KATHMANDU UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF SCIENCE
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

REPORT
ON
POKHARA TOUR

By: Bishal Bhari(02) Pratik dotel(07) Ranendra Lakha(13) Manish Ranjit(19) Alpha Thapa(26) Rojina Haiju(37)

Submitted to:
Assist.Prof Atindra Sapkota 7th June, 2010

INTRODUCTION TO POKHARA
Pokhara is a remarkable place of natural beauty. Situated at an altitude of 827m from the sea level and 200km west of Kathmandu valley, the city is known as a center of adventure. The enchanting city with a population of around 95,000 has several beautiful lakes and offers stunning panaromic views of Himalayan peaks. The serenity of lakes and the magnificence of the Himalayas rising behind them create an ambience of peace and magic.

1. Phewa Lake
1.1Introduction
The Phewa lake is Nepals second largest lakes, and the largest one in heart of Pokhara valley. Phewa Lake is the master peace of nature that has an added glamour of water, mountain, forest and snow-filled high mountains at one place. It is the source of livelihoods apparently made out of lake tourism. However, conflicting governance structure built within prevailing policy and legal arrangements has victimized Phewa lake as common property element. Phewa lake environment is degrading. In the past, national and international supports particularly under the JICA, had extended in Pokhara for improving town improvement including restoration of Phewa lake environment. Such intervention partly contributed to improve town environment, but failed improving lake environment.

1.2Physio-graphic features of Phewa lake

Formation Tertiary Period (25-65 millions years ago) Major inlet discharge Harpan Khola with 5.58m3/s discharge Watershed area 123 km2 Mean rainfall 3,710 mm Altitude 793 msl Shoreline length 4 km Mean depth 8.6 m Maximum water area 4.43 km2 Maximum depth 19 m Capacity 46 X 106 m3 Depth variable Storage volume (spill) Mean temperature 25.5oC Maximum operating level 795.7 m Minimum temperature 13.2oC Normal operating level 793.7 m

Trophically the lake changed from oligotrophic in 70s, to mesotrophic in 80s, and eutrophic by 90s (Shrestha and Jananuer, 2001).

1.3 Major threats to Phewa lake

 Accelerated eutrophication,  Invasive species- water hyacinth species is chiefly causing problems but during our visit we noticed only few of them because it was recently cleaned.  Sedimentation- Physical shape and size of Phewa is degrading because of sedimentation and land encroachment along lakeshore  Lake Water Pollution- caused by sewerage, solid wastes, clothes washing, agricultural, run-off and sediments  Conflicting Legal Issues- Lake subject is narrowly organized along defined sectoral lines under existing legal provisions  Reclamation & Encroachment- With an extent of growing urbanization multiplied with undefined and officially non-demarcated shoreline, there has been a significant reduction in lake morphometry. Within a short period of 1981-2001, 5.8 km2 of lake area of 1981 now has been reduced to 4.4 km2 by 2001.

 Promotion of Ecotourism- Development of tourism has been unplanned and spontaneous. Growing urbanization and unplanned tourism development activities around the lake in absence of inadequate infrastructural facilities have depressingly affected the lakes recreational values  Eco-zoning of Lake Shoreline: The effects of non-point sources such as agricultural run off are found to be greater than those of point sources of pollution such as laundry areas in the Phewa lake.  Inadequate Institutional Capability: Institutional inefficiency in terms of inadequate cooperation and coordination among stakeholders has hindered effort on sustainable management of the lake resources.

2. SANITARY LAND FILL SITE IN POKHARA

2.1 Introduction
A landfill, also known as a dump or rubbish dump , is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment. Pokhara landfill site is situated far from the city area in Bachhebuduwa (ward no 18) 9 km from Prithivi highway. It lies near the converging point of Seti river and Phurse river. Its construction began in December 1997, after the need of a proper dumping site was felt necessary for the growing population of the city. The Pokhara municipal sanitary landfill is an anaerobic type landfill site. The landfill site was developed by cutting the vertical valley wall. Here both civil engineering and vegetative method has been used. It was completed on June 2003 and it was inaugurated on January 2004.

