River pollution in Chennai

CHENNAI… The Polluted Gateway of

South India

General Info:

Area : 172 sq.kms.

Population : 4.34 million ( 2001 census )

Altitude : Sea Level

Climate : Summer Max 37 C, Min 22.1 C;

Winter Max 32 C, Min 19.8 C

Rainfall : 1272 m.m.

Clothing : Tropical

Languages Spoken : Tamil, Telugu,Malayalam, Hindi, Urdu and English

GEOGRAPHICAL AND PHYSICAL FEATURES

Chennai is a low-lying area and the land surface is almost flat like a pancake. The even topography of the land throughout the district renders sub-divisions into natural regions rather difficult. It rises slightly as the distance from the sea-shore increases but the average elevation of the city is not more than 22' above mean seal-level, while most of the localities are just at sea-level and drainage in such areas remains a serious problem. From very early times, Chennai was known for its pleasant scenery and was said to be a town open to sky and full of garden of mangoes, coconuts, guavas, oranges, etc.

In earlier days when the city was not so congested, gardens and groves were a common feature and most of the roads were flanked by frequent groves of palm and other trees. Even a number of houses too had gardens displaying fine trees canopied by green bough and creepers, Chennai city today is devoid of any forest areas but can still be proud of some of the well maintained green belts found in the Peoples park, the Napier park, the Horticulture-gardens, My Lady's Park, Children's Park Guindy, Snake Park, Nehru Park, Nageswara Rao Park, Independence Park, Anna Square Park, the Raj Bhavan, the Theosophical

Society Campus, and a number of bungalows and newly developed colonies where provisions of public parks, etc. have been provided.

The indigenous trees found include among others neem, mango, tamarind, rain-tree, vagai, banyan, coconut, palm and pipal. Stretches of casuarina plantations are available on the sea-coast beyond the mouth of the Adyar in the South and Tondiarpet in the North, supplying firewood to the city. House gardening is not very common these days due to shortage of water and lack of space.

Rivers

The city is intersected by two languid streams, the Cooum and the Adyar. Cooum runs through the heart of the city and enters the sea in-between the university buildings and the Fort. St. George underneath the Napier Bridge, while the latter wends its way through the southern part of the city and enters the sea near Adyar. These two rivers are almost stagnant and do not carry enough water except during rainy seasons. Cooum river starts from Kesavaram Anicut in Kesavaram village built across Kortaliyar river. The surplus from Cooum tank joins this course at about 8 kms. lower down and this point is actually the head of Cooum river which is located at 48 kms. west of Chennai. The river receives a sizeable quantity of sewage from its neighbourhood for disposal. Though the river Adyar can be traced to a point near Guduvancheri village, it assumes the appearance of a stream only after it receives the surplus water from the Chembarambakkam tank as wells as the drainage of the areas in the south-west of Chennai. The river has no commercial importance, but the fishermen in the neighbourhood make their living by fishing in the river.

Canals

The Buckingham canal which runs through the states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh is a navigation canal. This canal runs almost parallel to the Coromandal

coast within the limits of 5 kms. from the coast. It joins up a series of natural backwaters and connects all the coastal districts from Guntur to South Arcot. Entering the city at Tondiarpet in the north and running along the western outskirts of George Town, it joins the new canal, south-west of General Hospital. The other canal worth mentioning in the city is the Otteri Nullah which commences from the village Mullam, runs eastwards upto Purasawalkam and then passes through Buckingham and Carnatic Mills and finally joins the Buckingham Canal, north of Basin Bridge Railway Station.

Chennai has 25.60 kms. of sea coast which is flat and sandy for about a km. from the shore. The bed of the sea is about 42' deep and slopes further in gradual stages for a distance of about 5 kms. from the coast attaining a depth of about 63'. The two principal currents, first from the north and second from the south flow parallel to the coast. The former sets in about the middle of October and continue till February while the latter starts by about August and continues till the burst of the north-east monsoon in the middle of October. These two principal currents must be caused by the winds.

