At present freshwater bodies including lakes are highly polluted with various pollutants. A study was conducted to investigate the presence of microplastics in a fresh water lake which is the drinking water source for Chennai city, Tamil Nadu India. Water samples were collected during the pre-monsoon period (October 2019) from the lake (Puzhal Lake), the inlet and outlet of the drinking water treatment plant and analysed for the presence of microplastics (MPs). The surface water collected from the lake harbored 3 to 4 microplastics litre-1 of water. The samples collected from inlet and outlet of the treatment plant also had 3 to 4 microplastics/liter of water. Most of the MPs were in the form of fibers (76%) and the MPs detected were red, green, black, blue and white in colour.
Microplastics, Freshwater lake, Inlet and outlet, Drinking water treatment plant
