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Noyyal – A Lost River (Environment Threat)

 

Noyyal – A Lost River

 

Introduction

 

Noyyal River originates from the Vellingiri hills of the Coimbatore district, (Tamil Nadu, India). It passes through Tirupur and it is stored up in the Orathapalayam Dam to be used in agriculture and drinking purposes for the downstream villages in the Erode District.A large number of dyeing units are situated in the upstream in and around Tirupur. They discharge their chemical and toxic effluents in to the Noyyal River . As a result all the irrigation wells along the river and in the downstream villages have been polluted and the ecosystem has been adversely affected by the seepage and percolation of water stored in the Orathapalayam dam. Eventually it affects the agriculture, livestock rearing, and fisheries of the downstream farmers around the Orathapalayam dam.

 

Hence the farmers refuse to use its water for irrigation.In this attempt we have gone through the various studies conducted in the noyyal river basin and effects of this water pollution in the agricultural land,livestock rearings and fisheries in order to access the reason behind the fact that why this river is being called as a lost river.

Noyyal

 

This River is a tributary of the Cauvery. It flows through Coimbatore, Erode and Karur districts. The Noyyal river basin covers a total area of 3510 km2. The length of Noyyal River is about 170 km from west to east. The average width of the basin is 25km. The annual rainfall is varied for this basin.The Noyyal is a seasonal river, which has good flow during the North-East and South-West monsoons. Apart from the monsoon periods, there is only scanty flow for most part of the year. The river supplieswater to several irrigation tanks located in and around Coimbatore town and downstream. Nearly 6,000 acres of cultivable land are irrigated using the river water.

 

Tirupur – Hosiery City of India

Tiruppur is a fast growing industrial city in Coimbatore district of Tamilnadu, also known as The ‘Banian City’ of India. It is located on the bank of the Noyyal River.Cauvery. The hosiery industry in Tiruppur provides substantial contribution to the economy in the form of income, employment and foreign exchange generation.The rapid growth of the industry has resulted in serious environmental problems, especially from the bleaching and dyeing units. Hence there is evidence to suggest that these units extract considerable quantity of ground water from the peripheral areas and discharge the effluent without adequate treatment.The discharge of effluents has caused severe pollution of both the surface and ground water in the region and has also contaminated agricultural land. The disposal of untreated wastewater on land and the Noyyal River has affected the quality of surface water, ground water and the soil not only in Tiruppur but also in the downstream villages.

Pollution Load Generated by Tiruppur Textile Processing Units

The Water Technology Centre in Tamil Nadu says that Tirupur’s textile industry uses bleaching liquids, soda ash, caustic soda, sulphuric acid, hydrochloric acid, sodium peroxide, hypochlorite and various dyes and chemicals in textile wet processes. All this leads to the effluents and hence the water that flows in the river, to having a high salinity-sodicity content, which is a threat to crop yields if used for irrigation. Added that is the presence of heavy metals, which adds to the danger posed by the river water.

 

According to the state Pollution Control Board (PCB) the accumulated pollution loads between 1980-2000 are as follows:

Table 1. Pollution Load Generated by Tiruppur Textile Processing Units b/w 1980-2000,PCB ,Tamilnadu

Total Dissolved Substances (TDS)

23.54 lakh tonnes

Chlorides

13.11 lakh tones

Sulphates

1.25 lakh tones

Total Solid Substances (TSS)

0.97 lakh tonnes

Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)

0.90 lakh tones

Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)

0.29 lakh tones

Oil & Grease

0.01 lakh tonnes

 

Impact on water sources

A study (Prabakaran 2001) found that ” the dumping of dye factory effluent with sludge increase the soil pH, organic carbon, phosphorous, potassium, calcium and sodium, consequently reducing the water holding capacity of soil. moreover, the accumulation of polluted material slowly alters the soil biological cycle process related to nitrogen and phosphorous nutrition. The beneficial microbes are being hindered by the accumulation of textile wastewater and needs ameliorative measures”

To access the impact of these effuluent in the river, the water samples collected in the noyyal river basin in five villages near tirupur for testing water quality parameters.The below chart shows the test results of this study.

Table 2. Water quality parameters in the five villages in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu 2007. (Primary Survey, 2007)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Details of Studies Conducted by Various Organisations

 

Various Government organinsations like CGWB,PWD,TWAD and etc were conducted ground water studies in the noyyal river basin and findings of these studies listed in the below table.

