Dharwad city at one time, famous as retired persons paradise was cool and calm and was recognized as an educational centre. Dharwad was once bestowed with a number of tanks, which were serving as lungs for the city and also supplied water to the people and animals of the city. Rapid urbanisation and increasing population by leaps and bounds compelled the authorities concerned to convert many of these tanks into commercial/residential development, ultimately converting them into concrete jungles.

There are still some more tanks left with, waiting either for total denudation or all round development to bring back their old glory and one such among them is Kolikeri tank. The sewage of southern part of the city was earlier being disposed off by a network of sewerage system, the outlet of which is near the said Kolikeri tank. Since the sewerage is very old and there is lack of maintenance from local corporation body, there is breakdown of system and the sewage is getting mixed with water of Kolikeri tank. This has resulted in converting the tank into a sewage body, over a period of two decades and is completely covered with water hyacinth. Now the tank water has been converted to a sewage body and has become a breeding place for mosquitoes leading to health hazards and rendered the tank unfit for normal usage.

It is proposed to restore and develop the tank and convert it into a useful water body and a recreational centre. This has necessitated a detailed survey and study regarding its location, boundaries, extent of area, present condition regarding pollution level and its utilisation for different purposes. This paper aims at studying the restoration of the tank by desilting the organic material deposited and diverting the sewage and allowing only the storm water into the tank. Further the study also aims at utilising the large quantity of water hyacinth available in the tank for the production of biogas using another waste material i.e., sludge from the local distillery industry.

Address: Civil Engineering Department, 
SDMCET, Dharwad 580 002. Karnataka, India
Phone: 448327E-mail: itshirkol@rediffmail.com
sadanandgjoshi@yahoo.com

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