Role
Year
Intent
Industrial Designer
2020 - 2021
Graduation Thesis
1_gp
This project looks to address the state of limnological restoration and maintenance in India, focusing on developing a stopgap solution to conserve and restore the country's diverse riverine ecosystems. It further aims to identify flashpoints in the effective gathering, assessment, communication, and actionable outreach of information.
Note: Some of the research with regards to the market study is now outdated due to constant and positive progress in capabilities.
Most of the waste that is dumped in rivers and oceans can be defined as untreated sewage, industrial waste and Plastic waste. The rest is made up of agricultural, chemical, biological waste, oil and toxic waste. Although exact figures are difficult to ascertain, almost 80% of global marine pollution comes from agriculture runoff, untreated sewage, discharge of nutrients and pesticides. With the most visible waste being plastics.
Our actions have a direct, visible impact on our water sources, destroying large portions of it. India accounts for 4% of the world’s total surface water, divided amongst rivers, lakes, reservoirs, wetlands, glaciers, etc. Most of this surface water is incredibly polluted, some of the most polluted in the world, ranking 120th on 122 worldwide on water quality, with approximately 70% of India’s water sources polluted beyond consumption. A great number of these water bodies are what are known as ecological dead zones, massive patches of wetlands that can’t sustain life anymore. Halting the creation of these zones as well as recovering dead zones is crucial to the betterment of the environment.
There are arguably many causes that lead to the development of such critical circumstances. Notable amongst them -particularly in India- are 6 major factors:
As per a 2015 study, approximately 37 billion litres of untreated sewage flow into India’s fresh water bodies every single day. While there has been an effort to address this particular issue, these solutions find themselves trapped behind political and commercial red-tape for years. Such delays lead to the addition of insufficient treatment capabilities as they are based on outdated data.
Untreated Sewage
Plastic waste is arguably the most visible form of waste that finds its way into surface water sources. The main cause for this is desensitised public behaviour, which is often governed by ignorance, as well as ineffective laws and enforcement. According to a 2017 study, upto 2.41 million tonnes of plastic waste is dumped by rivers on a yearly basis.
Plastic waste
Industrial waste makes up a large portion of the untreated waste that flows into rivers. In Spite of orders and actions to control and mitigate this, a large portion of industries, particularly those that are small and medium sized operate without permits and outside of proper governance.
Industrial waste
Water is wasted at a significant rate due to unchecked and inefficient farming methods. This includes planting non-native species which require specific environmental control and/or the use of inefficient means of irrigation which often lead to massive run-offs and soil leaching, which in itself is harmful to ground and surface water.
Unchecked agricultural use
A major factor is the rampant development of riverside infrastructure which essentially locks them. This prevents the natural cycle of ebbs and flows and prevents rivers and wetlands from permeating parallelly. An obvious contender is also dams, these are critical in the sustained health of a river and its ecosystem.
Infrastructure development
Most open-pit mines are several stories below ground water sources, so when it rains, the water, instead of flowing into rivers and groundwater sources, flows into the mine. Combine this with the destruction of non-porous rock that is excavated, there is nowhere left for the water to be stored in, eventually draining the source.
Open-pit mining
According to the CWC, the water quality network is incidental to a hydrological observation network, maintaining a 3 tier laboratory system to analyse their set parameters, these laboratories monitor the quality of water at 552 key locations -519 water quality sites and 33 water quality sampling stations.
The 552 Tier 1 stations are divided across 3 segments, the Baseline stations, Trend stations and Flux or Impact stations. Baselines stations monitor locations where there is no human activity, with samples being collected every 2 months.
Trend Stations monitor specific locations set to define how particular points on watercourses change over time, usually to the influence of human activity, samples from Trend stations are collected every month.
Flux or Impact Stations monitor the mass of a particular pollutant on the main river stem to measure the extent of human interference and pollution or geological feature at any point of time, samples are collected from Flux stations 3 times a month and a important in determining the impact of human activity on the main stem.
Level 1 laboratories are located across 295 field monitoring stations on major river basins in India, these stations record and monitor the physical parameters such as; temperature, colour, odour, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, total floating solids (Turbidity), pH level and dissolved oxygen content.
level 2 laboratories there are 18 stations located at selected divisional offices that analyse 25 physico-chemical characteristics and bacteriological parameters of the river.
