Sewage enters Muttukadu backwaters
CHENNAI: With the city receiving heavy downpour, the Muttukadu backwaters south of Chennai has turned black with the sudden influx of raw sewage from upstream areas. TNIE, on Sunday, visited the Kovalam estuary where Muttukadu backwaters drains into the sea. The wide bar mouth of the estuary was found pushing large volume of raw sewage into the sea, posing a serious environmental hazard. The thick black sewage stood out from the brown floodwater in the backwaters.
An official from Central Institute of Brackish-water Aquaculture, which is operating an experimental station at Muttukadu, said, “Till Sunday morning there was no sewage mixing near the estuary. Maybe in the noon, areas upstream must have opened illegal sewage outlets into the channel.”
This has been a perennial problem as localities, including high-rise buildings along OMR and ECR don’t have underground drains and have to depend on sewage tankers, which many a time discharge raw sewage illegally in to Buckingham Canal that carries it into Muttukadu backwaters. In many areas, people release effluent through illegal outlets, especially during monsoon.
TNIE had reported about this illegality several times in the past. The Southern Bench of National Green Tribunal had taken suo motu cognisance of the issue and formed a joint committee to investigate the matter. The committee recommended a penalty of Rs 48 lakh on three village panchayats -- Muttukadu, Navalur and Padur -- in Chengalpattu for failing to check the pollution.
An analysis of water samples collected from the backwaters had revealed that Biological Oxygen Demand in them did not meet any water-quality standard prescribed by the Central Pollution Control Board. The presence of coliform bacteria also indicated that the pollution was primarily due to discharge of untreated sewage.
Besides being an environment hazard, it has an impact on human health. Sewage was seen flowing directly through the Muttukadu boat house — where the state’s first floating restaurant was set-up — and draining into the sea through Kovalam estuary affecting water at the Kovalam Blue Flag beach, a favourite bathing spot for tourists.
A life guard at blue flag beach said round the year, raw sewage flows through the backwaters but problem magnifies during monsoon. When the pollution load increases, a lot of fish die and fishermen incur heavy losses.