Noyyal river water unfit for human use, shows test

CHENNAI: The Noyyal river water is unfit for human consumption or use, the Madras high court has been told. In a report submitted to the court, the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) has said the pollution level in the water sample collected by the authorities was much above the acceptable standards.

The first bench comprising Chief Justice M Yusuf Eqbal and Justice TS Sivagnanam, before which a contempt of court petition filed with regard to the pollution caused by dyeing and bleaching units came up for hearing on Tuesday, took cognizance of the report and asked the court registry to circulate it to all the parties to the case for eliciting their response.

The judges also asked the authorities to file a detailed affidavit mentioning the dyeing and bleaching units that had been ordered to be closed by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB). The bench then adjourned the matter to November 22 for further hearing.

The Noyyal river, originating in the Vellingiri Hills of the Western Ghats, flows for about 175 km through Coimbatore, Erode and Karur districts before joining the Cauvery river near Noyyal village. Chemical and toxic effluents discharged into the Orathanadu dam by bleaching and dyeing units have affected groundwater in more than 95 villages in the districts of Erode and Karur. There are about 720 dyeing units in the region.

The contempt of court petition was filed by the Noyyal River Ayacutdars Protection Association, which claimed that the high court orders delivered in April 2008 had not been honoured by the authorities. In the petition, the association's president AP Kandasamy submitted that the court had directed the TNPCB to inspect dyeing and bleaching units in and around Tirupur and take steps to remove the excess production machinery with the assistance of the court-appointed monitoring committee.

On October 4, the first bench had deputed an official of the high court to visit the Kasipalayam village in Erode district and collect a water sample from the river. On October 21, the court had asked the authorities to send the sample to the NEERI's Chennai Zonal Lab at CSIR Madras Complex in Tharamani. A report, in a sealed cover, shall be submitted within a week from the date of receipt of water samples in sealed bottles, it said.

The NEERI submitted its report on October 29. When the matter is taken up for further hearing on November 22, the court is expected to analyse the replies of the TNPCB, as also the other stake-holders such as the unit-owners, and pass appropriate orders.

Coimbatore Corporation - water pollution on Noyyal river

The Coimbatore City lies within the watershed expanse of the Noyyal River Basin and consists of a network of tanks and canals. About 18 tanks in the city act as storage and percolation tanks and are major sources of ground water. Canals that act as natural drainage courses, serves as storm water drains for the Coimbatore city.

An analysis of nine water bodies of city by a local NGO indicates that most of the water bodies are contaminated. The discharge of industrial and domestic effluents, encroachments of tank and canal beds, exploitation of ground water are some of the important factors causing damage to these water bodies.

A key factor responsible for polluting the water bodies is the discharge of untreated effluents from small scale industrial units lacking in adequate individual treatment facilities. With major water bodies being polluted, an immediate effect is noticed on the health of the vulnerable communities residing on the banks of the canals and tanks. Further, there is a risk of contamination of ground water, resulting from over exploitation of ground water by
domestic and industrial users.

Orathapalayam Dam

In the Noyyal basin, the Orathapalayam Dam, which was constructed in 1992 for irrigation supply, has essentially become a holding tank for extremely polluted water. In addition to large amounts of organics and salts, pollutants include high concentrations of heavy metals and other industrial chemicals. Similar pollution problems are widespread and have been the subject of action by the courts for decades. A Government Order

(G.O No 213, I, dated March 30,1989) prohibits establishment of any polluting industry at a distance of less than one kilometer from the rivers. This has not been enforced and now even groundwater along the river course and downstream is polluted. Before construction of the dam, farmers grew irrigated crops of tobacco, coconut, turmeric, maize, cotton and vegetables. At present, primarily rainfed cultivation is carried out in these villages and the wet crop cultivation has become the luxury of a select few whose wells are yet to become polluted.

Average rainfall (mm) month wise rainfall details at Noyyal river basin

Month	Coimbatore	Palladam	Tiruppur	Perunthurai	Erode
January	13	10	14	14	14
February	9	6	6	11	13
March	16	9	13	14	17
April	53	45	57	45	49
May	60	75	82	95	90
June	39	14	20	29	38
July	52	19	27	41	49
August	35	23	43	68	87
September	51	49	62	94	96
October	155	152	163	160	174
November	129	112	115	108	104
December	42	434	40	37	38
Total	655	560	643	715	772