Level 3 laboratories are present at 5 key locations in Varanasi, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Coimbatore and Guwahati; these record and monitor 41 parameters including toxicity and heavy metal presence.
The 552 Tier 1 stations are divided across 3 segments, the Baseline stations, Trend stations and Flux or Impact stations. Baselines stations monitor locations where there is no human activity, with samples being collected every 2 months.
Trend Stations monitor specific locations set to define how particular points on watercourses change over time, usually to the influence of human activity, samples from Trend stations are collected every month.
Flux or Impact Stations monitor the mass of a particular pollutant on the main river stem to measure the extent of human interference and pollution or geological feature at any point of time, samples are collected from Flux stations 3 times a month and are important in determining the impact of human activity on the main stem.
According to a 2016 report by the NHP, there are 2500 limnological data collection stations across 28 states and 6 union territories, these stations monitor a variety of inland freshwater bodies ranging from rivers, lakes and reservoirs to ponds, tanks, canals and even wells. Of the 2500 stations, 1275 stations are located on rivers, 807 stations for underground wells, 190 are positioned by lakes, 79 on ponds, 45 on natural drains, 41 stations each on canals and creeks and 10 stations to monitor Water Treatment Plants.
Active monitoring is carried out at 86 locations across 40 rivers. These sites are monitored based on the size, the seasonality and/or any ongoing interstate dispute for the river. This can mean that they are monitored as often as on a monthly basis, or even on a quarterly, half-yearly or an annual schedule.
A notable factor that these monitoring stations reveal is the issues that plague river systems in India. These reports shed light on the most impactful problems, as noted in the table besides, these are:
1. Low BOD
2. High Coliform levels
3. Seasonal variations of ground water levels
4. Chemical pollution
5. Treatment of water
While these are generalised observations, it does point to what acts as the biggest issues and gives an insight into what needs to targeted by any conservation effort.
Research
For the purpose of this project and the specificities of the deliverables required, an analysis of tangible solutions would be considered, not systems, policies, acts or any similar interventions in the field of limnological conservation.
These devices should be capable of mass-manufacturing, large scale operations and as a rule of law, be available on the market, so no proprietary solutions would be considered. Such limitations to the selection process of the solutions ensure a comparatively homogeneous form of action, allowing the project to derive practical solutions of its own.
The Great Bubble Barrier
Ocean Cleanup
Seabin Project
Surface Skimmers
Trash Booms
Ocean Cleanup - Interceptor series
For the project to derive a solution it must define how it will stand out of the crowd so to say. This calls for a set of comparative parametres that can determine the worth of the project deliverables and calls for the comparative analysis of the existing solutions and against the parametres to determine the scope of development of the device. Basing the study on the parametres also determines what is left wanting in existing solutions and therefore what is desired in the solution that project would develop.
Basing the problem statement on the studies we can determine a few crucial aspects that need to be addressed.
Firstly, while there seems to be a well implemented system of monitoring, the aspect of communicating relevant and time accurate data is lagging behind. Several reports are outdated by the time they are approved for release and often go unchecked by independent appraisers. A major factor driving this issue is the need for the on-site presence of officials to measure and monitor any changes. There is a need for an automated system of monitoring and information dissemination.
Secondly, with the data that is available, it is easily ascertained that the current state of rivers and other limnological bodies in India is dire. While any solution that would be effective in the long run would have to be systematic. Such systematic overhauls take incredible time to be implemented, in the meanwhile the rivers continue to be damaged. There is an obvious need for a solution that tackles riverine pollution. A device that can clean up and maintain riverine ecosystems.
The type A variant is designed to be a passive device, this means that it is entirely ineffective on stand-alone and large scale operations, however it is designed to work as a swarm, with a primary objective of monitoring and recording the condition of the water body. It’s secondary objective is the treatment of chemical effluents in small, enclosed bodies of water. The Type A is developed to counter the turgid conditions of enclosed bodies of water like canals and streams, its cleanup methods rely primarily on creating micro-disturbances in the ecosystem, hence upsetting the formation of dead spots and algal blooms which get washed into larger bodies of water to create ecologically dead zones.