It occupies a huge area of 200 ropani, which include the landfill area of 80 ropani, treatment area of 30 ropani, composting area of 15 ropani and the rest 75 ropani includes internal road, buffer zone and other infrastructures. It was build with a massive cost of NRS 19,83,86,209 which include the following cost Access road construction Treatment plant construction Landfill area construction Equipment cost Total cost 74231314 40085774 34852154 49216926 198386209

2.2 Structure and Functions

Pokhara landfill site consist of several structural and functional parts which combine to work as a unit. It consist of landfill area, sand drying bed, septage settlement tank, leachate collection area, horizontal reed bed, vertical reed bed and finally the pipe that leads the treated effluent to the Seti River. Its process can be explained by the below figure:
Landfill area Surface water collection basin Intermittent tank Septage settlment tank Sand dry bed Horizontal reed bed Lechate collection manhole Fig:-Landfill site of Pokhara Treated Vertical effluent reed bed To river

2.3 Landfill area

Landfill area of the sanitary landfill site refers to the area where the waste collected from the municipality is dumped. Municipal waste composite of 72% of garbage, 12% paper,8% plastic, 3% textile, 3% of rubber and leather and 2% other materials. Firstly the truck called compactor collects the munincipal waste from different part of pokhara and unloads it on the landfill area. Then the chain dozer compacts it on the landfill area. Then the reusable waste is collected by the people from the site. After the collection of reusable waste the waste is covered by the soil. Spreading of soil helps in the decomposition of the waste by microorganisms. The process of decomposition produces gases and leachate which need to be managed. There is no proper management of the gases that comes out from the landfill and it is let out in the atmosphere. But there is proper management of leachate through the geomembrane.
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2.4 Geo-membrane
This is the first landfill site in Nepal where geo-membrane has been used. The clay lining has not been used. Instead of clay lining, silty sand has been used. It consists of very good leachate control system. The geo- membrane has been used to channelise leachate at a point. Geomembrane is placed in the bottom of the landfill site. It is an impermeable layer that collects the leachate and directs it toward the intermittent tank where leachate is collected. After the collection of leachate it is sent to the horizontal and vertical reed bed for the purification of leachate to a standard point. Geo-membrane prevents the ground water contamination.

2.5 Leachate
Liquid that percolates through the layer of waste material during the decomposition as well as the water that seeps through the ground water and works its way out of the refuse is known as leachate. It contains high concentration of pollutants in small volume. The typical concentration of leachate of sanitary landfill is as follow Components BOD5 COD Ammonia nitrogen Chloride Total iron Zinc Lead Total polychlorinated biphenyl(PCB) residue pH Typical value 20000 mg/L 30000mg/L 500mg/L 2000mg/L 500mg/L 50mg/L 2mg/L 1.5ug/L 6.0

The leachate is then sent to horizontal and vertical reed bed to purify it pollutants to a considerable level.

2.6 Septage Settlement tank

It is the semi underground septic tank about 1.00 meter below the ground level of capacity 150 cubic meter which is covered by CGI sheet. In these tanks, fresh septage is poured. The partially treated waste store in a septic tank is called septage. It generally consists of all the household wastes that are disposed of through a home's plumbing system that neither drain out into the soil nor are converted to gases by the special bacteria in the tank. When the Septage is filled, it is withdrawn into Sand drying Bed (SDB). This is left for few days for drying process. The leachate that originates from it is then collected to a man hole passing through the filter media of different grade of gravel of the bed. This septage settlement tank is not functional currently.

2.7 Sand Drying Bed (SDB)

The Sand Drying Bed is Just near the Septage Settlement Tank. The drying bed has five different grade of gravel varying large to small from bottom to top. The size of bed is 41.15 by 41.15 meter. It is divided into seven parts by concrete wall. Each compartment is connected by side canal from where septage flows to the bed. The main function of the SDB is to settle the solid waste on the bed and to filter the liquid in primary level through its five different grade of gravel . The waste and septage is withdrawn from the Septage Settlement Tank . The dried solid waste is then used as compost fertilizer. The leachate produces by it also sent to the vertical and horizontal reed bed for purification to a considerable level before it is sent to river. SDB is not functional at present.

