International Journal For Technological Research In Engineering

Volume 5, Issue 1, September-2017 ISSN (Online): 2347 - 4718

IMPACT OF HOUSEBOAT SANITATION ON ECOLOGY AND

HEALTH OF DAL LAKE KASHMIR
Er.Qazi Tanveer1, Er. Kshipra Kapoor2, Dr. M.R.D. Kundangar3
1
M. Tech Scholar, 2Assistant Professor and Head
1,2
Deptt. of Civil Engineering, Universal Institutions of Engineering & Technology, Lalru, Chandigarh-
140501.
3
Professor and Head Department of Water Management Civil Engineering Department, S.S.M. College
of Engineering & Technology Parihaspora, Pattan, Kashmir-191111

Abstract: Presence of Houseboats in Dal lake Kashmir is impacts on the ecology and health of the lake ecosystem.
one of the unique features of this world famous tourist
destination and to stay in houseboats has remained a craze
with incoming tourists in general and for foreigners in
particular. Due to the poor sanitary conditions of these
houseboats and their continuous discharge of the effluents
into the lake has posed many serious ecological problems
both for the lake and the visiting tourists. However the
present studies reveal that the threat of houseboat
sanitation is not so scary than the malfunctioning of the
STPs installed on the periphery of Dal and Nigeen Lake
which carry more loads of hazardous nutrients into the lake
than the house boats. The present studies regarding the
houseboat areas reveal in terms of biological assessments
and prevailing physico-chemical features of the lake water
in houseboat areas coupled with sanitary conditions of the Outfall STP Habak
houseboats are very poor.
Key Words: (Lake Ecology , Dal Lake, Nigeen Lake,
Kashmir).

I. INTRODUCTION
Dal lake Kashmir has been the tourist destination for
centuries as the summers of Kashmir are sunny, but cooler
than the oppressive heat of the Indian plains. In the winter
there is snow which gives enough opportunity for extensive
sports. The mountains and the valleys give Kashmir a great
scenic beauty, with pines, willow and mountain side.
Thousands of tourists from all over India and abroad throng
the valley in general and to the Dal Lake in particular. The
foreign tourists comprise up to 10% while the 9O% comprise
of south east Asian countries. The Houseboats in Dal Lake Outfall STP Habak
are the main attraction for the tourists in general as they are
the luxury mobile hotels on the serene waters which provide
a solace for every tourist. These Houseboats have usually full
occupancy during the peak tourist season both in Dal lake
and Nigeen basin of the lake. The continued discharge of
liquid and solid waste directly into the lake body has posed a
serious threat to the health and ecology of the lake which has
resulted in drastic changes in physico-chemical and
biological characteristics of this freshwater lake and thus
turned it into an eutrophic water body. In the present paper an
attempt has been made to study the current status of the water
quality of the Houseboat areas and that of the outfall sites
where the "treated effluents" from the immediate catchments
of the lake are being pumped into the lake as to assess the
Outfall STP Hazratbal

www.ijtre.com Copyright 2017.All rights reserved. 2796

International Journal For Technological Research In Engineering
Volume 5, Issue 1, September-2017 ISSN (Online): 2347 - 4718

IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The average Physico-chemical parameters in and around
Houseboat areas in Dal and Nigeen are set in table (1).