Type A
Type A
The Type B variant is meant to be used in ecosystems witnessing heavy infrastructural development and urbanisation. It is primarily of the purpose to deal with the sudden generation of waste in the region. Designed to be comparatively compact but with a sizable form factor nonetheless. The primary purpose of the device is to holster single use waste, large plastics and non-toxic surface and close to surface waste types. The secondary purpose of the device is to counter subsurface stagnation often seen in such ecosystems by creating artificial currents through the use of inbody aeration units, this prevents issues arising from water stagnation, while targeting micro dead spots, circulating nutrients and chemicals in the water and essentially clearing up stagnant waste.
Type B
Type B
The Type C variant is designed to be completely self-sufficient. Meant to be capable of handling large scale operations on its own, the Type C is the largest of the three varients. With a primary goal of cleaning up several types of waste the Type C variants is equipped with an array of cleanup devices, filters, catchments. The Type C variant is designed to operate in floodplain conditions, large rivers with variable flow rates and varying depths, equipped with devices to target various types of waste, the primary focus of the device is to counter Industrial, domestic, commercial, large plastic waste as well as chemical, oil and biological waste.
Type C
Type C
The Type C variant is designed to be completely self-sufficient. Meant to be capable of handling large scale operations on its own, the Type C is the largest of the three varients. With a primary goal of cleaning up several types of waste the Type C variants is equipped with an array of cleanup devices, filters, catchments. The Type C variant is designed to operate in floodplain conditions, large rivers with variable flow rates and varying depths, equipped with devices to target various types of waste, the primary focus of the device is to counter Industrial, domestic, commercial, large plastic waste as well as chemical, oil and biological waste.
Type C
The Type B variant is meant to be used in ecosystems witnessing heavy infrastructural development and urbanisation. It is primarily of the purpose to deal with the sudden generation of waste in the region. Designed to be comparatively compact but with a sizable form factor nonetheless. The primary purpose of the device is to holster single use waste, large plastics and non-toxic surface and close to surface waste types. The secondary purpose of the device is to counter subsurface stagnation often seen in such ecosystems by creating artificial currents through the use of inbody aeration units, this prevents issues arising from water stagnation, while targeting micro dead spots, circulating nutrients and chemicals in the water and essentially clearing up stagnant waste.
Type B
The type A variant is designed to be a passive device, this means that it is entirely ineffective on stand-alone and large scale operations, however it is designed to work as a swarm, with a primary objective of monitoring and recording the condition of the water body. It’s secondary objective is the treatment of chemical effluents in small, enclosed bodies of water. The Type A is developed to counter the turgid conditions of enclosed bodies of water like canals and streams, its cleanup methods rely primarily on creating micro-disturbances in the ecosystem, hence upsetting the formation of dead spots and algal blooms which get washed into larger bodies of water to create ecologically dead zones.
Type A
Basing the problem statement on the studies we can determine a few crucial aspects that need to be addressed.
Firstly, while there seems to be a well implemented system of monitoring, the aspect of communicating relevant and time accurate data is lagging behind. Several reports are outdated by the time they are approved for release and often go unchecked by independent appraisers. A major factor driving this issue is the need for the on-site presence of officials to measure and monitor any changes. There is a need for an automated system of monitoring and information dissemination.
Secondly, with the data that is available, it is easily ascertained that the current state of rivers and other limnological bodies in India is dire. While any solution that would be effective in the long run would have to be systematic. Such systematic overhauls take incredible time to be implemented, in the meanwhile the rivers continue to be damaged. There is an obvious need for a solution that tackles riverine pollution. A device that can clean up and maintain riverine ecosystems.
For the project to derive a solution it must define how it will stand out of the crowd so to say. This calls for a set of comparative parametres that can determine the worth of the project deliverables and calls for the comparative analysis of the existing solutions and against the parametres to determine the scope of development of the device. Basing the study on the parametres also determines what is left wanting in existing solutions and therefore what is desired in the solution that project would develop.
