The Cooum River
Sources: Getty Images
Written by Aadhi Narayanan
The Cooum is one of the shortest classified rivers in India that drain into the Bay of Bengal. The Cooum River or The Koovam river originates in Koovam in Tiruvallur District. From there, the river flows through many villages and reaches Satharai. The river then flows onto Putlur where the people still use the river waters for daily activities. And then, the river goes on to run through Avadi onto Chennai where it is stagnated and highly polluted.
The Cooum which was once the main source of water for the city of Chennai is now one of the most polluted water bodies in the city. At present, the river faces several problems like excessive use of water for irrigation upstream, inadequate sewage collection, industrial pollution, encroachments along the banks, and closure of the river mouth due to littoral drift.
Source: D Sampathkumar
Due to intensive use of upstream water for agriculture, formation of sandbars at the mouth of the river, pumping of groundwater and the frequent discharge of untreated sewage and industrial wastes have led to its filthy and highly polluted state. The Cooum is a narrow and meandering river. Its sand bar formations have become its most vital problem. The sand blockages do not allow the river to drain into the sea hence it gets turned into a stagnated pool of dirty water. Studies conducted in 2015 showed that the Cooum is 80% more polluted than treated sewage water. In experiments conducted, fishes were not able to survive for more than 5 hours when they were put in diluted water from the Cooum.
The water has almost no dissolved oxygen because of heavy sediments of sludge and untreated sewage. Apart from this, it also has traces of heavy metals such as Copper and dangerous pesticides such as Endosulfan and Lindan. Nearly 17 Million untreated sewage water is being fed into the Cooum every day. More than 7 tonnes of MSW is being dumped into the Cooum every day.
Is it possible to purify the Cooum river in Chennai and bring it back as it was in the 1940s? - Yes. It is highly possible, With strong political motivation and people's support.
Cleaning Cooum is not a one-day, one-month, or even one-year work. It is in fact, not a time-bound activity, and is a permanent process. Cleaning it today will make it dirty again tomorrow, so what we need is a long-term solution.
Some solutions are:
People should stop throwing garbage into the river, especially plastics and non -renewable waste.
Illegal encroachments should be cleared.
The banks of this river should be strengthened.
Planting trees along the banks of rivers.
Stop industrial pollution happening on its way.
Sources:
Correspondent, Special. “Cooum's First Sewage Treatment Plant to Open in 2 Months.” The Hindu, The Hindu, 27 June 2021, www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/cooums-first-sewage-treatment-plant-to-open-in-2-months/article35008099.ece.
Hindu, The. “Latest Cooum River News, Photos, Latest News Headlines about Cooum River.” The Hindu, The Hindu, 27 June 2021, www.thehindu.com/topic/Cooum_River/.
IndianXpress, New. “Clean-up Drive to Cause More Pollution in Cooum River?” The New Indian Express, The New Indian Express, 8 July 2021, www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2021/jul/08/clean-up-drive-to-cause-more-pollution-in-cooum-river-2327046.html.
A Ragu Raman / TNN / May 19, 2021. “Polluted Flows the Cooum, Still: Chennai News - Times of India.” The Times of India, TOI, m.timesofindia.com/city/chennai/polluted-flows-the-cooum-still/amp_articleshow/82759481.cms.