WATER POLLUTION IN CHENNAI

The quality of water is no better. A survey by the Department of Water and Sewerage in December 1996, showed that 16 per cent of the representative samples collected from different parts of the city were bacteriological poor and hence unfit for drinking. Water at many points, mostly handpumps and taps, was whitish and turbid. The iron content was in excess of the agreeable limit of 1 gm/litre.

Surveys conducted by the CPR Foundation over three consecutive years from 1992-93, showed groundwater to be of poor quality in many areas. In 1995-96, only two out of the 20 samples collected from different parts of the city were potable, in terms of chemical and bacteriological quality. The study also noted a high probability of groundwater getting contaminated due to seepage of sewage water from the waterways.

Contaminated waterways like the Adyar and the Cooum supply the city with hoardes of Armigeres mosquitoes, besides polluting groundwater resources. For those living on the banks of these rivers, diseases like typhoid and cholera strike with impunity.

The stagnation of water facilitates the breeding of the Anopheles mosquito which spreads malaria. The city is notorious for water stagnation, particularly during the monsoon. It also has innumerable open wells and uncovered water tanks. Waterlogging is common at construction sites but civic officials plead their

inability to check it. The stormwater drains in the city are faulty and clogged at many

places. "They offer a damp, dark place for the vector to breed," says Dr. Nandita Krishna, Director, C. P. Ramaswamy Aiyar Foundation. Leptospirosis, caused by an organism

called leptospirum, also thrives in unhygienic conditions. The disease, which simulates jaundice and in many cases leads to renal failure, is spread by rats, bandicoots and cattle through urine and faecal matter.

Sources

Point source

Non point sources

NONPOINT SOURCES

Urban streets

Suburban

development

Wastewater

treatment

Rural homes

Cropland

Factory

Animal feedlot

POINT

SOURCES

Pollution in streams

Pollution in lakes

Discharge of untreated

municipal sewage

Nitrogen compoundsproduced by

Discharge of treatedmunicipal sewage

(primary and secondary

Discharge of

detergents

Natural runoff

(nitrates Manure runoffFrom

feedlots

Dissolving of nitrogen oxides(from internal combustion

Runoff and erosion

(from from cultivation,

Runoff from streets,

lawns, and construction

Lake ecosystem

nutrient overload

DISEASE THAT STRIKES,

The stagnation of water and mixing of sewage with drinking water, a common enough problem in the city, also spread the disease. When water stagnation is acute, mere contact with such contaminated water is enough for the organism to enter the host. During the monsoon, the incidence rises rapidly, according to Dr. Muthusethupathy, Head of the Department of Nephrology, Madras Medical College.

According to official figures, diseases like malaria, filaria, acute diarrhoeal diseases (ADD), cholera, typhoid, hepatitis and tuberculosis have shown fluctuating trends over the last five years. The incidence of most of these diseases peaked in 1993 which witnessed torrential rain and floods. While malaria registered an all-time high with 76,749 cases, ADD affected 1 1,263 persons, cholera affected 4,666 persons and TB 503. However, the incidence of typhoid and hepatitis were relatively less. "Most often, despite conducive conditions, all the diseases may not manifest with the same intensity," says Dr. Vijayaraghavan.

Malaria Malaria is just one of the visible impacts of the increasing mosquito menace in the city, which has 11 highly polluted waterways and 600 km of stormwater drains. Though civic authorities claim to be doing their best to contain the menace, recently even deciding to use biocides on a large scale, fliaria, another disease spread by the vector, is also on the rise. Data with the DPH, the Department of Biotechnology, Anna University and the Tuberculosis Research Centre (TRC), show that several parts of the city have become endemic to the disease. While the endemicity at some places is about 2 per cent, at some others even mosquitoes are highly infected.