For the purpose of this project and the specificities of the deliverables required, an analysis of tangible solutions would be considered, not systems, policies, acts or any similar interventions in the field of limnological conservation.
These devices should be capable of mass-manufacturing, large scale operations and as a rule of law, be available on the market, so no proprietary solutions would be considered. Such limitations to the selection process of the solutions ensure a comparatively homogeneous form of action, allowing the project to derive practical solutions of its own.
Ocean Cleanup - Interceptor series
Surface Skimmers
Trash Booms
The Great Bubble Barrier
Ocean Cleanup
Seabin Project
According to the CWC, the water quality network is incidental to a hydrological observation network, maintaining a 3 tier laboratory system to analyse their set parameters, these laboratories monitor the quality of water at 552 key locations -519 water quality sites and 33 water quality sampling stations.
The 552 Tier 1 stations are divided across 3 segments, the Baseline stations, Trend stations and Flux or Impact stations. Baselines stations monitor locations where there is no human activity, with samples being collected every 2 months.
Trend Stations monitor specific locations set to define how particular points on watercourses change over time, usually to the influence of human activity, samples from Trend stations are collected every month.
Flux or Impact Stations monitor the mass of a particular pollutant on the main river stem to measure the extent of human interference and pollution or geological feature at any point of time, samples are collected from Flux stations 3 times a month and a important in determining the impact of human activity on the main stem.
Level 1 laboratories are located across 295 field monitoring stations on major river basins in India, these stations record and monitor the physical parameters such as; temperature, colour, odour, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, total floating solids (Turbidity), pH level and dissolved oxygen content.
level 2 laboratories there are 18 stations located at selected divisional offices that analyse 25 physico-chemical characteristics and bacteriological parameters of the river.
Level 3 laboratories are present at 5 key locations in Varanasi, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Coimbatore and Guwahati; these record and monitor 41 parameters including toxicity and heavy metal presence.
The 552 Tier 1 stations are divided across 3 segments, the Baseline stations, Trend stations and Flux or Impact stations. Baselines stations monitor locations where there is no human activity, with samples being collected every 2 months.
Trend Stations monitor specific locations set to define how particular points on watercourses change over time, usually to the influence of human activity, samples from Trend stations are collected every month.
Flux or Impact Stations monitor the mass of a particular pollutant on the main river stem to measure the extent of human interference and pollution or geological feature at any point of time, samples are collected from Flux stations 3 times a month and are important in determining the impact of human activity on the main stem.
According to a 2016 report by the NHP, there are 2500 limnological data collection stations across 28 states and 6 union territories, these stations monitor a variety of inland freshwater bodies ranging from rivers, lakes and reservoirs to ponds, tanks, canals and even wells. Of the 2500 stations, 1275 stations are located on rivers, 807 stations for underground wells, 190 are positioned by lakes, 79 on ponds, 45 on natural drains, 41 stations each on canals and creeks and 10 stations to monitor Water Treatment Plants.
Active monitoring is carried out at 86 locations across 40 rivers. These sites are monitored based on the size, the seasonality and/or any ongoing interstate dispute for the river. This can mean that they are monitored as often as on a monthly basis, or even on a quarterly, half-yearly or an annual schedule.
A notable factor that these monitoring stations reveal is the issues that plague river systems in India. These reports shed light on the most impactful problems, as noted in the table besides, these are:
1. Low BOD
2. High Coliform levels
3. Seasonal variations of ground water levels
4. Chemical pollution
5. Treatment of water
While these are generalised observations, it does point to what acts as the biggest issues and gives an insight into what needs to targeted by any conservation effort.
Research
There are arguably many causes that lead to the development of such critical circumstances. Notable amongst them -particularly in India- are 6 major factors:
Water is wasted at a significant rate due to unchecked and inefficient farming methods. This includes planting non-native species which require specific environmental control and/or the use of inefficient means of irrigation which often lead to massive run-offs and soil leaching, which in itself is harmful to ground and surface water.
Unchecked agricultural use
Industrial waste makes up a large portion of the untreated waste that flows into rivers. In Spite of orders and actions to control and mitigate this, a large portion of industries, particularly those that are small and medium sized operate without permits and outside of proper governance.
