[Re-publishing my submission for a task in mygov.in.]
Introduction
Many countries have good policies, that
have helped them in preserving/restoring their water resources. I have analysed
the government policy of some of the countries and listed the significant part
of their law that might be helpful in cleaning, restoring and preserving the
water resources of our nation.
The EU water framework directive is highly
impressive policy and it would be great if we can work on similar policy. It
combines different water laws in Europe and developed a single comprehensive framework. It is more suitable for India as the
framework talks about how a river flowing through different countries can be
maintained, which is similar to river flowing through different states in
India. I have also included some of the important sections of Clean water Act
of USA, Water law of China and River Law of Japan. Also I have included two
important policy implemented in the City of Columbus towards maintaining water
resources in good health.
The second Part of this report talks about
importance of research in this field. Even though the Water Act of India, 1974
(Section 17 – d) talks about need to encourage research (Full text: “To encourage, conduct and participate in
investigations and research relating to problems of water pollution and prevention,
control r abatement of water pollution.”), we see that not enough importance is
given to research compared to other countries. This section talks about the
important area of research and brief summary of some of the research reports. A
proper understanding of river restoration science is a pre-requisite for a
successful implementation of restoration project and developing sound policies.
1)
Taking
cue from other countries – strong legislations
European
Union - EU water framework directive
In order to preserve the water resources,
the EU launched a comprehensive water policy that took care of all water
resources and contained all aspects of water under this one policy. The policy
was named EU water framework directive and was adopted on 23–Oct–2010. The main
outline of this policy is the following:
·
expanding
the scope of water protection to all waters, surface waters and groundwater
·
achieving
"good status" for all waters by a set deadline
·
Coordinated
efforts - First of all, the objectives are established for the river basin.
Then an analysis of human impact is conducted so as to determine how far from
the objective each body of water is. At this point, the effect on the problems
of each body of water of full implementation of all existing legislation is
considered. If the existing legislation solves the problem, well and good, and
the objective of the framework Directive is attained. However, if it does not,
the Member State must identify exactly why, and design whatever additional
measures are needed to satisfy all the objectives established. These might
include stricter controls on polluting emissions from industry and agriculture,
or urban waste water sources, say. This should ensure full co-ordination.
·
Water
management based on river basins - The best model for a single system of
water management is management by river basin - the natural geographical and
hydrological unit - instead of according to administrative or political
boundaries.
·
"combined
approach" of emission limit values and quality standards - Historically,
there has been a dichotomy in approach to pollution control at European level,
with some controls concentrating on what is achievable at source, through the
application of technology; and some dealing with the needs of the receiving
environment in the form of quality objectives. Each approach has potential
flaws. Source controls alone can allow a cumulative pollution load which is
severely detrimental to the environment, where there is a concentration of
pollution sources. And quality standards can underestimate the effect of a
particular substance on the ecosystem, due to the limitations in scientific
knowledge regarding dose-response relationships and the mechanics of transport
within the environment.
For this reason, a consensus has developed
that both are needed in practice - a combined approach. The Water Framework
Directive formalises this. It does so as follows. On the source side, it
requires that as part of the basic measures to be taken in the river basin, all
existing technology-driven source-based controls must be implemented as a first
step. But over and above this, it also sets out a framework for developing
further such controls. The framework comprises the development of a list of
priority substances for action at EU level, prioritised on the basis of risk; and
then the design of the most cost-effective set of measures to achieve load
reduction of those substances, taking into account both product and process
sources.
On the effects side, it co-ordinates all
the environmental objectives in existing legislation, and provides a new
overall objective of good status for all waters, and requires that where the
measures taken on the source side are not sufficient to achieve these
objectives, additional ones are required.
·
Getting
the prices right - The need to conserve adequate supplies of a resource for
which demand is continuously increasing is also one of the drivers behind what
is arguably one of the Directive’s most important innovations - the
introduction of pricing. Adequate water pricing acts as an incentive for the
sustainable use of water resources and thus helps to achieve the environmental
objectives under the Directive.
Member States will be required to ensure
that the price charged to water consumers - such as for the abstraction and
distribution of fresh water and the collection and treatment of waste water -
reflects the true costs. Whereas this principle has a long tradition in some
countries, this is currently not the case in others. However, derogations will
be possible, e.g. in less-favoured areas or to provide basic services at an
affordable price.
