The Hindu Business Line : Industrial, domestic wastes polluting Kerala rivers: Study

A REPORT prepared by the Kerala State Council for Science Technology and Environment (KSCSTE) says that the rivers in the State are being increasingly polluted from the industrial and domestic waste, pesticides and fertilizers used in agriculture.

The State Environment Report, Kerala, 2005, published by the Council also pointed out that Periyar and Chaliyaar rivers were examples of pollution of water bodies due to industrial effluents.

According to the report, nearly 260 million litres of trade effluents reach Periyar estuary every day from the industrial belt in Kochi. From mercury to insecticides such as DDT and BHC, copper, sulphides, ammoniac nitrogen, zinc, lead and phosphates are flowing to Periyar from the major industries in the industrial zone.

The major water quality problem associated with the rivers of Kerala is that of bacterial infestation and the study cited Chalakudy, Periyar, Muvattupuzha, Meenachil, Pampa and Achenkovil as examples.

Faecal contamination is affecting 90 per cent of the wells in the State from which water is drawn for drinking purposes. In Kerala, the report said, 60 per cent of the population relies on groundwater for drinking. Apart from Kochi where the groundwater is contaminated, the other areas identified included Palakkad, some parts of Kollam, Kozhikode and Kannur.

It is estimated that nearly 300 medium and large-scale and about 200 small-scale industries are discharging effluent directly into saline or freshwater bodies. Likewise, about one million cubic metre waste is generated daily in the coastal areas of the State and 30,000 cubic metre of it reaches the surface water-bodies in the coastal areas.

According to the report, the northern and southern arms of the Kochi backwaters receive wastewater from industries. It is estimated that about 53,000 to 80,000 cubic metres of industrial effluents are discharged each day into the Kochi backwaters.

These discharges contain hazardous concentrations of phosphates, sulphide, ammoniac nitrogen, fluorides, heavy metals etc.

The report also pointed out that frequent incidents of mass mortality of fishes had also become common in major rivers such as Periyar, Chitrapuzha, Chaliyar and Kallada and Vembanad and Ashtamudi lakes. The presence of radioactive waste materials has also been reported from these areas, the report said.

The report cited that coastal environment degradation of wetlands, mangroves, mud-banks, beaches, estuaries and cliffs, which are important habitats of marine and coastal environment, are in various stages of degradation.

While wetlands are increasingly being altered for undesirable uses, the mangroves are destroyed for facilitating urbanisation, construction of ports and shrimp farms.

Unabated reclamation, silting and pollution from industries and human wastes are damaging the estuarine and backwater ecosystem, the report said.

After monitoring the levels of various marine pollutants in the coastal and offshore waters in the State, the report identified Kochi backwaters, Alapuzha, Kayamkulam, Kollam, Paravur and Veli as some of the hotspots in the State.

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