Save Chembarambakkam reservoir before it dies, warn activists

C Shivakumar
Chennai:

Environmental experts have expressed concern over the threat to
Chembarambakkam lake, which is a drinking water source to the city,
due to rapid industrialisation and has urged the government to take
immediate measures to stop toxic effluents polluting the lake.



Noted environmentalist Nityanand Jayaram has said that the government
should not set up highly polluting industries on the critical
watershed area as it will be very difficult to contain the
contamination from such industries.



Talking about the findings published in the Journal of Chemical and
Pharmaceutical Research, Jayaram said that the industries in the
region had already been ticked earlier in May 8, 2002 by Tamil Nadu
Pollution Control Board over the level of lead and phosphates in the
effluents discharged from the plant.



He said the possibility of lead and cadmium in Chembarambakkam lake
could be due to the presence of heavy metal industries as well as the
paint shops.



R Ilango, who has started a movement to save the Chembarambakkam lake,
blames the huge industrial park, set nearly one kilometer away from
the reservoir, for polluting lake. “It has multiple types of
industries. No where in the world would one set up a industrial park
near a reservoir,” he reasons.



The state has to act now or in the next five to 10 years the city
would lose its drinking water reservoir as it will be too polluted and
beyond repair, Ilango said.



Jayaram said that the high levels of cadmium and lead as listed in the
study do pose a threat to the health. He said another cause of the
concern is whether the water is used for irrigation. “Lead can get
into plants and could pose a threat to health,” he said.



He said the findings of heavy metals in the water would add to the
cost of treatment of water by Chennai Metro water. Now the challenge
would be to treat the sediment and clean up the lake, said Jayaram.



Kannan, managing director of Klaro India, said that to ensure the
water in the lake is free from pollutants, the government should
identify the source. “Once it is identified than, the cost of cleaning
up the water body would be reduced,” he said.



Dean of Stanley Medical College Karkuzhali said that consumption of
lead could result in anaemia and other related neuoron diseases. Dr
Baraneedharan of Global Hospital said that the consumption of water
containing cadmium could affect the kidney. Similarly, consuming water
contaminated by lead could affect the children whose bones are under
development. It could also affect the bones in adults.