Table 1: Average Physico-Chemical Parameters In And

Around Houseboat Sites Of Dal Lake Kashmir

Parameters Unit Dal Nigeen

pH 7.8 7.8

Conductivity µS@25°C 301 333

Oxygen mg/l 5.9 5.6

Houseboat in Dal Lake
Total Alkalinity mg/l 224 240
II. LITERATURE REVIEW
NO3-N µg/l 424 426
Adnan and Kundangar (2005) while studying the Bacterial
Dynamics of Dal Lake correlating the Bacterial population
density with physico-chemical parameters recorded high NH4-N µg/l 523 416
population density of Faecal coliforms and Total Coliforms
around Houseboat areas of both Dal Lake and Nigeen Lake. PO4-P µg/l 185 184
Adnan and Kundangar (2009) in a research paper entitled,
"Three Decades of Dal Lake Pollution-restoration" recorded Total Phosphorous µg/l 668 667
the changes in hydro-chemistry and biodiversity of Dal Lake
during the last three decades besides giving the current The water Quality of the studied areas reveal that the specific
ecological status of the Lake. The authors revealed that FAB conductivity, Nitrate-nitrogen, Ammonical-nitrogen and total
based Sewage Treatment for effluents entering the lake at Phosphorous are depicting higher values which are
Hazratbal, Habak are a total failure particularly during winter detrimental for the lake Ecosystem. The results are in
months. conformity with the findings of J& K Pollution Control
J& K State Pollution Board (PCB)(2009) in a status report on Board (PCB, 2009) , Murtaza (2010), Shariqa (2011) and
Dal Lake described the ecological situation of Dal and that of Shabina Masoodi et. al. (2014) who reported the
Nigeen visibly bad with intense overgrowth of weeds and houseboat areas in the Dal lake, the polluted ones with high
algal patches. The water quality at many places was recorded risk of infection. The bacterial population (table 2) also
septic in nature with high content of P, N and suggested reveals that there is progressive increase in fecal coliforms
tertiary treatment measures. and Total coliforms in and around Houseboat areas which is
Murtaza, (2010) while studying the impact of pollutants on in conformity with the findings of Adnan and Kundangar
Physico-chemical parameters of the Dal Lake reported (2005).
increase in Specific Conductivity, total alkalinity and Nitrate-
nitrogen besides decrease in dissolved oxygen, silicates and Table 2: Average Bacterial Population in Houseboat Areas of
Phosphorous. Dal And Nigeen Lake
Shariqa (2011) while studying the water quality changes in Bacterial Population Units Dal Lake Nigeen Lake
Nigeen basin of Dal Lake reported marked changes in
morphometry of the lake basin besides chemical enrichment Total Coliforms CFU/100 ml 1850 480
over a period of time. Faecal Coliforms CFU/100 ml 180 230
Shabina Masoodi et al. (2014) While assessing the causes of
pollution of Dal lake and remedial measures reported the The solid waste generation during the study period ( table3 &
House boat areas in the lake are the most polluted ones and 4) reveals that in Dal lake it ranged between 33.6 tons to 62
there is a high risk of infection especially for foreign tourists. tons with an average of 48.3 tons while in Nigeen lake the
The effect on the Tourism would be catastrophic if the estimated load of solid wastes ranged between8.4 tons to
Houseboat pollution is not addressed at priority. 15.5 tons.
Table 3: Monthly Solid Waste Generation (Tonnes) In Dal
III. METHODOLOGY Lake
The water quality of the houseboats areas and that of the Months Solid Waste Generation
outfall sites( STPs) were analyzed by APHA(1997) methods
where as solid waste generation was assessed through daily January 37.2
field studies.
February 33.6

www.ijtre.com Copyright 2017.All rights reserved. 2797

International Journal For Technological Research In Engineering
Volume 5, Issue 1, September-2017 ISSN (Online): 2347 - 4718

