Dead Zone Project at Jakkur Lake

Biome is working on a Bangalore Sustainability Forum (BSF) funded project to identify and revive dead zones in Jakkur lake. Dead zones are low oxygen areas in oceans and lakes that occur due to eutrophication (presence of excess nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen). It often negatively impacts aquatic life, since most plants and organisms require oxygen to survive.

A way to identify a dead zone is to measure dissolved oxygen (DO). DO levels of 4mg/L and above generally indicate a healthy aquatic life and DO levels less than 4mg/L indicate poor water quality and is considered detrimental to aquatic life. To test DO levels we will be using a YSI Pro20 Dissolved Oxygen handheld meter. The cost of the meter was approximately Rs 70,000 and it was purchased from Xylem Analytics, a dealer for YSI instruments in India. A picture of the DO sensor is shown below in Image 1.

Image 1: YSI Pro20 Dissolved Oxygen Handheld Meter

We started the project in August 2019 and monitored the DO in the lake on a regular basis. We identified three dead zone areas: two near the wetland and the other in the kalyani. We will be trying different methods such as aerators and floating wetlands to revive one of the dead zones.

This is an ongoing project, which will be updated once the project is completed.