Srinagar, Sep 13: Kashmir’s two iconic water bodies—Jhelum and Dal Lake—are facing a growing sewage crisis, with a crucial scientific study estimating that nearly 147 million litres of Srinagar’s sewage remain untreated every day and are discharged into the two water bodies collectively.
The figure emerges from the study “Assessment of Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Dal Lake’s Trophic State”, published in the journal Water. The researchers estimate that Srinagar generates around 201 million litres of sewage daily, of which nearly 73 per cent goes untreated into Dal Lake or the Jhelum.
“The 73 per cent works out to approximately 147 million litres a day,” it reveals. The study, however, does not provide a separate break-up of the quantity entering the Jhelum and Dal Lake, meaning the figure represents the combined untreated discharge into the two water bodies.
The findings assume significance as both water bodies are already under considerable ecological pressure.
“The trophic condition of Dal Lake between 2019 and 2023 showed a worrying deterioration in its ecological health,” the study reads. By the end of the assessment period, the lake was classified as eutrophic, indicating increasing nutrient enrichment and pollution pressure.
The researchers linked the deterioration to pollutant loads associated with human activity and untreated wastewater. “Excessive nutrient input can trigger algal growth, reduce water quality and disturb the natural balance of aquatic ecosystems,” the study notes.
The Jhelum faces its own growing wastewater burden as it cuts through Srinagar.
An action-taken report submitted before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) records 10 outfalls discharging into the Jhelum, with domestic and household wastewater listed among the discharges.
A Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit has further exposed the weakness of Srinagar’s drainage system, finding that the city does not have separate sewage and storm-water networks.
In one striking instance cited by the audit, three dewatering stations discharged 7.47 crore litres between October 20 and 30, 2023, despite there being no rainfall during the period.
The audit observed that the absence of rainfall indicated that the discharge was not simply stormwater and pointed towards household wastewater entering the drainage system.
“The Lal Mandi dewatering station alone discharged 4.39 crore litres during those 11 days, with the audit recording discharge into the Jhelum,” the audit report said
Climate expert Dr Touseef Bhat said pollution of the Jhelum and Dal Lake should be viewed as a wider ecological challenge, with untreated wastewater, urbanisation and changing climatic conditions collectively increasing pressure on Kashmir’s fragile water systems.
“The problem has existed for decades, but the scale is now becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. As Srinagar expands, concrete surfaces have replaced open spaces, while sewerage and drainage infrastructure has struggled to keep pace with the volume of wastewater generated by the growing urban population,” Bhat said.
Earlier research by University of Kashmir scientists had documented numerous drains carrying urban waste into the Jhelum through Srinagar and recorded deterioration in several water-quality parameters along the river.
The latest findings add urgency to the need for effective sewage interception and treatment.
The government has undertaken several sewage-treatment and pollution-control projects to bridge the infrastructure gap. But experts say treatment plants alone cannot solve the problem unless households are connected to functional sewer networks and untreated drains and outfalls are intercepted.
The challenge is therefore not merely about increasing treatment capacity. It is about ensuring that sewage never reaches the river or lake in the first place.
The numbers provide a stark warning: Srinagar generates around 201 million litres of sewage every day, while roughly 147 million litres is estimated to remain untreated and enter Dal Lake and the Jhelum collectively.
