The Kerala State Pollution Control Board has included the plan in its final draft report on developing a process package for treating domestic sewage discharged into the canals.
| Photo Credit: H.Vibhu
The National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) has proposed a management plan focussing on specific measures to end the discharge of untreated sewage into four canals including Edappally and Thevara-Perandoor canals in Ernakulam.
The plan has been included in the final draft report on developing a process package for the treatment of domestic sewage discharged into the canals submitted by the Kerala State Pollution Control Board before the National Green Tribunal. The Southern Bench of the tribunal had taken suo motu notice of the indiscriminate discharge of untreated sewage into the waterbodies. Besides Edappally and Thevara-Perandoor canals, the study was conducted in Patolithot and Valiyat canals in Kollam.
The report recommended implementation of steps to ensure the progressive reduction of discharges of sewage and solid waste disposal into the canals. It suggested measures to prevent further deterioration of the waterbodies by improving the water quality. The other strategies proposed include integration of urban growth with the existing canal system in order to create a sustainable and holistic development of the adjoining areas and fencing on both sides of the canals.
The report recommended that the existing sewer system facilities must be improved to reduce the risk of sewage discharge into the canals. It is imperative that a comprehensive sewerage network plan, including augmentation of existing sewerage systems, be delineated so that all discharges in the catchment area can be trapped and conveyed to the proposed and the existing sewage treatment facilities.
Encroachment on canal banks narrows the canal, intensifies water pollution and causes the breakdown of the whole ecosystem of the surrounding areas. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor the canal shoreline regularly. The disposal of garbage and solid waste into the canals, as observed during monitoring, leads to significant depletion of dissolved oxygen and affects the biotic community. Such waste disposal into canals and the drain discharges should be restricted. This waste must be scientifically treated and disposed of in a municipal landfill, it said.
Published – December 06, 2025 09:14 pm IST
