A novel approach to baseline water quality assessment at local and catchment scale: a case study from Berambadi,...

Optimal design and maintenance are necessary for the sustainability of wastewater treatment systems. In this study, we present the outcome of a novel approach to baseline assessment conducted prior to the design and deployment of a decentralized wastewater treatment system at a school in rural India. The baseline water quality monitoring protocol was deployed to assess (a) the quality and quantity of wastewater (greywater and blackwater) flows from the school and (b) the status of surface water and groundwater quality in the catchment. Hourly greywater flows and water quality trends were monitored across four seasons at the school. Average freshwater consumption at the school was 518 ± 322 L/day for hand washing and 287 ± 97 L/day for cooking meals. Greywater generation showed high hourly variations in COD levels. Greywater generated from hand wash and kitchen sources contributed to 110 g/day and 96 g/day of BOD₅ respectively and 214 g/day and 141 g/day of COD respectively. Based on additional data from a self-reporting sanitation survey, the organic contaminant load generated from the toilet was estimated to be 1.5 ± 0.1 kg COD/day. At the catchment scale, both groundwater and surface water quality were monitored seasonally to assess the impact of raw sewage and stormwater inputs. Compared with borewells, high nitrate-N levels (> 10 mg/L) were observed in the village hand pump samples throughout the year. Maximum nitrate-N (16 mg/L) and fecal coliforms (3.9 log MPN/100 mL) levels were observed in surface waters during monsoons, indicating the impact of sewage and surface runoff on water quality. The proposed approach is useful to estimate data on freshwater use and wastewater generation at the school and hence to make the case for, and design of, a sustainable water management intervention.