Mission on to arrest Noyyal water pollution

Time of India

11-07-2025

Coimbatore: There was a time when the Noyyal river replenished the city's groundwater table. Today, the river is reduced to a sewage channel for most part of the year, but for the days when heavy rain lashes its catchment areas, filling the river with fresh water.
The river becomes extremely polluted when it enters the city corporation limits, with sewage water entering the water body at various points along its 18.5km route in the city.
To address the issue, the city corporation is planning to set up pumping stations along the river's tributaries in the city. The plan is to pump water to the sewage treatment plants to prevent direct entry of sewage into the river. Once treated, pumped water would be released back into the Noyyal.
Earlier, the corporation was planning to set up seven sewage treatment plants along the river's pathway in the city. This plan has been shunned. Now, the proposal is to set up just one sewage treatment plant near Nanjundapuram with a capacity to treat seven million litres of sewage water per day. The corporation has sought Rs100 crore from the govt for the purpose. It has sought another Rs110 crore from the govt for riverfront development.
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According to a senior corporation officer, the plan to set up seven sewage treatment plants along the river pathway was shunned because of the land scarcity. "The project required substantial land, which is scarce in the city limits. The city currently has four sewage treatment plants. Water in the Noyyal's tributaries will be diverted to these treatment plants and the proposed one, as and when it is ready. By way of interception and diversion of drains, we will address the water pollution issue.
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Corporation commissioner M Sivaguru Prabakaran said they were planning pumping stations in areas from where sewage water was being let into the Noyyal. "One of the pumping stations will come up at Puttuvikki and sewage water from there will be diverted to the treatment plant at Ukkadam. The additional fund will be used for landscape development along the river."
A local environmentalist said the Tirupur district had earlier unveiled a similar approach.
"Both the terrains are different. For the city corporation, managing with a single sewage treatment plant and diverting sewage from the pumping stations will be labour-intensive. However, interception by nearby sewage treatment plants will be more practical."
J Sathish, trustee, Siruthuli, an NGO actively working on Noyyal restoration, recommended planting of more trees along the river bank to prevent further encroachments. "Given the possibility of flooding during cloudbursts, maintaining the river's original form is crucial to prevent inundation."