·
Getting
the citizen involved more closely - There are two main reasons for an
extension of public participation. The first is that the decisions on the most
appropriate measures to achieve the objectives in the river basin management
plan will involve balancing the interests of various groups. The economic
analysis requirement is intended to provide a rational basis for this, but it
is essential that the process is open to the scrutiny of those who will be
affected.
The second reason concerns enforceability.
The greater the transparency in the establishment of objectives, the imposition
of measures, and the reporting of standards, the greater the care Member States
will take to implement the legislation in good faith, and the greater the power
of the citizens to influence the direction of environmental protection, whether
through consultation or, if disagreement persists, through the complaints
procedures and the courts.
·
Streamlining
legislation - One advantage of the framework directive approach, in its own
way a significant one, is that it will rationalise the Community's water
legislation by replacing seven of the "first wave" directives: those
on surface water and is two related directives on measurement methods and
sampling frequencies and exchanges of information on fresh water quality; the
fish water, shellfish water, and groundwater directives; and the directive on
dangerous substances discharges. The operative provisions of these directives will
be taken over in the framework directive, allowing them to be repealed.
United
States of America – Clean water act
The Clean Water Act of 1972 made it
unlawful to discharge any pollutant from a point source into navigable waters,
unless a permit was obtained. The main objective of this act is to restore and
maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's
waters by preventing point and nonpoint pollution sources, providing assistance
to publicly owned treatment works for the improvement of wastewater treatment,
and maintaining the integrity of wetlands. The main provisions of this act are:
· Title
I (Research and Related Programs) - Title
I includes a Declaration
of Goals and Policy and various grant authorizations for research
programs and pollution control programs.
· Title
II (Grants for Construction of Treatment Works) - To assist municipalities in creating or expanding sewage treatment
plants, also known as publicly owned treatment works (POTW). Title II
established a system of construction grants.
· Title
III (Standards and enforcement) – Stringent
standards are set and hefty fines for defaulters help in enforcement of this
law
· Title
IV (Permits and licenses) – Some of the highlights of this title are:
a.
State
certification of compliance
States are required to certify
that discharges authorized by federal permits will not violate the state's
water quality standards
b.
POTW
Biosolids Management Program
To manage the sludge generated by
POTW, Water Quality Act of 1987 created a program. The
Act instructed EPA to develop guidelines for usage and disposal of sewage
sludge or biosolids. The EPA regulations: (1) Identify uses for sewage sludge,
including disposal; (2) Specify factors to be taken into account in determining
the measures and practices applicable to each such use or disposal (including
publication of information on costs); and (3) Identify concentrations of
pollutants which interfere with each such use or disposal. EPA created an
Intra-Agency Sludge Task Force to aid in developing comprehensive sludge
regulations that are designed to do the following: (1) Conduct a multimedia
examination of sewage sludge management, focusing on sewage sludge generated by
POTWs; and (2) develop a cohesive Agency policy on sewage sludge management,
designed to guide the Agency in implementing sewage sludge regulatory and
management programs
Water Law of the People's Republic of
China
This
law was passed in 2002 to conserve water resources and enforce justified use of
water resources. A separate chapter has
been dedicated toward to conservation of water bodies. Some of the important
articles, with this regard, are:
·
Article 30 When working
out plans for development and utilization of water resources and for
distribution of water resources, the administrative departments for water
resources under the people's governments at or above the county level, the
river basin authorities and the other departments concerned shall pay attention
to maintaining a proper flow of rivers and keeping the lakes, reservoirs and
groundwater at a proper water level in order to maintain the natural
purification capability of the water body.
·
Article 31 Any unit or
individual engaged in activities concerning water, such as development,
utilization, conservation and protection of water resources and prevention and
control of water disasters, shall follow the approved plans. Where a unit or
individual that acts against the plans and thus causes the lowering of the use
functions of the rivers or lakes, overexploitation of groundwater, sinking of
land surface or pollution of water bodies shall bear the responsibility of
bringing such phenomenon under control.
