నైరూప్య

Qualitative Evaluation of SasthamkottaLake

Salin Peter, Prof. Sreedevi C

Sasthamkotta Lake, the largest fresh water lake in Kerala, a state of India on the south of the West Coast has been a designated wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention since November 2002 and one among the nineteen wetlands identified for conservation and management by the ministry of environment and forests under the national wetland conservation program. It meets the drinking water needs of half a million people of Kollam district in Kerala and also provides fishing resources. The lake is facing degradation due to anthropogenic activities such as directing human waste, soil erosion due to destruction of vegetation, changes in land use pattern etc. thus leading to the deterioration of environmental quality as well as a decrease in the surface area and depth. The present study is to assess the quality of the water in Sasthamkotta Lake by developing a WQI and to predict the future pollution level and its impact.