 

Table 3.Summary of Various ground water studies conducted by various organinsations

 

S. No

Institution

Year

Findings

1

Central Ground Water Board (CGWB)

1983

• High level of EC, chloride and sulphate in Tiruppur area due to textile effluent discharge.

• Pre-monsoon pollution concentration is much higher than the post-monsoon values

2

Central Ground Water Board (CGWB)

1993

• Severe ground water deterioration at Tiruppur area (with high dissolved solids) due to textile effluents.

• Effluents also contaminated soils and damaged the fertility of land.

3

Central Ground water Board (CGWB)

1999

• Very high concentration of TDS and chloride in most parts of Tiruppur.

• Ground water is not fit for drinking in most of Tiruppur.

4

Tamilnadu Water Supply and Drainage (TWAD) Board

1999

• Ground water pollution is not only in Tiruppur town but also in surrounding villages.

5

Tamilnadu Water supply and Drainage (TWAD) Board

2001

• Ground water in Tiruppur area is not fit for drinking due to high TDS.

• Possibility in increase in TDS concentration in ground water in near future if effluent discharge by processing units continues.

6

Tamilnadu supply & Drainage (TWAD) Board

1995

 

-

2001

• High level of TDS in observation wells in Tiruppur area.

• Rainfall has only a marginal influence in reducing the concentration of TDS.

7

Public Works Department (PWD)

2002

and

2003

• Poor water quality in terms of TDS at Noyyal stretch in Tiruppur and downstream areas.

• High TDS concentration in ground water at Tiruppur area.

• Water cannot be used for drinking.

8

Soil Survey & Land Use Organization

2002

• High level of EC/TDS in Tiruppur area and Noyyal stretch.

• Ground water is not fit for drinking or irrigation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Effects of this pollution in the Noyyal river basin –

 

• Degradation of the catchement – Steep slopes and consequently soil erosion / surface run off, siltation and floods are common in the catchment area, which reduce the capacity of channels and the water bodies ultimately.

 

• Silation in the water bodies – The water flow in the river / channel is decreased, which also add to the problem of flooding and there by the storage capacity of water holding structures are reduced due to siltation.

 

• Encroachment - Several tanks face the problem of encroachment in the wake of urbanization for construction / public utility purposes.

 

• Industrial effluents – The industrial wastes discharged into the Noyyal basin contaminate both surface and sub surface (ground) water. As a result, the drinking water becomes unsuited for human and animal use and often becomes scarce also. The quality deterioration of water affects crop growth and ultimately the productivity of agricultural land is reduced.

 

• Urban wastes – Domestic sewage and urban wastes are often dumped into the river directly. The health and sanitation is affected and the ground water is also contaminated.

 

• Aquatic weeds – water hyacinth, hydrilla, water fern, pond weed etc are the common aquatic weeds that pose difficulties in the filed of water management and create rider problems like reduction of water flow, disturb fish culture, loss of water, impeded drainage, siltation etc.

 

• Water logging – leads to accumulation of salts in soils which impair the growth of crops and affect the yield and quality of produce.

 

Conclusion

 

One can clearly understand why Noyyal river is being called as” A lost river ” after going through the findings and test results obtained through various studies refered in this article.The pollution levels in this water is so high, that local formers refused to use this water for irrigation or drinking purpose. Taking the issue to court has lead to closure of more no of polluting units in the industry. But as the rectification process is painfully slow, the river is still as lost as it gets. when a scientific paper concludes that water pollution in the basin can damage even human DNA strands, we feel it is time to sit up and find out what is going on and to decide on the things needs to be done to prevent the river from further pollution.

 

REFERENCES

 

1.Nelliyat Prakash, Madras School of Economics Working Paper 17/2007 Industrial Growth and

environmental degradation:A case study of Tirupur Textile Cluster. June 2007

2.Nelliyat Prakash, (2003), “Industrial Growth and Water Pollution in Noyyal River Bain: India” in Abstract

Volume of The Thirteenthi Stockholm Water Symposium.

