Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore   

Siruthuli plans treatment plants at tanks

By K.V. Prasad

COIMBATORE, DEC. 8. Eight tanks in the city and its periphery have been desilted to recharge groundwater in a path-breaking movement that involves corporate and voluntary bodies and also the district administration and the Public Works Department (PWD). But, amid joy over increase in groundwater level, there is concern over discharge of sewage into seven of these tanks.

The Coimbatore Corporation has been trying hard for measures to end discharge of sewage into waterways that are supposed to bring rainwater to the tanks. But, so far, there has been only a consistent increase in the inflow of sewage. The worst affected are the Singanallur and Valankulam tanks. "A conservative estimate puts the inflow of sewage into the Singanallur Tank at 10 million litres a day (mld)," the Project Co-ordinator of Siruthuli, M. Ramakrishnan, said.

Siruthuli, the public initiative to desilt tanks and waterways, now plans to have small sewage treatment plants at the tanks.

"After initially planning a centralised treatment facility, we did not find it feasible. Then we hit upon decentralised treatment wherein we will install small plants close to the tanks. After primary and secondary treatment, harmless sewage can be let into the tanks."

Mr. Ramakrishnan said barring the Narasampathy Tank, the rest were polluted by sewage. The sewage flow into the Singanallur Tank was alarming and treatment was necessary to ensure that contaminated water did not percolate to the groundwater table.

Pilot project in Jan.

"Some concrete moves will be made in January. We are planning a pilot project around that time. The treatment method will be decided on the level of contamination and volume of sewage," he said.

While this gives hopes of a solution, civic officials are wringing their hands in despair as they are unable to stop discharge of sewage into the Sanganur Canal - the main source to the Singanallur Tank.

The canal traverses 40 km from Kuridimalai to the tank. The discharge of sewage begins midway, thus pointing out the absence of underground sewers in the extended areas of the Corporation.

Water hyacinth menace

When the problem of water hyacinth cropped up often to disrupt boating in the tank, civic officials pointed out that it could be eliminated only if the sewage discharge was stopped. But, they also attributed the discharge to absence of sewerage facility.

Officials of the Indian Navy, who designed the boating facility, had also warned the Corporation that hyacinth would persist if sewage discharge continued.

The other tank into which a large volume of sewage is discharged is Valankulam. All the greens cultivated on the tank bed till a year ago had been irrigated with sewage. Though the district administration ordered a ban on such cultivation after finding that the greens grown on this tank contained coliform bacteria, there is still concern over the impact on groundwater.

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