It is not just the urban stretch of Cooum river that gets polluted. The portion of the river near Poonamallee, before it enters the city, is also vulnerable to contamination by sewage.
To prevent such pollution, Poonamallee municipality is preparing an action plan based on the guidelines provided for managing sewage collected in septic tanks (septage).
Since only 35 per cent of the State’s urban population is covered by the underground sewerage system, it becomes all the more important to have guidelines to manage septage.
A government order specifying guidelines for this was passed last year.
As several local bodies around Chennai city, including Poonamallee and Thiruverkadu, do not have proper drainage network, disposal of sewage from septic tanks into waterbodies and rivers is common, like in the rest of Tamil Nadu, say experts.
R. Bhaskar, a resident of Senneerkuppam, says, “Tankers find it easy to offload sewage along the river that is already polluted with garbage. We continue to have good groundwater resource because of the river but the government must take steps to prevent pollution.”
In order to curb the practice of illegal discharge of sewage into stormwater drains and waterbodies, the municipal administration and water supply department has framed guidelines to regulate cleaning of septic tanks, and transport and safe disposal of septage.
Following the directive, the Poonamallee municipality has started a drive to fine sewage tankers found dumping sewage along the Cooum and in vacant plots.
“In four days, we have collected a fine of Rs. 25,000 from lorry operators,” says an official.
To deal with the problem, the local body plans to monitor the 40 private lorries through geographic information system (GIS) and also arrange for transportation of sullage to Metrowater’s sewage treatment plant in Koyambedu.
A survey of septic tank facilities in 15,000 households has also been initiated to collate data on the amount of sewage generated.
