Impact of industrial wastewater disposal on surface water bodies in Kalingarayan canal, Erode district, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

The Kalingarayan canal is crossing the major textile town Erode which is abundantly occupied by textile units. Major streams carrying the untreated / semi treated industrial effluents are mixed into the canal. However, the gradual introduction of a large number of new chemical compounds and the technologies has resulted in a much higher number of contaminants today. The original situation, which local intense pollution from a limited number of well-defined sources has been transferred into a situation with widespread contamination by a large variety of compounds from a multitude of sources. Continuous disposal of industrial effluents on the canal, limited assimilate capacity of the canal and also leads to groundwater pollution. Kalingarayan canal has helped to cultivate more than 6000 hectares. For the past few years, Kalingarayan farmers and cattle are experiencing various problems. The area of cultivation is reduced to 3000 hectares because of the contamination in the canal by the different polluting industries like tanneries, textiles and dyeing units located in Erode and Tirupur areas. Hence yield on their lands has decreased to a certain extent. Thus, this study gives a clear picture of pollution sources, types of effluents added in the canal. The scope of the present study is to assess the impact on the surface water of the Kalingarayan canal, a comprehensive experimental study to identify the pollutant levels in the surface water of the Kalingarayan canal and to suggest a suitable remedial measure to handle this problem.