Location: Mudukudru Island in Udupi, Karnataka.

Project in charge: Satyaprakash Das, Assistant Professor-Sr. Scale, Manipal School of Architecture & Planning, MAHE, Manipal.

Thematic Area: SDG 6: Clean water and Sanitation 

Project Guide(s): 

Dr. Nandineni Rama Devi, Director, MSAP, MAHE, Manipal. 

Ar. Sanjana Shetty, Assistant Professor, MSAP, MAHE, Manipal. 

Ar. Rituka Kapur, Assistant Professor-Sr Scale, MSAP, MAHE, Manipal. 

Dr. Udaya Shankar H N, Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, MIT, MAHE, Manipal. 

Dr. Suma Nair Professor, Department of Community Medicine, KMC, MAHE, Manipal. 

International partners: (If any) None 

MAHE Partner: Manipal School of Architecture & Planning & Directorate of Research, MAHE, Manipal 

Village/City: Mudukudru Island, Kallianpura Panchayat, Udupi District, Karnataka. 

Project Duration: 1 year 

Aim: To analyze the water quality on the Estuarine Island of Mudukudru.  

The study/ Innovation:  

The study was conducted on Mudukudru Island. It is one among 15 islands in the estuary of Swarna and Seetha River system, having an area of 156 acres. It is a river island situated on the Swarna River in the Kalyanpura panchayat of Udupi district. It falls under CRZ-III. It has 104 residences with a total population of 296 people. 63% of house-hold on the island have septic tanks for sewage treatment, the rest 37% discharge the night soil into storm water channels present on the island. The improper treatment of the sewage could be polluting the surrounding wells. Out of the 104 houses, 76 houses have wells, 63 wells were lined and 9 unlined wells. Further it is understood that the residents of the island majorly depend on the well water for their domestic needs, as the public supply water is intermittent and is not adequate. The residents complained of the well water being saline in some region of the island, which they cannot use for any domestic purpose, which further limits their access to potable water. In order to check this issue reported for salinity and ensure this water could be used for domestic purpose a pilot study was conducted in the month of February where water samples from 2 different wells from 2 houses, were randomly collected and tested in environmental lab, based on the parameters suggested by the environmental expert. Following parameters were tested for both the well waters, i.e. Turbidity/NTU, Dissolved solids; pH, Dissolved Oxygen, MPN of coliform bacteria and conductivity. The Well-1 reported higher value of conductivity and lower pH than Well-2. MPN of coliform bacteria was present in very high concentration in Well-2. The Well-2 was located about 3.0 m away from the toilet of the house and it had a pit for sewage treatment in close proximity. It is assumed that the presence of MPN of coliform bacteria could be due to the close proximity of the toilet and the sewage pit. It is understood that, the presence of MPN of coliform bacteria in high concentration in water is undesirable for domestic use (WHO,1997). This project strives to do a further study to identify the causes of the contamination of well water due to the contextual and other environmental factors.The water samples were collected over three seasons i.e. pre-monsoon, monsoon and post monsoon. Water samples were collected from all the 63 lined wells present on the island and the quality was tested using a Hatch meter which will test 11 parameters (Colour Turbidity/NTU, Dissolved solids; pH, Chlorides, Total hardness as CaCO3, Ammonical Nitrogen, Nitrites, Dissolved Oxygen, Total Alkalinity as CaCO3 and Conductivity. MPN of coliform bacteria for the samples obtained, were tested separately in environmental lab. 

Link to Research Publication - https://doi.org/10.1177/117862212211119