Monitoring the Change in Water Quality in Pulicat Lake From 2012-2022

Pulicat Lake is the second-largest brackish water ecosystem on the Coromandel Coast of southern India, with over 30,000 fishermen, 20,000 agricultural workers, and 100,000 people whose livelihoods depend on it. Recently, the region has experienced rapid urbanization and industrialization. However, this has negatively impacted the fragile ecosystem and threatened the livelihoods of these individuals. This study examines the changes in water quality parameters in the lake over a decade, between 2012 and 2022, by extracting data from an online open-source water quality repository by the Government of India. Mean values were computed, and the results were graphically represented to aid in identifying visual trends and patterns. The parameters analyzed include temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, biochemical oxygen demand, nitrate + nitrite, fecal coliform, and total coliform levels. The findings show that the water quality of the lake has fluctuated significantly over the past decade. In its current state, the water is unfit for consumption or agricultural purposes. This is heavily influenced by anthropogenic activities taking place near the lake, which harm the ecological integrity of the lake.