THE NOYYAL RIVER SPILLAGE

The Noyyal rises from the Vellingiri hills in the Western Ghats
and covers a total area of 0.35 million hectares.
Cultivated land in the basin amounts to 0.18 million.
The Noyyal flows through the districts of Coimbatore,Erode
and Karur and the urban centres of Coimbatore and Tiruppur,
in western Tamilnadu



CAUSE FOR POLLUTION
The pollution concentration in
Noyyal river was low till the river
reached Tiruppur but increased
considerably in Tiruppur area,due
to textile effluent discharge.
Noyyal was not sufficient for
diluting the pollutants and for
several months in a year the only
flow in the river was sewage and
industrial effluent.
Industrial effluents have already
compromised agriculture in this
basin by grossly polluting both
the groundwater and the river.
A BRIEF INSIGHT INTO THE TEXTILE CITY

Tirupur, 50kms from Coimbatore
district of Tamil Nadu has
emerged as a leading cotton
knitwear industrial cluster in
South India.
Buyers from around 35 countries
visit Tirupur frequently.
In brief, the economic prosperity
of Tiruppur depends highly on
this industry and most of the local
people are in one way or another
involved in the knitwear
business.






AFTERMATH AND IMPACT ANALYSIS OF THE
SPILLAGE
GROUNDWATER
Local groundwater has become brackish and considerably
harder over the past 10-15 years.
Open wells and bore wells in and around Tiruppur and the
downstream stretch of Noyyal exhibit high levels of TDS.
High concentration of heavy metals in ground water including
zinc, chromium, copper, and cadmium.







SURFACE WATER

pollution concentration in Noyyal River was low till the river
reached Tiruppur but increased considerably in Tiruppur area,
due to textile effluent discharge
Orathapalayam reservoir and system tanks had been badly
affected by industrial pollution.
River and reservoir were not fit for aquatic organisms including
fish.
the rainy season when there is some dilution, the surface water
became unfit for irrigation and could not obviously used for
drinking water or for livestock rearing.

ZONE WISE ANALYSIS

Zone I
Its the upper reach of the basin , which is free from
pollution since there is no industry and few human
settlements.
Zone II
Its the next stretch where Coimbatore city is located
Large quantities of sewage along with industrial
effluents are discharged into the river.
The river is relatively less polluted as it enters the
town of Tiruppur.







Zone III

where Tiruppur town is located is the most polluted
stretch of the river.
From Tiruppur large quantities of textile effluents are
discharged into the land and river.

Zone IV

Ranges from Orthapalayam to the confluence point
with the Cauvery.
The pollution impact in Zone IV is not serious when
compared to Zones II and III





GOVERNMENT ACTION
According to the Water Prevention and Control of Pollution, every
industry is required to get consent to discharge its effluents.
However, the same Act also empowers state governments to exempt
any region or area from the provisions of the Act.
special status was granted to Tirupur in order to promote its
textile units. The results of this grant has now cost us the
Noyyal.
The industry has opposed the 'polluter pays' principle on
the grounds that the foreign exchange they earn and the
employment their industry generates is enough to warrant a
high level of subsidies
Finallypressure from the civil society and judicial intervention
led the TNPCB to insist on effluent treatment facilities in
Tirupur