Look at the facts: Chennai accounts for nearly 50 per cent of the total number of malaria cases and a mind-boggling 70 per cent of urban malaria in the State. Drug resistance is on the rise, so also the incidence of cerebral malaria caused by the deadly Plasmodium Falciparum. While elsewhere in the State, there was a 62 per cent decrease till September last year in the incidence of Falciparum malaria (compared to the corresponding period the previous year), Chennai reported an increase of about 60 per cent.

Endemic to filaria Many areas of the metro have become endemic to filaria. Leptospirosis, a disease which only veterinary doctors were familiar with till a few years ago, has started claiming human lives too. Though there has not been any major outbreak, dengue is not a stranger to the city so also Japanese encephalitis, better known as brain fever. Though official statistics report only 33 "suspected cases" of dengue in the last five years, sources in the Directorate of Public Health (DPH) and the private sector say that the number could be much higher.

Regular visitors Statistics show that in 1995 there was only one case of brain fever and none in 1996, But Enquirer point to the fact that the disease is quite common in localities having pig rearing farms. Chicken pox makes a stormy appearance every year, usually from February to May and diarrhea is a regular visitor. All these diseases, according to Dr. Vijayaraghavan, Director of Public Heath, are preventable but for poor environmental conditions,

COOUM RIVER

Origin

The Cooum River originates in a village of the same name, about 70 km (43 mi) away from Chennai. Once a fresh water source, it is today a drainage course inside the city of Chennai, collecting surpluses of 75 small tanks of a minor basin. The total length of the river is about 65 km (40 mi). The river flows to a length of 40 km (25 mi) in the Chennai Metropolitan Area, of which 16 km (9.9 mi) fall within the Chennai district limits. The total catchment area of the river is about 400 km2 and the bed width ranges from 40 to 120 m. The capacity of the river is 19,500 m3/s, and the anticipated flood discharge is around 22,000 m3/s.[2] Once a fishing river and boat racing ground, it has borne the brunt of the city's unplanned explosion. The Kesavaram dam diverts the river into the Chembarambakkam Lake from which water is utilized for the supply of drinking water to the city of Chennai. Thereafter, the flow of water in the river is much reduced.

Two ancient Shiva temples are located at the source of the river. The first is Tiruvirkolam, in Cooum village, and the other is at Ilambaiyankottur. These temples have been featured in the Thevaram sung by the Saivite saint Thirugnanasambandar. There is one more temple called the Veerebathrasami temple. The god in the temple is otherwise known as "Akoramoorthy". This temple is at Pillayarkuppam, 2 km (1.2 mi) from Cooum village. In ancient Tamil Nadu, under the Chola Empire, the river Cooum was referred to as Kashtabudhyotpathihi. They all form a group of villages called"padhinaru nattham". The river drains into the Bay of Bengal at Chepauk in Chennai marking the northernmost boundary of the famous Marina Beach. The delta also marks the southern boundary of the Port of Chennai.

History

Once this river was said to have its origin in Dharmapuri district, but now due to some earth table changes, it has shortened its course to Thiruvallur district. As recent as thirty years ago, recreational boats were available for leisure boating. The annual tourism exhibition used to take tourists in the waterways until 1985. Ancient documents from the nearby temples states about one 'reaching salvation' on having a dip in the Cooum. The Cooum river was then clean and unpolluted. Cooum is presently a river spoiled by filth and pollution, and the water quality is considered to be highly toxic and completely non-potable. The 2004 tsunami cleaned the mouth of the river; however, the river returned to its usual polluted self within a short period.

Pollution

The mouth of the Cooum river

The river is narrow, placid, slow and meandering. The study of the river was undertaken as part of a World Bank-funded project and shows that it is 80% more polluted than treated sewer. Public Works Department sources said government agencies like Chennai Corporation and Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board and business units and retail outlets on the banks of the Cooum were responsible for the pollution. The water has almost no dissolved oxygen, and instead there are traces of heavy metals like copper, besides sewage and sludge. Due to its narrowness and about 3,500 illegal

hutments along its banks, it has not been recently desilted, which has closed it to river traffic.

