The observations were part of a year-long study carried out by the Board from November 2013 till February 2015. The study was to check the status of St Inez creek, the extent of environmental degradation as a result of anthropogenic activities, civic infrastructure and natural causes. The water samples from 22 locations were tested.
“The St Inez creek in its present state is found contaminated with wastes such as construction debris, plastic garbage, organic garbage, tyres and sewage. The creek is heavily silted, that there is no free movement of water,” the study reveals.
The faecal coliform presence in the water, which has to be zero, was found to be as high as 9,20,000 per 100 ml of water. The bacterium is caused by the release of untreated sewage.
“Presence of faecal coliform in water indicates that water contains microorganisms harmful to human health,” the Board said.
“In St Inez creek, all the sampling show the presence of extremely high total Coliform and Faecal Coliform and all indicate positive E-coil. This indicates discharge of raw sewage and stagnation of water due to decomposition of organic matter,” the study explained.
The study observed that the dissolved oxygen (DO) is almost nil in most of the points at the creek, having no aquatic life. DO is one of the most important indicators of the quality of water and its availability is vital for aquatic life. For good quality water, the dissolved oxygen level should be more than 5 ppm.
Further, the Board collected the water samples from the neighbouring wells, which were also found to contain coliform, indicating that the well waster has to be treated before consumption.
