GHAZIABAD: As a pilot project, the Ghaziabad municipal Corporation (GMC) has installed a water purifier in a pond located in Nyayfal village. This machine, Solar Smart Floating Air and Water Purification System, oxidises the impurities and nutrients present in the water and converts them into solids, with the neutralised molecules settling in the bottom of the pond.
The machine has been made by GMC's environment team set up last year and is the first of its kind in the district. The team has also started working on patenting the machine. In addition, the machine will help monitor the total dissolved solids (TDS) and water level of the pond through an app, which has been developed by the team. The work on the machine started last year and it took almost one and a half years for the machine to be functional.
If successful, the machine may be deployed in other ponds in the district for the purification of water.
Dr Umar Saif, environmental planner, GMC, said, "Our environment department was formed last year in February under GMC to specifically work on environment-related issues. We currently have seven members in our team, geo-informatics experts Bilal and Sonu Kumar, environmental surveyors Kamal Dev and Amjad Ali, Internet of Things (IoT) expert Javed Ali, telecommunication expert Mubark Ali, and hydrologist Ash Kumar."
Saif added that after four failures, the machine was finally successful.
"This machine is completely self-dependent, there is a 160-Watt panel for power, which lasts for 25 years. The total energy consumption of this unit is only 40 to 80 Watts, and it has a 30 Ampere/hour battery backup. This system will replace phytoplankton in ponds and allow artificial respiration like a ventilator," said Saif.
Explaining the process of the machine, Saif told TOI, "It will take air from the atmosphere and dissolve that in water. The oxygen present will reduce the biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) in the water. When both the demands decrease, the odour coming from the water decreases and the speed of reproduction of the aquatic organism goes up. This purifier can be turned on or off at any time from the mobile phone. Through the app, which has been developed by our team, our team will be monitoring the TDS and water level in the pond too," said Saif.
By the end of this year, the machine is going to be installed in 10 more ponds in Arthala, Morta, Sadarpur, Makanpur and many more.
Municipal commissioner Mahendra Singh Tanwar said, "The nature of ponds in cities is different from rural areas. Besides rain, there is no perennial source of water for ponds in cities, except drain water, and the same needs physical, chemical and biological cleaning. This purification system fulfils all these requirements of urban ponds."