Where dredging or draining of water, necessitated by mining construction
of underground project, results in the lowering of groundwater level, drying up
of water sources or subsidence of ground, the unit that launches the mining or
the construction project shall take remedial measures, and where losses are
caused to other people's lives and production, it shall compensate for the
losses in accordance with law.
·
Article 34 Construction of
any outlet for sewage discharge in the protection zones of drinking water
sources is prohibited. Construction, reconstruction or expansion of a sewage
discharge outlet along rivers or lakes shall be subject to permission by the
administrative department for water resources or the river basin authority that
has jurisdiction over the matter, and the administrative department for
environmental protection shall be responsible for examination of the written
report on the impact of the construction project on the environment before
giving approval.
·
Article 35 Where a
construction project occupies water sources for agricultural irrigation or
irrigation and drainage facilities, or has an adverse effect on the original
water for irrigation and sources for water supply, the unit that launches the
project shall take the necessary remedial measures. Where losses are caused, it
shall compensate for the losses in accordance with law.
·
Article 36 In areas where
groundwater is overexploited, the local people's governments at or above the
county level shall take measures to keep exploitation of groundwater under
strict control. In areas where groundwater was overexploited to a serious
extent, certain areas may, upon approval by the people's governments of
provinces, autonomous regions or municipalities directly under the Central
Government, be defined as areas where exploitation of groundwater is prohibited
or restricted. Exploitation of groundwater in coastal areas shall undergo
scientific demonstration, and measures shall be taken to prevent sinking of
land surface and encroachment by seawater.
·
Article 37 No one may
throw away or pile up objects or plant forest trees or high stalk crops in
rivers, lakes, reservoirs, canals or channels, which block the passage of flood
water. No one may, in areas under river course control, put up buildings or
structures that block the passage of flood water, or engage in activities that
adversely affect the stability of the river condition or endanger the safety of
the river embankment or other activities that block the passage of flood water
through the river course.
·
Article 40 Reclaiming
parts of a lake for use as farmland is prohibited. The parts already reclaimed
shall be restored as parts of the lake in a planned way according to the flood
control standard formulated by the State. Reclaiming parts of a river course
for use as farmland is prohibited. Where it is really necessary to do that, the
matter shall be subject to scientific demonstration and to permission by the
administrative department for water resources under the people's government of
a province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central
Government or by the administrative department for water resources under the
State Council, before it is submitted to the people's government at the
corresponding level for approval.
Environment
impact assessment Act of China: This required to analyze, estimate and
assess the environment impacts possibly caused by planned or constructed
projects, and to propose countermeasure to prevent or alleviate adverse
environment impacts.
Dong Zheren, Sun Dongya, Zhang Jing, Zhao
Jinyong, Zhai Zhengli, Progress of
River Restoration in China, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower
Research, Beijing
The
River Law, Japan
The purpose of this Law is to contribute to
land conservation and the development of the country, and thereby maintain
public security and promote public welfare, by administering rivers
comprehensively to prevent occurrence of damage due to floods, high tides,
etc., utilize rivers properly, and maintain the normal functions of the river
water by maintaining and conserving the fluvial environment. Some of the
important sections of this law related to river protection are:
·
Permission
for Land Occupancy (Article 24) Any person who intends to occupy land
within a river zone shall obtain the permission of the river administrator as
may be provided for in detail by Ministry of Construction Ordinance
·
Prohibition,
Restrictions and Permission for Act Likely to Hinder River Administration
(Article 29): Unless provided for in any of the articles from 23 through
the preceding article, acts which are likely to hinder river administration by
affecting the course, cleanliness, discharge, width, depth, etc., of the water
of a river may be prohibited or restricted, or obtaining permission of the
river administrator for such acts may be made obligatory, by Government
Ordinance.