2.8 Treatment plant

Leachate collected is treated in the treatment plant to reduce the pollutant to a considerable level. A lined vegetation has been used to allow leachate to pass through it. Narkat (Phragmetis karka) has been adopted and has been planted in the plots. It can treat 75 cubic meter of septage and 40 cubic meter of leachate per day. Reed plant can reach to the maximum height of 5.5 meter. The Common Reed has the ability to transfer oxygen from its leaves, down through its stem, porous speta and rhizomes, and out through its root system into the rhizosphere (root system). As a result of this action, a very high population of micro-organisms occurs in the rhizosphere, with zones of aerobic, anoxic, and anaerobic conditions. Therefore with the waste water or leachate moving very slowly and carefully through the mass of Reed roots, this liquid is successfully treated, in a manner somewhat similar to conventional biological filter bed systems of sewage treatment. Beds can be of any shape to accommodate existing land and area. Specially designed ponds with under drains covered by a sand and gravel mixture are constructed and filled with reed plants. Now the dewatering occurs through evaporation, plant transpiration and decantation. Decanted water passes through the bottom of the bed and through the layers of sand and gravel into the under drains. Decanted water is then sent to the seti river. There are two type of treatment system where the leachate is passed: 2.8.1 Horizontal Reed Bed (HRB) At first the leachate enters the HRB through the first intermittent tank. It occupies a total area of 1105 square meter. Horizontal flow reed beds work particularly well for low strength effluents, or effluents that have undergone some form of pre-treatment. It is not effective in reducing ammonia. It always reduces BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand) and SS (Suspended Solids) levels. HRB plays an invaluable role in tertiary treatment and for the polishing of effluents.

The above picture shows the system of purification of horizontal reed bed.

2.8.2 Vertical Reed Bed (VRB) After the HRB has played its part the effluent from the HRB enters the VRB through the second intermittent tank. VRB occupies a total area of 2203 square meter. Vertical flow reed-bed systems are much more effective than horizontal flow reed-beds. It is not only effective in reducing BOD and SS level but is also effective in reducing ammonia level and eliminating smells. VRB can be considerably smaller and can cope with much stronger effluents.

2.9 Cut off drain

There is a cut off drain of 555.00 meter long around the north to east side of landfill site to divert the rain water and to save the landfill site.

2.10 Surface Water Collection Basin (SWCB)

Surface water collection basin of about 270 cubic meter is constructed for the collection of surface water. The SWCB serves not only for storing the run-off water carried by the surface water and cut off, but also for diluting the treated effluent of RBT (Reed bed treatment) system before being discharged into Seti River.

2.11 Final discharge

Now the treated effluent is discharged to the seti river. The effluent has much lower BOD than that of the influent. It cause the minimum effect to the aquatic ecosystem of seti river.

2.12 Conclusion
Pokhara landfill site has helped to manage the waste of the Pokhara municipality. Such approach to management of waste is need in the other part of the nation. It has played a crucial role in developing proper sanitation in the tourism place like pokhara.

2.13 Recommendation
There should be a proper management of the gases that comes out from the landfill site. Such gas consist of methane and other toxic gases. It can be a threat to the environment near it . There should be a proper collection of such gas. Approach of collection of such gas and use of it as fuel gas would prove to be a proper and efficient management of such gases.

3. DAIRY INDUSTRY
3.1 Introduction
The dairy industry is comprised of milk producers, dairy co-operatives, proprietary processors and manufacturers. Milk's production and marketing characteristics shape the industry with prices coordinating the actions of producers, processors and manufacturers, marketers and consumers. Key features of milk production are its location, quantity (both aggregate and per cow), the size and distribution of herds, farm numbers and ownership, producers' financial conditions, and the ability of producers to respond to changing economic conditions. The dairy industry is shaped by the production and market characteristics of the milk. Sanitary production and handling conditions, rapid movement, refrigeration, and heat treatment are a must. The dairy industry is generally considered to be the largest source of food processing wastewater in many countries. As awareness of the importance of improved standards of wastewater treatment grows, process requirement have become increasingly stringent. Although the dairy industry is not commonly associated with severe environmental problems, it must continually consider its environmental impact-particularly as dairy pollutants are mainly of organicorigin . For dairy companies with good effluent management system in place, treatment is not a major problem, but when accidents happen the resulting publicity can be embarrassing and very costly. The problem for most dairy plants is that waste treatment is perceived to be necessary.

