The Kerala State Pollution Control Board has plans to carry out a drone mapping of the solid waste dumping site of the Kochi Corporation at Brahmapuram soon.
The total station survey using drones is being carried out to ascertain the exact volume of waste lying at the site.
The Central Pollution Control Board had issued guidelines for contour survey as part of its directives on how to ensure proper treatment and disposal of municipal solid waste.
The total station survey or drone mapping of the landfill/dumping site must be done prior to the start of bioremediation and biomining at such sites.
Drone mapping of heap volumes at different stages is most cost-effective and fast. Weighment of heaps is difficult and problematic as payment would be collected for heavy fractions, leaving behind more pollution-prone lighter fractions, according to the guidelines.
Senior board officials said aerial mapping was the most effective option to evolve a scientific data on legacy waste being piled up at Brahmapuram.
Manual process was an arduous task considering the fact that the survey members would find it difficult to access each and every point at the dumping yard.
The aerial survey using unmanned vehicles would provide high-resolution accurate data from the site, they said.
Co-relating data
The survey is expected to help in co-relating the data on waste brought to the Brahmapuram site.
Besides the areas under the Kochi Corporation, municipalities including Angamaly, Aluva, Kalamassery, Thripunitura, and Thrikkakara transport their biodegradable waste to the site.
As per the CPCB guidelines, the treatment and disposal of legacy waste can be done by bioremediation and biomining.
A total station survey or drone mapping of any landfill/dumping site must be done prior to start of the project.
The board had suggested carrying out precursor study with history of the site and compositional analysis of waste.
Site environment parameters such as baseline study of heavy metals in surface and subsurface soils and water, rainfall, soil type, surface hydrology, topography, wind direction etc., shall be studied before and after biomining. Periodic study should also be carried out after completion of biomining to check for any adverse effects in the surrounding area, it said.