Government Ordinance Article 16-4 (Prohibition of acts likely to
hinder river administration)
No person may not do any of the following
acts without good reason:
(1) Causing damage to a river;
(2) Dumping earth and stone
(including sand; hereafter the same), or trash, excremental matter, bird and
animal corpses or any other filth or wastes on land within a river zone
(excluding land within a high standard levee special zone), excluding acts done
in the normal conduct of agriculture, forestry or fishery practiced in a river
zone;
(3) Bringing into the following
areas automobiles or other things specified by the river administrator:
(a) Land in a river zone that the river administrator specifically
designates in order to protect river administration facilities
(b) Land in a river zone that the river administrator specifically
designates in order to conserve plant and animal habitats
(4) Any person who intends to do any of the acts listed below, excluding
acts necessary for daily living, acts generally practiced for agriculture or
fishery and acts designated by the river administrator as being acts necessary
for business, etc., shall obtain the permission of the river administrator in
accordance with the Ministry of Construction Ordinance.
(a) Washing objects to which soil, filth, dyes or other
matter that may contaminate the flowing water of a river is attached on land
within a river zone;
(b) Accumulating or installing
earth, stone, logs, bamboos or other objects on land within a river zone
·
Maintenance
of the Existing Function of a River (Article 44): In the case where the
condition of a river changes as a result of the construction of a dam and the
former functions of the river are diminished during a flood, the person who constructed
the dam must establish facilities necessary to maintain the said functions in accordance
with the directions of the river administrator, or adopt alternative measures.
Other Laws in Japan to protect river:
The Environment Impact Assessment Law (1999): This required to
analyze, estimate and assess the environment impacts possibly caused by planned
or constructed projects, and to propose countermeasure to prevent or alleviate
adverse environment impacts.
The Specified Non-profit Activity Promotion Law (the NPO Law) (1998): This
supports NGO activities for nature restoration.
The Nature Restoration Promotion Law (2003): This law calls for a
sound scientific underpinning of restoration projects and it has stimulated
countless restoration projects throughout the country.
2)
Important
initiatives taken by city of Columbus to reduce pollution
A series of steps as part of project clean
river are being taken by city of Columbus to maintain the water sources in the
city and nearby area, clean.
Significant initiatives are:
·
City water runoff and sewer water are planned to
be treated by green infrastructure. Green
infrastructure is an engineered solution that mimics nature and filters
pollutants that otherwise would be washed directly into the streams.
·
Fats, oils and grease control: A leading cause
of sewer blockages across the U.S. is the accumulation of fats, oils and grease
(FOG) in the sanitary sewers. The greasy waste enters the sewers through
connections from homes, food service establishments, and industrial wastewater
dischargers. The proposed project requires all food service establishments to
develop and implement a Best Management Plan (BMP) to handle grease
wastes. The rule applies to all licensed food service operations or
licensed retail food establishments that produce, or may produce,
grease-containing wastewater discharged to the city’s sewers. Historically,
BMPs have been required only after a food service establishment has been
identified as a grease blockage source. The proposed rule will be a
proactive rather than a reactive approach. The BMPs work well: since
2001, 76 food establishments have been placed on a program; only four have
required follow-up enforcement for repeat blockages
Focusing on research
3)
Need to
give more attention towards Research. Some of the important areas related
to river restoration are:
a.
Intertidal and Shallow Habitat Restoration
b.
Tidal Wetland Restoration
c.
Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Restoration
d.
Shoreline Restoration
e.
Tributary Restoration (fish passage and dam
removal)
Source:
Miller, Daniel E., 2013. Hudson River Estuary Habitat
Restoration Plan, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Hudson River Estuary Program.
http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/5082.html
4)
Rive
restoration – Scientific insight
Even though huge money is spent, lot of
legislative and legal measures have been taken on river restoration throughout
the world, many of the rivers continue to deteriorate [1]. The main reason for
this is, lack of (1) the inclusion of a solid conceptual model of river
ecosystems, (2) a clearly articulated understanding of ecosystem processes, (3)
recognition of the multiple, interacting temporal and spatial scales of river
response, and (4) long-term monitoring of success or failure in meeting project
objectives following completion [2-4]. Wohl et al. propose two strategy that could be
useful in river restoration: First,
restoration of process is also more likely to address the causes of river
ecosystem degradation, whereas restoration toward a fixed endpoint addresses
only symptoms. Second, because physical, chemical, and biological processes
interconnect in complex ways across watersheds and across timescales from
seconds to centuries, the authors hypothesize that all restoration projects are
far more likely to be successful if undertaken in the context of entire
watersheds[2].