3.2 Dairy processing and composition of dairy product

Before the methods of treatment of dairy processing wastewater can be appreciated, it is important to be acquainted with the various processes involved in dairy product manufacturing and the pollution potential of different dairy products. A brief summary of the most common process is presented below. 1. Pasteurized milk: The main steps include raw milk reception (the first step of any dairy manufacturing process), pasteurization, standardization, de-aeration, homogenization and cooling, and filling of a variety of different containers. The product from this point should be stored and transported at 4o c 2. Milk and whey powders: This is basically a two step process whereby 80% of the water is pasteurized milk is removed by evaporation under vacuum and the remaining water is removed by spray drying. Whey powder can be produced in the same way. The condensate produced during evaporation may be collected and used for boiler feed water.

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3. Cheese The first process of making cheese is curd manufacturing, where pasteurized milk is mixed with rennet and a suitable starter culture. After coagulation formation and heat and mechanical treatment, whey separates from the curd and is drained. The finished curd is then salted, pressed and cured after which the cheese is coated and wrapped .during this process two types wastewater may arise: which either be disposed of or used in the production of whey powder and wastewater , which can result from a cheese rinse step used during the manufacturing of certain cheeses. 4. Butter Cream is the main raw material for manufacturing butter. During the churning process it separates into butter and buttermilk. The drained buttermilk can be powdered, cooled and packed for distribution, or discharged as wastewater. 5. Evaporated milk This type of milk is first standardized in terms of fat and dry solids content after which it is pasteurized, concentrated in an evaporator, and homogenized, then packaged, sterilized, and cooled for storage. In the production of sweetened condensed milk, sugar is added in evaporating stage and the product is cooled. 6. Ice-cream The raw materials such as water, cream, butter, milk, and whey powders are mixed, homogenized, pasteurized, and transferred to a vat for ageing, after which flavorings, colorings, and fruits are added prior to freezing. During primary freezing the mixture is partially frozen and air is incorporated to obtain the required texture. Then the containers are filled and frozen. 7. Yogurt Milk used for yogurt production is standardized in terms of fat content and fortified with milk solids. Sugar and stabilizers are added and the mixture is then heated to 60 c , homogenized, and heated again to about 95 c for 3-5 minutes. For set yogurts , the milk base is packed directly and the retail containers are incubated for the desired period, after which they are cooled and dispatched.for stirred yogurts , the milk base is incubated in bulk after which it is cooled and packaged and then distributed.

3.3 Dairy Effulent/Waste Water Treatment

This kind of effluent should not be allowed to mix up with the municipal waste as it will result in a shock load. The very nature of the different operations involved in dairy, irrespective of the products size, generate waste water of different magnitude. The dairy is one of the major contributors among the food industry both in terms of value and effluent. The biggest share comes from cheese and ice cream factories. The relatively high concentration of organic matter in the dairy effluent makes it peculiar in its class and this result in a higher biological oxygen demand (BOD). This kind of effluent should not be allowed to mix up with the municipal waste as it will result in a shock load.
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3.4 Source of dairy waste

The degree of waste produced in a dairy plant varies depending upon the products prepared and the home keeping particles. The dairy waste consists mainly of raw materials lost during handling and processing and cleaning materials carried into the processing water. The composition involves a substantial concentration of fat, milk, protein, lactose, lactic acid, minerals, detergents and sanitizers. The majority of the pollutants are dissolved in either organic or inorganic form. Equipment cleaning along with whey and butter milk contributes to the majority of the organic load. Satisfactory disposal of wastewater, whether by surface, subsurface methods or dilution, is dependent on its treatment prior to disposal. Adequate treatment is necessary to prevent contamination of receiving waters to a degree which might interfere with their best or intended use, whether it be for water supply, recreation, or any other required purpose. Wastewater treatment consists of applying known technology to improve or upgrade the quality of a wastewater. Usually wastewater treatment will involve collecting the wastewater in a central, segregated location (the Wastewater Treatment Plant) and subjecting the wastewater to various treatment processes. Most often, since large volumes of wastewater are involved, treatment processes are carried out on continuously flowing wastewaters (continuous flow or "open" systems) rather than as "batch" or a series of periodic treatment processes in which treatment is carried out on parcels or "batches" of wastewaters. While most wastewater treatment processes are continuous flow, certain operations, such as vacuum filtration, involving as it does, storage of sludge, the addition of chemicals, filtration