3.Nelliyat Prakash(2007), “Industrial Growth and Environmental Degradation: A Case Study f Tiruppur

Textile Cluster, Working Paper 17/2007. Madras School of Economics

4.Nelliyat, Prakash (2005) “Industrial Growth and Environmental Degradation: A case Study of Industrial

Pollution in Tiruppur

5. INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION AND ECONOMIC COMPENSATION

A STUDY OF DOWN STREAM VILLAGES IN NOYYAL RIVER, Tirupur, TAMIL NADU,

SOUTH INDIA http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:223033/FULLTEXT02

6.Assessment of Underground Water Contamination

and Effect of Textile Effluents on Noyyal River Basin

In and Around Tiruppur Town, Tamilnadu A.GEETHA*, P. N. PALANISAMY, P. SIVAKUMAR,

P. GANESH KUMAR# and M. SUJATHA Kongu Engg. College, Erode, Tamilnadu, India – 638 052

 

7.Appasamy P, and Prakash Nelliyat, Working paper 14/2007. Compensating the loss of ecology services

due to pollution in Noyyal River Basin, Tamil Nadu, Madras School of Economics, February 2007.

 

8.Central Water Commission (2000-01), “River Water Quality for Noyyal River” Cental Water Commission,

Coimbatore

9.Ministry of Textiles (1999), “Report of the Expert Committees on Textile Policy”, Government of India,

Udyog Bhavan, New Delhi.

10.Govindarajalu, Dr. K. Industrial Effluent and Health Status, A Case Study of Noyyal River Basin, 2003.

11.Impact of Industrial Effluent Water on Agricultureal Land

Dr. S. Jagadees pandi Ph.D Gandhigram Rural Institute

12.A Study of Industrial Water Pollution in Tirupur, South India ,Jennie Malm,Master of Science Thesis, Environmental Science Programme, 2004

 

13.Industrial Growth and Environmental degration: A case study of industrial pollution in Tirupur- 1999 to 2005.

Prakash Nelliyat, Madras School of Economics, Chennai- 600 025. dated 16.08.2005

 

14.Evolving a new strategy for sustainable agricultural practices for clean environment and water conservation techniques in Noyyal River Basin S.M. Prithiviraj, C A R E T R U S T, GANDHIPURAM, COIMBATORE-641012

 

15.Effects of dyeing and bleaching industries on the area around the Orathupalayam Dam in Southern India – Kristina Furn Tryckt hos Institutionen för geovetenskaper, Uppsala Universitet, Uppsala 2004.

 

16.ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF GARMENT INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION ON NOYYAL RIVER BASIN, A Fact Finding and synthesis report by S.M.Prithiviraj of CARE-T.

 

17.The River Noyyal: As dead as they get ,Rajat Banerji ,July 2002,The cleanganga.

 

18.Tamilnadu pollution Control Board

About the Author

 

 

MY DETAILS

NAME : BOOPATHI.S

FATHER’S NAME : SRINIVASAN.M

MOTHER’S NAME : JEYAKKODI

DOB : 15/01/1991

ADDRESS:12/82 , NEW STREET,

VENNANDUR,

RASIPURAM TALUK,

NAMAKKAL DISTRICT,

TAMILNADU STATE,

INDIA.

MOBILE:0991691157(BANGALORE),09790461103(TAMILNADU)

EMAIL :boopathitexx08@yahoo.co.in;boopathi.srinivasan@shahi.co.in

EDUCATION:DIPLOMA IN TEXTILE TECHNOLOGY

in THIAGARAJAR POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE,

SALEM,TAMILNADU STATE,INDIA.

 BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (COSTUME DESIGN & FASHION)

in BHARATHIYAR UNIVERSITY,

COIMBATHORE,TAMILNADU STATE,INDIA.

WORK : WORKING IN SHAHI EXPORTS PRIVATE LTD ,BANGALORE

as JUNIOR EXECUTIVE IN FABRIC SOURCING DEPARTMENT.

BEFORE THAT I WORKED IN PREMIER SPINNING AND WEAVING

MILSS,HOSUR AS PRODUCTION OFFICER

HOBBIES:READING BOOKS,PLAYING CRICKET,LISTENING MUSIC,

SURFING IN NET,CHATTING WITH FRIENDS,TRAVELLING,

MAKING FRIENDS,DREAMING ABOUT FUTURE,WRITING LYRICS

AND ESSAYS and Articles …

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