A river has an ability to absorb
disturbances. There is the limit to the level of disturbance the river can
absorb and people have modelled this using probabilistic technique. The main goal of the restorers is to analyse
this dynamic nature of the river and the expected level of human disturbances.
Using this, a plan is to be created to restore the river to a state which can
sustain this level of disturbances.
There is lot of uncertainty in river
restoration knowledge and in the capability to predict how a restoration effort
will translate into ecological responses. Understanding the uncertainties is a
key to success of a river restoration project.
River restoration is a multi-disciplinary
subject and integrating people from all these scientific discipline poses a
huge challenge. This problem arises from mismatches in language, conceptual
frameworks, scales of operation, research methods, and historical underpinnings
of the disciplines involved in river science, management and restoration
[2]
References:
[1] Karr, J. R., and E. W.
Chu (1999), Restoring Life in Running Waters: Better Biological
Monitoring, Island, Washington, D. C.
[2](Main Source) Ellen Wohl, Paul L.
Angermeier, Brian Bledsoe, G. Mathias Kondolf, Larry MacDonnell, David M.
Merritt, Margaret A. Palmer, N. LeRoy Poff and David Tarboton, River restoration, Water Resources Research
Volume 41, Issue 10, October 2005
[3]Pedroli, B., G. de Blust, K.
van Looy, and S. van Rooij (2002), Setting targets in strategies
for river restoration, Landscape Ecol., 17, suppl.
1, 5–18.
[4] Bernhardt, E. S., M. A.
Palmer, J. D. Allan, and the National River Restoration Science
Synthesis Working Group (2005), Restoration of U.S. rivers: A
national synthesis, Science, 308, 636–637.
5)
Lessons
from past
·
Controlling a river’s flow will damage the river
ecosystem and may pose a danger of flooding. Channel reconfiguration and hard
engineering method should be used as last option. The effects of building dam
and levees are discussed later, in detail.
·
Before a
river restoration project is started, time should be spent for pre-monitoring.
·
A clear, achievable plan should be set before
implementing the project.
·
Citizen participation is important and greatly
increases the chance of success of the project.
·
The key to success of the river restoration
project is making the project adaptive. This is because, there are many
uncertainties in restoration effort and the river restoration should adapt
based on the results of initial work.
·
Planting trees/restoring the original vegetation
along the river banks will result in reduction in water temperature, which will
make the environment more conducive for fishes. Trees also regulate the effect
of soil erosion.
Source: Margaret Palmer, J. David
Allan, Judy Meyer and
Emily S Bernhardt, River Restoration in the Twenty-First Century: Data and
Experiential Knowledge to Inform Future Efforts, Restoration Ecology, Volume
15, Issue 3, pages 472–481, September 2007
6)
Effects
of building levees & dams
Artificial levees are manmade structures that built along the banks of the
river to protect the surrounding region during flooding. Large levees as high
as 30 - 50 feet have been built in the US and the Netherlands. However,
building levees without proper planning has lead to flooding and large scale
destruction like Mississippi river (1927), the Netherlands (1953), river Rhine
(1995), New Orleans (2005), Danube (2006).
After the 1953 & 1995 flooding, the
engineers from the Netherlands developed a way to avoid levee breaches. They
found that, even by raising the levee height, the weakest point eventually gave
away and levee breach occurred. Finally, they decided to set aside a land for
flooding i.e. to make room for the river.
A suitable area is designated to be used for flooding in case there is chance
of levee breach. Using a stronger textile to anchor the levees and by better
monitoring the levees with latest technology such disaster can be avoided.
The dams have also found to disturb the
natural ecosystem of the river. In many countries, dams have been removed to
return the lost glory of the river (eg. Duero river, Spain; Loire river,
France; Elwha river, US; White Salmon River, US). Elwha river project is the
largest dam removal project till date. After these dams were built, many
species of aquatic lives were lost but with the removal of these dams, signs of
returning of these species have been observed.
Building ill-advised projects in
river disturbs the river ecosystem. Also
restoring greenery and trees along the river side is important step to restore
river ecosystem. Promoting and implementing
Fish Passage, Dam Removal and Culvert Right-Sizing can also be considered to
reduce the ill-effects of the manmade structures. For more details
http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/5082.html