3.5 Treatment options

The dairy waste water are highly variable in terms of various factors in terms of volume ,flow rates, pH and suspended solids which makes the effective waste water treatment difficult. Since the dairy wastewaters are bio-degradable, they can be effectively treated with biological waste water treatment systems, but can cause environmental hazard if it is not treated properly. There are basically three options for the dairy waste water treatment. a. Discharge and subsequent treatment of factory wastewater at a nearby sewage treatment plant. b. Removal of semi solid and special wastes from the site by waste disposal contractors. c. The treatment of dairy wastewater in an onsite waste water treatment plant. The first two options are continuously impacted by increasing cost, while the control of allowable level of suspended solids, BOD, and COD in discharged wastewaters are becoming more stringent. Therefore dairy industry must consider the third option of treating waste onsite.

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3.5.1 Direct discharge to sewage treatment

The existing municipal sewage treatment facilities are capable of treating a certain quantity of organic substances and should be able to deal with certain peak loads. However certain components found in dairy waste streams may present problems. Dairy industries are usually subjected to discharge regulations, but these regulations differ significantly depending on discharge particles and capacities of municipal sewage treatment facilities. However,some municipal treatments facilities may demand treatment of high strength effluents to dilute the BOD load of water so that it is comparable to that of the domestic sewage.

3.5.2 Onsite pretreatment options

Physical screening The main purpose of screens in waste water treatment is to remove large particles or debris that may cause damage to pumps and downstream clogging.Is is also recommended that the physical screening of dairy based water should be carried out as quickly as possible to prevent a further increase in the COD concentration as the result of solid solubilization. pH control large variations exist in the waste water pH from different dairy factories. This may be directly attributed to the different strategies employed. Alkaline detergents generally used for the saponification of lipids and the effective removal of protenaceous substances would typicaly have a pH of 10-14, while the pH of 1.5-6.0 can be encountered with acidic cleaners used for the removal of mineral deposits and acid base sanitizers. The optimum pH range for biological treatment plan is between 6.5-8.5.Extreme pH values can be highly detrimental to any biological treatment facilities, not only for the negative effect that it will have on the microbial community but also due to the increased corrosion of pipes that will occur at pH values below 6.5 and above 10.Therefore,some form of pH adjustments as a pretreatment step is strongly advised before waste water containing cleaning agents are discharged to the drain or further treated on site. Flow and composition balancing Because discharged dairy waste water can vary greatly with respect to volume strength, temperature, pH and nutrient level flow and composition balancing is a prime requirement for subsequent biological process to operate efficiently. pH adjustment and flow balancing can be achieved by keeping effluent in an equalization or balancing tank for at least 6-12 hours. During this time residual oxidants can react completely with solid particles neutralizing cleaning solutions.

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Fats oil and grease removal The presence of fats,oil and grease in dairy processing waste water can cause all kinds of problems in biological waste water treatment system,onsite and public sewage treatment facilities.It is therefore essential to reduce if not removed grease (FOG) completely prior to further treatments.

3.6 Treatment methods

3.6.1 Biological treatment
Aerobic Biological degradation is one of the most promising options for the removal of organic material from dairy waste water. However sludge formed especially during the aerobic biodegradation processes may lead to serious and costly disposal problems. This can be aggravated by the ability of sludge to adsorb specific organic compounds and even toxic heavy metals. However, biological systems have the advantages of microbial transformations of complex organics and possible adsorption of heavy metals by suitable microbes. Aerobic Biological methods An aerobic biological treatment method depends on micro-organisms grown in an oxygen rich environment to oxidize organics to carbon dioxide, water and cellular materials. Considerable information on laboratory and field scale aerobic treatment has shown aerobic treatment to be reliable and cost effective in producing high quality effluent. Problems normally associated with aerobic process include foaming and poor solid liquid separation. Thus the conventional activated sludge process is defined as a continuous treatment that uses a consortium of microbes suspended in wastewater in aeration tank to absorb and biodegrade the organic pollutants. Part of organic composition will be completely oxidized to harmless end products and other inorganic substances to provide energy to sustain the microbial growth and the formation of biomass (flocs) the flocs are kept in suspension either by air blown into the bottom of the tank or by mechanical aeration

