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On the Quality and Some Ecological Effects of Wastewater Effluents from Two Chemical Industrial Plants in Pakistan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2009

Khalid Hamid Sheikh  and
Saeed Ahmad
Khalid Hamid Sheikh
Affiliation:
Professor, Department of Botany, University of the Punjab, New Campus, Lahore, Pakistan; Honorary Administrator, World Wildlife Fund Pakistan, P.O. Box 1312, Lahore, Pakistan
Saeed Ahmad
Affiliation:
Research Assistant, Department of Botany, University of the Punjab, New Campus, Lahore, Pakistan.
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Extract

Four samples of water were taken for analysis from Kala Shah Kaku Industrial Estate, near Lahore, Pakistan. These were:

I) ‘Pure’ water of the channel Dek Nullah,

II) Wastewater of Ravi Rayon Limited,

III) Wastewater of Ittehad Chemicals, and

IV) Dek Nullah ‘polluted’ water after the discharge into it of wastewater from two industries, namely Ravi Rayon Limited and Ittehad Chemicals.

The analysis of these waters showed that sample I was the best in quality (medium-salinity and low-sodium water: C2-S1), sample II was of the quality class C3-S1 (high-salinity and low-sodium water), sample III was found to be of the poorest quality (very-high-salinity and very-high-sodium water: C4-S4), while sample IV was of relatively bad quality (high-salinity and mediumsodium water: C3-S2). Only the wastewater of Ittehad Chemicals had some sediment in it, the qualitative analysis of which showed the presence of oxalates, sodium, iron, and magnesium.

The study of planktonic biota in Dek Nullah ‘pure’ and ‘polluted’ waters showed that they were more diverse in the former than in the latter; indeed, unless Bacteria are classed as fauna, there was no representative of these last in the ‘polluted’ water.

The industrial wastewater effluents are being discharged into Dek Nullah, and this ‘polluted’ water is being used for irrigation by the farmers operating along its downstream course. The effects of this water on Rice germination were studied, and it was found that such germination was significantly greater in Dek Nullah ‘pure’ water than in its ‘polluted’ water.

Dek Nullah ‘polluted’ water may deteriorate further with time, as more and more wastes are added to it, and it may have deleterious effects on soils when used for irrigation purposes—causing salinity and sodicity problems unless proper management techniques are adopted.

Type
Main Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 8 , Issue 3 , Autumn 1981 , pp. 229 - 234
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 1981

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