Nearly 30 per cent of the estimated 55 million litres of untreated sewage being let into the waterways of Chennai daily, including by Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board, gets into the Cooum river. About 60 per cent of the untreated sewage gets into the Buckingham Canal and the Adyar River takes the rest. In 2010, about 340 sewage outfalls into the waterways were identified. Of them, more than 130 sewage outfalls were in the Cooum River and a majority of them were between Aminjikarai and Nungambakkam.

Cleanup

In December 2009, the state government had formed the Chennai River Authority to clean up the 72-kilometre (45 mi) stretch of Cooum River within 10 years.

In 2010, the Tamil Nadu government signed an MoU with Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SEC), a Singapore agency for the restoration project. The agency prepared a preliminary report after discussions with various stake holders of the project including Chennai Corporation, municipal administrations, Metrowater, Pollution Controld Board, Slum Clearance Board and the public works department.

There is currently a project funded by World Bank to clean up this river. The World Bank has approved Rs 22.41 crore for the Cooum restoration project towards development of its irrigation potential.[5] Improving the irrigation efficiency of Cooum upstream is one of the main objectives of the project. The upper region of the Cooum, mainly Kancheepuram and Thiruvallur districts, will be benefiting from this special fund.

A team from Chennai has visited San Antonio in Texas to see how they successfully did the cleanup of a polluted river. The team comprised Deputy Chief Minister M.K.Stalin, Chennai Mayor M. Subramaniam and other senior officers. One of the city's dream projects is to clean up this river on or before 2020. The initiative has been taken up by the Central and State governments to clean up the river and rediscover the pleasures of traditional boat racing. The Chennai Rivers Restoration Trust (CRRT) has asked the Chennai Corporation to chalk out an action plan to remove construction debris dumped on the banks of the Cooum River.

The Water Resources Department (WRD) started flushing a 30-kilometre (19 mi) stretch of the Cooum in December 2010, initially discharging about 200 cu ft/s (5.7 m3/s) of surplus water from the Poondi reservoir into the river.

In September, the WRD began cleaning the river at a cost of 10.2 million and the work is expected to be completed within a fortnight.

Other developments

A visitor centre near the mouth of the river on the Marina Beach, similar to the Marina Barrage Visitor Centre in Singapore and San Antonio Visitor Center in the United States, has been planned as part of an initiative to create awareness of the need for clean waterways.

In 2011, the Tamil Nadu Sailing Association planned to build a marina at the mouth of the Cooum river along the southern bank, where yachts and pleasure boats could dock. The 300-million project involves first building a breakwater in the sea so that the waters at the marina are placid and the boats do not keep bobbing up and down with the incursion of waves. However, the by-catch is a more important function—the breakwater will prevent silting and clogging of the mouth of the river, resulting in the waters flowing into the sea. The project is yet to get the approval of the State Government. The docking facilities will come on the river, but the other features of the project, such as a boat repair facility, a base for the Tamil Nadu Coastal Police, and sailing academy, will be put up on the bank

ADYAR RIVER

Origin and course

Adyar river starts from Malaipattu tank (80.00° latitude and 12.93° longitude) near Manimangalam village in Sriperumbudur Taluk at about 15 km west of Tambaram near Chennai. It starts to appear as a stream only from the point where water from Chembarambakkam lake joins the river. It flows through Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur and Chennai district for about 42.5 km before joining the Bay of Bengal in Adyar, Chennai. Here it forms an estuary, which extends from the Adyar Bridge to the sandbar at the edge of the sea, with some small islets in-between. The estuary covers an area of about 300 acres.

