Every day is Earth Day: Quality Assessment of Discharged water at Motor Servicing Center

Water quality is the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of water. The most common standards used to assess water quality relates to drinking water, safety of human contact and for the health of ecosystems. The parameters for water quality are determined by the intended use. Work in the area of water quality tends to be focused on water that is treated for human consumption or in the environment.

Environmental water quality, also called ambient water quality, relates to water bodies such as lakes, rivers, and oceans. Water quality standards vary significantly due to different environmental conditions, ecosystems, and intended human uses.

Some people use water purification technology to remove contaminants from the municipal water supply they get in their homes, or from local pumps or bodies of water. For people who get water from a local stream, lake, or aquifer (well), their drinking water is not filtered by the local government.

A lubricant (sometimes referred to as "lube") is a substance (often a liquid) introduced between two moving surfaces to reduce the friction between them, improving efficiency and reducing wear. They may also have the function of dissolving or transporting foreign particles and of distributing heat.

One of the single largest applications for lubricants, in the form of motor oil, is to protect the internal combustion engines in motor vehicles and powered equipment.

According to current statistics, the lube market in India is in the order to 1 + million tons per annum, with a prevailing annual growth rate of 3.5%. Since lube oil is the highest-value component of a barrel of crude oil and most of the lube oil gets used only once, it becomes one of the world’s largest bulk pollutants for

- Water

- Air &

- Soil

Thereby highly contributing to the low quality of life. Therefore, there is an urgent need to systematically carry out a study to conserve it and use it scientifically, so that emissions are within the prescribed limits & no suspended particulate matters are ejected in the atmosphere which poses serious environment pollution & wastage of high value lubricants

A Motor Servicing Centre performs lots of activity which includes all kind of Cleaning, Mechanical, Electrical Work & Denting / Painting. Taking care of Private / Passenger Cars involves heavy utilisation of water resources and the washed away water becomes the source of contaminants in local water bodies. AC servicing and other servicing is also the source of contaminants. Car Wash may be Interior or Exterior Cleaning.

The vehicles which are washed extensively in the Motor Servicing Centers of Doon Valley are:

· Small Car = Maruti 800, Esteem, Indica, Indigo, Ikon, Honda City Etc.

· Big Car = Tavera, Qualis, Innova, Scorpio, Sumo, Bolero Etc.

Every Motor Company has their own Servicing Centre and the effective utilisation of water resources differs from company to company. The effluent of the washed water is either disposed to local water bodies or goes underground.

The complexity of water quality as a subject is reflected in many types of measurements of water quality indicators. The following is a list of indicators measured for the study:

Physical assessment