THE unabated contamination of Keenjhar Lake has reached an alarming level and a report released in January proves that pollutants in the industrial effluent of Kotri’s Site area were abnormally high.

Located at a Ramsar site, Thatta, Keenjhar is Pakistan’s second largest natural freshwater lake, (internationally protected under International Convention on Wetlands). It has multiple stakeholders, yet pollution continues to pose a serious challenge to its biodiversity.

The lake is home to migratory birds and provides water for agriculture purpose besides serving as a vital source of drinking water supply for Karachi—Karachi Water and Sewerage Board remains its major beneficiary as it gets 555MGD of water from it daily to meet the city’s water needs of 655MGD.

The lake’s major source of inlet for water supply is Kalri Baghar feeder — a canal that emanates on the right bank of River Indus at Kotri barrage — but it is being polluted from industrial, domestic and hospital wastewater. Keenjhar is polluted through different hill torrents — which usually flow during monsoon season — and wastewater of Kotri and Nooriabad industrial zones. This has resulted in a number of health problems for the local inhabitants.

A study conducted by WWF in 2008 indicated incidences of malaria, diarrhoea, skin diseases, typhoid and jaundice in the vicinity of the lake, where roughly, 60 small and big villages are located. Recently, various fish species were reported to have died in the lake after a rainwater drain overflowed.

Following the fishing community’s hue and cry, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) asked water expert, Dr Ahsan Siddiqui, to conduct an analysis of the water sample.

Samples were taken from different locations on KB feeder, like Al-Manzar (where the feeder emanates from Kotri barrage), the point where industrial effluent enters the canal and two sites downstream which serve as inlets of domestic wastewater of Khuda ki Basti and of Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences. One sample was of the effluent itself.

The results of four parameters — arsenic, mercury, cadmium and chromium — were quite disturbing. If one is to go by National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS), then the content was very high. Arsenic was found at 1.9mg/l against desired NEQS level of 1.0mg/l, mercury at 0.2mg/l against 0.01mg/l, cadmium at 0.18mg/l against desired 0.1mg/l and chromium at 1.9mg/l against 1.0mg/l. Such pollutants can cause blindness, paralysis, damage to the brain, kidney failure and tuberculosis when consumed, warns Siddiqui.

Kotri-based industrialists’, however, argue that the effluent released is not hazardous. They claim that its major volume flows to rural areas, where it is used for cultivation. They say that except for a couple of units that use chemicals the rest do not discharge harmful waste.But the issue of Keenjhar’s contamination will remain unaddressed until treatment plant of Kotri Site area is made functional, and waste matter of Nooriabad industrial zone (which is collected in a dam shape structure and overflows during rains) is treated before it flows into the lake.

The treatment plant was established at a cost of Rs740 million by the ministry of industries and the work is almost complete. Machinery has been installed and only pipeline for inlet and outlet sources of effluent are to be laid. The plant has a capacity to treat 2.5 million gallons of industrial waste although Site authorities believe that Kotri’s industries generate around 0.7 million to 1.2 million gallons of wastewater. According to Site Chief Engineer Ghulam Shabbir Khokhar, capacity-wise the treatment plant is bigger in size.

“After treatment the water will be safely drained out in KB feeder and it will not be hazardous”, he assured, “It can be reused in the industrial area as well as we will test the treated wastewater before releasing it into the canal”.The authorities are hopeful that the plant will become operational soon. The existing committee headed by Commissioner Hyderabad — formed by Chief Secretary Sindh — seems to be an ad-hoc arrangement and it will come to an end once the treatment plant is made functional. The most important thing is that a permanent framework with representation of all stakeholders should be put in place to monitor the lake.