Published Paper Details:

Pamba River is the third largest river in Kerala with a length of about 176 km and a catchment area of about 2,235 sq. km. It is one of the most polluted river system in Kerala. The present study is a pioneering effort to evaluate the feasibility of incorporating Alum coagulant as an effective interim treatment strategy for the removal of coliforms and thereby bringing the process of super chlorination down to low dose chlorination. Pamba river water with high amount of fecal coliform and suspended solids was subjected to chlorination dosage of 10 mg/l for 30 minutes contact time followed by dechlorination with sodium thiosuphate. Super chlorination resulted in the doubling of COD indicating the formation of more recalcitrant highly toxic chlorination derived by-products. The newly formed compounds were extracted and were subjected to structural analysis by FT/IR. The data obtained indicated the presence of Trihalomethane, Haloaceticacid as by-products. The Alum treatment proved that there is remarkable reduction in coliforms at 30 mg/l for 30 minutes contact time without affecting COD. Hence for Pamba River, an integrated alternative treatment strategy using Alum to bring down the toxicity level caused by super chlorination can be deployed.