0.24 | 0.19 | 0.15 | 0.19 | 0.23 | 0.17 | 0.27 |
Se = Sewage.
significantly enriched (Ef > 10 - < 50). Other elements i.e. P, Cl, K, Ca and Fe were moderately enriched (Ef =≤ 10) in the sewage waste.
The species (i.e. F−, Cl−,
P | S | Cl | K | Ca | As | Cr | Mn | Fe | Ni | Cu | Zn | Cd | Pb | Hg | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
P | 1 | ||||||||||||||
S | 0.59 | 1 | |||||||||||||
Cl | 0.32 | 0.33 | 1 | ||||||||||||
K | 0.16 | 0.82 | 0.06 | 1 | |||||||||||
Ca | 0.71 | 0.71 | 0.51 | 0.26 | 1 | ||||||||||
As | −0.35 | 0.40 | 0.01 | 0.57 | −0.15 | 1 | |||||||||
Cr | −0.35 | 0.72 | 0.36 | 0.28 | 0.70 | −0.07 | 1 | ||||||||
Mn | 0.91 | 0.64 | 0.44 | 0.17 | 0.91 | −0.34 | 0.85 | 1 | |||||||
Fe | 0.95 | 0.74 | 0.39 | 0.31 | 0.82 | −0.19 | 0.95 | 0.91 | 1 | ||||||
Ni | 0.97 | 0.48 | 0.22 | 0.12 | 0.59 | −0.48 | 0.87 | 0.85 | 0.88 | 1 | |||||
Cu | 0.90 | 0.60 | 0.16 | 0.33 | 0.41 | −0.10 | 0.92 | 0.67 | 0.83 | 0.89 | 1 | ||||
Zn | 0.93 | 0.71 | 0.30 | 0.33 | 0.60 | −0.02 | 0.99 | 0.78 | 0.92 | 0.87 | 0.96 | 1 | |||
Cd | 0.41 | 0.29 | 0.72 | 0.19 | 0.13 | 0.03 | 0.44 | 0.30 | 0.33 | 0.43 | 0.51 | 0.47 | 1 | ||
Pb | −0.06 | 0.62 | 0.13 | 0.67 | 0.06 | 0.95 | 0.23 | −0.08 | 0.11 | −0.20 | 0.19 | 0.28 | 0.18 | 1 | |
Hg | −0.40 | −0.04 | 0.40 | 0.17 | −0.46 | 0.62 | −0.22 | −0.49 | −0.37 | −0.43 | −0.13 | −0.15 | 0.58 | 0.55 | 1 |
domestic, industrial and vehicular effluents. Other species had either poor or negative correlations, indicating origin by multiple diverse sources i.e. wasted food materials, leaded pipes, automobile tire rust, vehicular emissions, industrial discharges, runoff water, etc. The major sources of microbes in the sewages are assumed from the human and animal excreta.
Several chemicals and microbes i.e. heavy metals, nitrate, nutrients, total coliform, Escherichia, pseudomonas, salmonella, yeast and fungi were found to be present in the sewage waste at extremely high levels. The increased prevalence rate of the acute water borne diseases in the summer season is expected due to high multiplication rates of microbes and mixing of the waste with the drinking water supplies i.e. pond, lake, well and shallow tube well. The drinking water contamination could be controlled by improving the sanitary infrastructure with provision of good hygiene system to the population.
We are thankful to the Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur, India for providing special UGC equipment grant to the SOS in Environmental Science.
Khageshwar SinghPatel,Nohar SinghDahariya,SuryakantChakradhari,Pravin KumarSahu,Keshaw PrakashRajhans,ShobhanaRamteke,LesiaLata,HuberMilosh, (2015) Sewage Pollution in Central India. American Journal of Analytical Chemistry,06,787-796. doi: 10.4236/ajac.2015.610075