Industrial waste
Plastic waste is arguably the most visible form of waste that finds its way into surface water sources. The main cause for this is desensitised public behaviour, which is often governed by ignorance, as well as ineffective laws and enforcement. According to a 2017 study, upto 2.41 million tonnes of plastic waste is dumped by rivers on a yearly basis.
Plastic waste
A major factor is the rampant development of riverside infrastructure which essentially locks them. This prevents the natural cycle of ebbs and flows and prevents rivers and wetlands from permeating parallelly. An obvious contender is also dams, these are critical in the sustained health of a river and its ecosystem.
Infrastructure development
Most open-pit mines are several stories below ground water sources, so when it rains, the water, instead of flowing into rivers and groundwater sources, flows into the mine. Combine this with the destruction of non-porous rock that is excavated, there is nowhere left for the water to be stored in, eventually draining the source.
Open-pit mining
As per a 2015 study, approximately 37 billion litres of untreated sewage flow into India’s fresh water bodies every single day. While there has been an effort to address this particular issue, these solutions find themselves trapped behind political and commercial red-tape for years. Such delays lead to the addition of insufficient treatment capabilities as they are based on outdated data.
Untreated Sewage
Most of the waste that is dumped in rivers and oceans can be defined as untreated sewage, industrial waste and Plastic waste. The rest is made up of agricultural, chemical, biological waste, oil and toxic waste. Although exact figures are difficult to ascertain, almost 80% of global marine pollution comes from agriculture runoff, untreated sewage, discharge of nutrients and pesticides. With the most visible waste being plastics.
Our actions have a direct, visible impact on our water sources, destroying large portions of it. India accounts for 4% of the world’s total surface water, divided amongst rivers, lakes, reservoirs, wetlands, glaciers, etc. Most of this surface water is incredibly polluted, some of the most polluted in the world, ranking 120th on 122 worldwide on water quality, with approximately 70% of India’s water sources polluted beyond consumption. A great number of these water bodies are what are known as ecological dead zones, massive patches of wetlands that can’t sustain life anymore. Halting the creation of these zones as well as recovering dead zones is crucial to the betterment of the environment.
Role
Year
Intent
Industrial Designer
2020 - 2021
Gradutation Thesis
1_gp
This project looks to address the state of limnological restoration and maintenance in India, focusing on developing a stopgap solution to conserve and restore the country's diverse riverine ecosystems. It further aims to identify flashpoints in the effective gathering, assessment, communication, and actionable outreach of information.
Note: Some of the research with regards to the market study is now outdated due to constant and positive progress in capabilities.
This website is protected by the power of voodoo and sheer willpower
This project looks to address the state of limnological restoration and maintenance in India, focusing on developing a stopgap solution to conserve and restore the country's diverse riverine ecosystems. It further aims to identify flashpoints in the effective gathering, assessment, communication, and actionable outreach of information.
1_gp
Role
Year
Intent
Industrial Designer
2020 - 2021
Gradutation Thesis
Our actions have a direct, visible impact on our water sources, destroying large portions of it. India accounts for 4% of the world’s total surface water, divided amongst rivers, lakes, reservoirs, wetlands, glaciers, etc. Most of this surface water is incredibly polluted, some of the most polluted in the world, ranking 120th on 122 worldwide on water quality, with approximately 70% of India’s water sources polluted beyond consumption. A great number of these water bodies are what are known as ecological dead zones, massive patches of wetlands that can’t sustain life anymore. Halting the creation of these zones as well as recovering dead zones is crucial to the betterment of the environment.
Most of the waste that is dumped in rivers and oceans can be defined as untreated sewage, industrial waste and Plastic waste. The rest is made up of agricultural, chemical, biological waste, oil and toxic waste. Although exact figures are difficult to ascertain, almost 80% of global marine pollution comes from agriculture runoff, untreated sewage, discharge of nutrients and pesticides. With the most visible waste being plastics.
This Project therefore looks to study, understand and define a plausible solution to counter the issues summarised afore.
This is a considerably large project, making it near on impractical to compress for viewing on a phone, please refer to the desktop version of this project for the complete breakdown and progression of this project. Thank you.
