Karnataka - Bangalore   

Dumpsite renders groundwater non-potable

Bangalore: The 3,000 tonnes of garbage that Bangalore generates every day — much of which is household waste that finds its way to dumpsites — has begun to take its toll on groundwater quality, posing a serious health hazard to residents.

A recent study of groundwater around one such dumpsite, the Karnataka Compost Developing Corporation (KCDC) in south Bangalore, has found that the decomposing waste has leached into the groundwater, contaminating it with dangerous bacteria such as Pseudomonas, Enterococcus Sp., Streptococcus, E. coli, and Salmonella, while also polluting the air with pathogenic fungi. Water samples were collected from two borewells at Somasundarapalya village which is adjacent to the KCDC dumpsite.

The study was conducted in mid-2008 by a research team from the Department of Environmental Science, Bangalore University, led by N. Nandini, Reader at the department. “These bacteria are the classic causes of enteric diseases. Residents of Somasundarapalya village will be vulnerable to diseases such as typhoid and diarrhoea,” Dr. Nandini told The Hindu

A major source of this contamination comes from municipal garbage that was “originally intended to be converted to compost by the KCDC [but now] lie abandoned, overflowing, and overstretched,” the study points out. The shore of Haralukunte Lake has become the dumping ground for much of the solid waste generated in southern part of Bangalore, it adds. “When dumping is uncontrolled and unscientific, there is the risk of it leaching into groundwater when it decomposes,” said Dr. Nandini.

Therefore, with this microbiological analysis of water in Somasundarapalya, “it is certain that the ground water of this area is not suitable for human consumption,” the study says.

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