Geography

The river has varying depth with approximately 0.75 m in its upper reaches and 0.5 m in its lower reaches. The catchment area of the river is 530 km2. Bed width

ranges from 10.5 to 200 m. If flows to a length of 24 km in the Chennai Metropolitan Area including about 15 km within the Chennai District before draining into the sea. It discharges about 190 to 940 million m3 water annually to the Bay of Bengal. The discharge is seasonal with about 7 to 33 times more than the annual average during the North East monsoon season between September to December. The river is also supplied by surplus water from about 40 ponds.

Rowers on Adyar river

The present capacity of the river is 39,000 m3/s whereas the anticipated flood discharge capacity is about 60,000 m3/s. During the floods of 2005, the river had a discharge rate of 55,000 m3/s.

Ecology

Sunset over the river

Adyar Estuary and Creek and the Theososphical Society on the Estuary's southern side has been a haven for migratory and resident birds for years. The environmental conditions in the estuary with low salinity, good shelters and high plankton availability in the Adyar creek serves as a good nursery for fish. The flow of tidal water in and out of the creek allowed for easy travel of boats. It therefore encouraged fishing and there was a thriving economy of fish trade here. However, with the city's sewage and effluence from its various industries,

for some time, emptying into the river, the biological activities in the region was affected. Although the number has been in decline due to pollution and anthropogenic activities, they still attract hundreds of birds. Even before few years the Theosophical Society has come out with a CD on 'Birds of Adyar', compiled by Trust for Environment Monitoring and Action Initiating. The proposed Adyar Poonga may be a first towards restoring this fragile but vibrant eco-system.

Contamination

The river receives a sizeable quantity of sewage from Chennai after reaching Nandambakkam near Chennai. The river is almost stagnant except during the rain season. Rapid industrialisation and urbanisation has led to severe contamination of this river. However, the river gets just 10 per cent of the untreated sewage being let into the three principle waterways of Chennai daily, with the other two, namely, the Buckingham Canal and the Cooum River, taking the major share (60 per cent and 30 per cent, respectively).

CONCLUSION

Water pollution has many forms, all of which are damaging and none of which are less important than the other. Whether it be oil pollution, which is a largely silent (excluding the occasional large spill) but deadly polluter or the widely encompassing chemical pollution which can include Persistant Organic Pollutants (including PCB's and DDT), all water pollution have unimaginable consequences. Some of these effects, which can also be considered further pollutants, are Acid Mine Drainage and Eutrophication. These effects effectively choke out the water they pollute and have the ability to devastate entire ecosystems centered on a water supply.

The most obvious, not to mention hard to admit, conclusion at which we can arrive is that this is overwhelmingly a product of human consumption and laziness. Oil pollution is mainly caused by the improper drainage of everyday human activities. Chemical pollution, including POP, PCB, and DDT, is created from our desire for excellent pesticides that will do the work and thinking for us, and from our ever growing demand for more electricity. Acid Mine Drainage is caused when careless mining companies disrupt pyrite deposits underground without taking the time to first test the ground or the effort to neutralize any acidity initially caused from pollution. Eutrophication is an excellent example of what can happen from chemical pollution, as it is caused when excess nutrients enter the water system and promote the excessive growth of invasive species which effectively removes the oxygen from water and chokes the life out of an ecosystem.

("Plastic Pallets and Solar Energy Products." Reduce, Reuse and Recycle)

Overall, the best choice we can make as humans, instead of driving hybrids, eating "organic" foods, or even recycling everything is to REDUCE CONSUMPTION. We can change what we eat and drive, but until we reduce the amount of what we eat and how often we drive, we will still have the same chances for pollution.

If we simply use less chemicals, oil, and everything else, there will be less opportunities for irresponsible humans to further damage our precious water supply. It seems as if plenty of people can reuse and recycle, but we, especially we Indians, need to adopt the most important ideal in the phrase; Reduce.

REFERENCE

www.wikipedia.com

www.ess.com

www.googleimages.com

www.google.com

http://bit.ly/ouphp

http://www.tnpcb.gov.in

www.abebooks.com

www.answers.com

Work done by….

RUTHRA