3.6.2 Primary Treatment

In this treatment, most of the settleable solids are separated or removed from the wastewater by the physical process of sedimentation. When certain chemicals are used with primary sedimentation tanks, some of the colloidal solids are also removed. Biological activity of the wastewater in primary treatment is of negligible importance. The purpose of primary treatment is to reduce the velocity of the wastewater sufficiently to permit solids to settle and floatable material to surface. Therefore, primary devices may consist

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of settling tanks, clarifiers or sedimentation tanks. Because of variations in design, operation, and application, settling tanks can be divided into four general groups: 1. 2. 3. 4. Septic tanks Two story tanks -- Imhoff and several proprietary or patented units Plain sedimentation tank with mechanical sludge removal Upward flow clarifiers with mechanical sludge removal

When chemicals are used, other auxiliary units are employed. These are: 1. Chemical feed units 2. Mixing devices 3. Flocculators The results obtained by primary treatment, together with anaerobic sludge digestion as described later, are such that they can be compared with the zone of degradation in stream selfpurification. The use of chlorine with primary treatment is discussed under the section on Preliminary Treatment. 3.6.3 Secondary Treatment Secondary treatment depends primarily upon aerobic organisms which biochemically decompose the organic solids to inorganic or stable organic solids. It is comparable to the zone of recovery in the self-purification of a stream. The devices used in secondary treatment may be divided into four groups: 1. 2. 3. 4. Trickling filters with secondary settling tanks Activated sludge and modifications with final settling tanks Intermittent sand filters Stabilization ponds

The use of chlorine is also possible under secondary treatment. This is a method of treatment which has been employed for many purposes in all stages in wastewater treatment, and even prior to preliminary treatment. It involves the application of chlorine to the wastewater for the following purposes: 1) Disinfection or destruction of pathogenic organisms 2) Prevention of wastewater decomposition a. odor control, and b. protection of plant structures

3) Aid in plant operation

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a. Sedimentation, b. Trickling filters, c. Activated sludge bulking 4) Reduction or delay of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) While chlorination has been commonly used over the years, especially for disinfection, other methods to achieve disinfection as well as to achieve similar treatment ends are also used. Among the most common is the use of ozone. In view of the toxicity of chlorine and chlorinated compounds for fish as well as other living forms, ozonation may be more commonly used in the future.

3.7 Sludge treatment

Different types of sludge arise from the treatment of dairy wastewater .these include : sludge produced during primary sedimentation of raw effluents ,sludge produced during the precipitation of suspended solids after chemical treatment of raw wastewater :c)stabilized sludge resulting from the biological treatment process, which can be either aerobic or anaerobic: d) sludge generated during tertiary treatment of wastewater for final suspended solid or nutrient removal after biological treatment. Primary sedimentation of dairy wastewater for BOD reduction is not usually an efficient process, so in most cases the settleable solids reach the next stage in treatment directly. An important advantage of anaerobic process is that the sludge generated is considerably less than the amount produced by aerobic process, and it is easier to de-water. Final wastewater polishing after biological treatment usually involves chemical treatment of the wastewater with calcium, iron, aluminum salts to remove dissolved nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous. The removal of dissolved phosphorous can have a considerable impact on the amount of sludge produced during this stage of treatment. The application of dairy sludge as fertilizer has certain advantages when compared to municipal sludge. It is valuable source of nitrogen and phosphorous, although some addition of potassium might be required to provide good balance of nutrients. Sludge from different factories may also contain different levels of nutrients depending on specific products manufactured. Dairy sludge contains the same pathogenic bacterial load as domestic sludge as fertilizer does, however depend on local regulations. Some countries have limited amount of sludge that can be applied as fertilizer to prevent nitrates from leaching into groundwater sources.

3.8 Conclusion
Dairy industry is a major site for waste water generation as the dairy industry is a major water user. Thus it is a potential candidate for wastewater reuse. Purified wastewater can be utilized in boilers and cooling systems as well as for washing plants, and so on. Dairy industry can benefit from such reuse. If improperly managed pollutant like grease, oil, fats can imbalance the aquatic ecosystem.

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