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Environmental System Analysis for River Pollution Control

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Abstract

This paper presents a new tool, developed with the aim of assessing the environmental impact from industrial effluents and sewage systems in Hanumante River and to recommend the finest procedures to control water pollution so as to improve the water quality of Hanumante River using environmental system analysis. Hanumante River is heavily polluted due to inefficient management resulting in water-associated problems. The time horizon for this study is from 2000 to 2030, yearly, and the spatial boundary is considered to be Hanumante River, Bhaktapur, Nepal. The stakeholder, function, and scenario analyses are employed as three tools for study. The participation of main stakeholders aids in resolving their various conflicting interests in Hanumante River, thus creating a common understanding about the crisis under study. A complete functional analysis illustrates various functions fulfilled by the river and their associated services. Based on the interests of the stakeholders and their priorities, two alternatives resulting in four scenarios are identified and ranked against four selected criteria. A combination of improved industrial technology and efficient municipal waste management gives the best solution to the pollution problem in Hanumante River. Different alternative themes have corresponding effects on the selected criteria. The choice is in the hands of the decision makers of Bhaktapur City. The outcome of this paper will ultimately help decision and policy makers to analyze the environmental impact of river systems and find efficient and better-quality decision making for water resource management incorporating the knowledge and experiences of various stakeholders.

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Acknowledgments

We are thankful to Prof. Dr. H.B.J. (Rik) Leemans, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands, for his kind supervision, as well as to Silas Mvulirwenande, George Amoasah, and Mohammad Nazrul Islam for their kind cooperation during the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sub-department of Toxicology, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Jasmine Diwakar

  2. Health and Environment Management Society (HEMS), Bengadabur-6, Dhanusha, Nepal

    Jay Krishna Thakur

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  1. Jasmine Diwakar
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  2. Jay Krishna Thakur
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Correspondence to Jay Krishna Thakur.

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Diwakar, J., Thakur, J.K. Environmental System Analysis for River Pollution Control. Water Air Soil Pollut 223, 3207–3218 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-012-1102-z

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