Limnology

Study on Hauz-i-Shamsi

— by Aananya Lakhani, July 4 2021 —

Introduction
Hauz-i-Shamsi is a water reservoir located in Mehrauli, in Delhi, India. This reservoir was built
in 1230 AD by Sultan Shamshudin Iltumish. He built this reservoir because of a dream that he
had. Accoridng to the legend, he saw the Prophet Muhammad in his dream, and he told him that
he must build a reservoir at a place marked by the hoofprint of the Buraq. A Buraq being the
winged horse on which Muhammad rode to the heavens. This water reservoir once spread over
100 hectares, but now because of water pollution and other environmental damage, it has
shruken a great amount.

Physical/Chemical Properties
● Type: Reservoir
● Infrastructure: Slanted
● State: Needs Restoration
● Water color: green

● Water Temperature: 49 degrees Celsius
● pH level: 7.3

Environmental Issues
The reservoir is littered with trash and plastic waste. There is also lots of untreated sewage water
that seeps into it from various breaches. The water in the lake itself is also decreasing, and the
only source from which it gains more water is rainwater from nearby catchments. Although these
rainwater catchments have helped maintain the water level of the lake, they are not enough. The
amount of water lost from the lake due to damage is still more significant than the amount that
can be restored through the rainwater catchments. In the past, there have been efforts to help save
the Hauz-i-Shamsi reservoir, but these have not been very successful as the efforts to keep it
clean were not continued. The lake has also become a site for mosquito breeding.

Possible Solutions
● Maintaining sufficient water by redirecting surplus water from nearby sewage treatment
plants
○ This, along with continuing the redirection of rainwater catchment water, will
help preserve the water levels of the reservoir and help increase the water levels
slowly

● Mosquito killing medicine
○ Since the reservoir has become a site for mosquito breeding, adding the medicine
to get rid of this issue in the lake will allow the process of restoration to begin
smoothly.

● IPM (Integrated Pest Management) Plan for algae and aquatic weed management
○ IPM is: “to prevent or reduce pest population outbreaks using all control methods
possible, which in theory should reduce the amount of pesticide needed to control
the target pest population.”
○ This way, the use of chemical pesticides in the water body will be reduced, and
hence make the restoration process more manageable.

● Creating a committee of the nearby locals who are in charge of regularly cleaning the
lake and maintaining its water levels
○ If there is a committee of locals in charge of maintaining the water body, then it
will be more likely that the reservoir will continue to flourish and stay healthy.
Since the locals will be able to monitor what is happening to the water body on a
regular basis
○ In order to provide an incentive for the locals to continue maintaining the health
of the water body, along with it creating a healthier environment near their homes,
the locals who volunteer to do so could also be paid on a monthly basis.

Works Cited

“13th-Century Water Body in Delhi Dying for Lack of Attention, Sustained Revival Plan.” Down
To Earth,
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/water/13th-century-water-body-in-delhi-dying-for-lack-of
-attention-sustained-action-58133.
“i-Shamsi.” Hauz, http://www.hauz-i-shamsi.in/.
“Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for Ponds.” SOLitude Lake Management: Full-Service Lake
And Pond Management, 17 Mar. 2021,
http://www.solitudelakemanagement.com/blog/integrated-pest-management-ipm-for-ponds/.
“Sustainable Solutions for Lake and Pond Management.” SOLitude Lake Management:
Full-Service Lake And Pond Management, 17 Mar. 2021,
http://www.solitudelakemanagement.com/blog/sustainable-solutions-for-lake-and-pond-manag
ement/.
Zaman, Rana Siddiqui. “ASI Revives Three Water Bodies near Qutub Minar.” The Hindu, The
Hindu, 23 May 2016,
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/asi-revives-three-water-bodies-near-qutub-minar/ar
ticle6472999.ece.
Image:
DH News Service. “Prized Reservoir Losing out to Neglect.” Deccan Herald, DH News Service,
16 July 2013,
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/345171/prized-reservoir-losing-neglect.html.