March 37.2 It affirms that the STPs installed on the periphery of Dal and
Nigeen lake are malfunctioning and have become the point
April 60 source pollution sites for the entire Dal lake. The present
study authenticates the findings of Adnan and Kundangar
May 62 (2009) where under the authors recorded the changes in the
June 60 hydrochemistry and biodiversity of Dal lake during the last
three decades besides giving the current ecological status of
48.33 Dal lake. The authors revealed that the FAB based Sewerage
Treatment Plants installed on the lake banks are failure
Table 4: Monthly Solid Waste Generation (Tonnes) In particularly in winter months. The continued ingress of the
Nigeen Lake effluent discharge from the houseboats including the grey
waters from the toilets not only are the contributory factors
Months Solid Waste Generation of the lake pollution but enhance the eutrophic aquatic weeds
in and around Houseboat areas which include
Ceratophyllumdemersum, Myriophyllumspicatum, Azolla
January 9.3
sp., Salvinianatans, Phragmites sp., Typhaangustata etc.
However these aquatic weeds lock up the nutrients in their
February 8.4 roots and rhizomes but enrich the lake substratum on their
death and decay during the winter months. The present
studies regarding the houseboat areas reveal in terms of
March 9.3 biological assessments and prevailing physico-chemical
features of the lake water in houseboat areas coupled with
April 15 sanitary conditions of the houseboats are very poor. The risk
of infections is very high especially for foreign visitors.
There is no protection against the spread of Cholera,
May 15.5 Typhoid, Hepatitis which are water borne diseases. There is
some risk that gives an appropriate set of climatic and lake
June 15 conditions an explosion of aquatic water ferns (Azolla and
Salvinia). These floating aquatic weeds have formed dense
mats all around Houseboat sites and STP fall outs which
X 12.08 could prevent day light reaching the weed growing on the
lake floor. The weeds die and decompose causing de
Since the occupancy of the houseboats during the study oxygenation of the lake water with subsequent release of
period was very low the same would have been much higher nutrients from the lake bed resulting in triggering of frequent
if there would have been full occupancy. Despite the fact that Algal blooms. The present studies reveal that the so called
the solid wastes are managed on door to door basis yet all the Sewage Treatment Plants are potential source of Pollution
solid wastes are not being managed in a systematic manner as than those of Houseboats as they are discharging loads of
most of the open water areas and estuaries could be seen full hazardous nutrients like Nitrates n Phosphates round the
of plastic bags, tin cans and plastic bottles floating on the clock into the lake body hence warrant immediate solution
surface of water. Interestingly when the water quality including those of Houseboat as well.
parameters of the houseboat area are compared with those of
treated effluents at the outfall sites, it is vividly revealed that V. CONCLUSION
the outfall sites are more polluted than houseboat areas (table  The water Quality of the studied areas in and
5). around Houseboat areas including those of outfall
sites of STPs reveal that the specific conductivity,
Table 5: Comparison Of Water Quality At Houseboat Sites Nitrate-nitrogen, Ammonical-nitrogen and total
(a) and Treated Effluent Outfall Sites (b) of Dal and Nigeen Phosphorous are depicting higher values which are
Lakes detrimental for the lake Ecosystem.
 Despite the fact that the solid wastes are managed
on door to door basis yet all the solid wastes are not
being managed in a systematic manner.
 The continued ingress of the effluent discharge
from the houseboats including the grey waters from
the toilets not only are the contributory factors of
the lake pollution but enhance the eutrophic aquatic
weeds in and around Houseboat areas .
 There is some risk that gives an appropriate set of
climatic and lake conditions an explosion of aquatic
water ferns (Azolla and Salvinia). These floating

www.ijtre.com Copyright 2017.All rights reserved. 2798

International Journal For Technological Research In Engineering
Volume 5, Issue 1, September-2017 ISSN (Online): 2347 - 4718

aquatic weeds have formed dense mats all around

Houseboat sites.
 The present studies reveal that the so called Sewage
Treatment Plants are potential source of Pollution
than those of Houseboats as they are discharging
loads of hazardous nutrients like Nitrates and
Phosphates round the clock into the lake body hence
warrant immediate solution including those of
Houseboat as well.

REFERENCES
[1] APHA (1997) American Public Health Association.
Examination of water n wastewater analysis.
[2] Adnan Abubakr and M.R.D. Kundangar (2005)
Bacterial dynamics of Dal lake, a Himalayan
temperate lake. Nat. Env. Poll. Tech.vol.14 PP.291-
298.
[3] Ibid. (2009) Three decades of Dal Lake Pollution-
Restoration. Eco. Env. and Cons.15 (14) PP 825-
833.
[4] PCB (2009) Monitoring of Dal Lake-Nigeen lake
and other water bodies of Kashmir-A status
report.May-July-2009, j& K PCB.
[5] Murtaza et al. (2010) Physico chemical
characteristics of Dal lake water, temperate
Conditions of Kashmir . Forestry Nepal. Org.
[6] Shariqa Maryam (2011) Water quality changes in
Nigeen lake. Msc. dissertation, Kmr. University.
[7] Shabina Masoodi, Sanjay Kumar. and M.R.D.
Kundangar. (2014) Assessment of causes of
Pollution and Remedial measures in Dal lake
Kashmir. NCSIDS.

www.ijtre.com Copyright 2017.All rights reserved. 2799