Public Health, Pollution and Water Resources Erode, Cauvery River Basin INTRODUCTION Water is the elixir of life. An adequate supply of safe drinking water is essential for all human beings. However, unsafe water sources continue to be one of the top risks associated with number of illnesses and deaths in India, especially amongst women. Children are also prone to water related diseases and deaths of children under the age of 5 because of these diseases could be avoided just by ensuring safe drinking water and sanitation (WHO). The World Bank estimates the impact of water pollution on human health to cost the world economy around $3.9 billion every year (Wu et al., 1999). Consumption of polluted water is dangerous to human health and causes diseases such as cancer, cardio-vascular and kidney disorders, neurological problems in addition to many water borne diseases, besides adverse reproductive outcomes. Rapid industrialisation, overpopulation, unplanned urbanization and economic growth coupled with critical deficits in the basic water supply and treatment systems have resulted in widespread pollution in the urban agglomerations in the developing countries (Wu et al. 1999). Water contaminated with industrial effluents, agricultural wastes, urban sewage finds its way into surface water bodies and ground water aquifers, thereby poisoning these drinking water sources and rendering them unsafe for human consumption. With the growing population, improved standards of living and increased urbanisation there is a need for newer approaches to urban water management. The traditional linear approach of “take, make and waste” is increasingly proving to be unsustainable, leading to water stress (insufficient supplies), unsustainable resource consumption (water, energy and chemicals), pollution of water land and air and financially unviable utilities. In today’s context river pollution cannot be tackled without addressing the question of governance and the highly unequal living conditions in our cities, it is difficult to address the issue of pollution. NWM-TISS WATER PROJECT This action-research looks into the effects of contamination of water on the public health of people in an urban agglomeration in and around the Erode city. It also endeavours into how the polluted water sources, coupled with the critical issues in water management which makes this public health issue even more acute. The initiative is part of the NWM-TISS Water Project, which is intended to engage with the Multiple-Stakeholders. The intension of the work is to raise awareness and to aid the decision makers and communities to develop a water quality management plan for their own good health and well-being. CONTEXT- ERODE Urbanisation and Water Resources in Erode City is of critical importance as it is the headquarters of the Erode district in Tamil Nadu, which is situated on the banks of river Cauvery. The city depends largely on the river for its water supply, which is supplemented by the ground water sources for its domestic, agricultural and industrial water uses. Over the past few decades, Erode has been transformed from being largely an agricultural area to a major hub of small and medium industrial units with a number of textile and tannery units having mushroomed in the city. With a population of over 1.5 lakhs, Erode city is the seventh largest urban agglomeration in Tamil Nadu. The Corporation expects a population increase in Erode and the population is expected to increase by 9.05 lakhs in 2045. This is as per the City Development Plan for Erode. Projected Population Increase in the city: Year Projected Population 2015 535, 000 2030 700, 000 2045 905, 000 The Erode Municipal Corporation has close to 85% of households having treated water through taps as the main source of drinking water. Rest have their drinking water from NWM-TISS WATER PROJECT various untreated sources, dugwells, borewells etc (Census, 2011). As Erode urbanised and industrialized, there has been a growing concern over the industrial effluents and urban sewage being dumped into the Cauvery as well as the odais1 that flow through the city and drain into the river. KEY ECONOMIC BASE OF ERODE CITY Erode district is 6th in Tamil Nadu when it comes to per capita income. Erode district is largely service based with a number of agro based and manufacturing sector units. The city is known nationally and internationally for the production and trading of textile products and turmeric. The major sectors which contribute to the economic development of Erode are: Textiles: Erode is known as Loom-city or Tex Valley of India due to the handloom, powerloom textile products as well as the readymade garments. There are a lot of spinning mills that are situated in and around the Erode city. Other Industrial activities: Erode city also has a number of tanneries. Erode stands second in the leather processing in Tamil Nadu, after Ambur. Erode also is one of the largest coconut oil producers in south India. There are a lot of dal mills, vanaspati manufacturing, wax and screen printing, sizing, warping and printing press located in Erode city. Agriculture: Erode has a developed agro processing and animal husbandary base to foster the agricultural activities in the area. The Cauvery, Bhavani, Amravathy, Noyyal, Uppar and the Parambikulam – Aliyar rivers and their canals irrigate the land. Turmeric, coconut, paddy are the major crops. Oil mills and dairy products are also major role in generating income in the district. 1 Canals. A popular belief is that the root of the word “Erode” is supposed to be “Eru Odai” meaning two canals – Perumpallam and Kalingarayan canals. NWM-TISS WATER PROJECT KEY STAKEHOLDERS/ INSTITUTIONS IN WATER DELIVERY When looking into the governance setup in Erode with respect to water provisioning and delivery, there have been different aspects of water provisioning, sewerage, allocation, monitoring and regulation of quality and depletion. The table below provides the different agencies and actors involved in the sector and a brief description of the roles and responsibilities in Erode Municipal Corporation. Objective Sector/Source Service Provider Self-supply, TWAD and Municipal Corporation under Directorate of Municipal Quantity Domestic Administration (Supply) Industry TWAD (for drinking water), self supply Agriculture Sewage Domestic Municipal Corporation disposal Industry Municipal Corporation TNPCB, CGWB, TWAD, Water Quality Groundwater PwD – Groundwater Surface Water TWAD, TNPCB, WRO Water Groundwater CGWB, TWAD Sustainabilit y Surface Water CWC, WRO Water Micro scale Municipal Corporation, TWAD Allocation Macro scale CWDT, State Government, WRO, CWC WATER SUPPLY: SERVICE LEVELS VS BENCHMARKS Erode became a Municipality in the year 1871 and later in the year 1980 was made into a Municipal Corporation by merging four municipalities, two town panchayats and five village panchayats. In 2011 the Corporation area was increased substatially from 8.44 sq.km to 109.52 sq.km. Administratively, the Municipal Corporation is divided into 4 zones and 60 wards. NWM-TISS WATER PROJECT No: of Category Names of ULBs ULBs Kasipalayam, Surampatti, Municipalities 4 VeerappanChathiram, PeriyaSemur Town Panchayats 2 B.P.Agraharam and Suriyampalayam Thindal, Gangapuram, Ellapalayam, Village Panchayats 5 Villarasampatti, Muthampalayam The total population of the Erode Corporation was 4.98 lakhs during the Census 2011. During 2001-2011, there has been a population growth of 22.9%, though the erstwhile Erode Municipal Corporation area has grown only by 4.3%. Though the density of the city was 186 people per hectare (pph) previously, with the expansion of the city, it has reduced to 45 pph. Population density Area Population Decadal (persons per Sl Areas within the Growth hectare) No Corporation (%) (sq km) 2001 2011 2001 2011 1 Erstwhile Erode city 8.44 1,50,541 1,56,953 4.30% 178 186 2 Periyasemur 9.13 32,024 55,281 72.60% 35 61 3 Kasipalayam 25.64 52,500 73,375 39.80% 20 29 4 VeerappanChathram 7.36 72,703 84,437 16.10% 99 115 5 Surampatti 3.17 31,948 41,897 31.10% 101 132 6 Suriyampalayam 17.71 21,893 28,554 30.40% 12 16 7 B.P. Agraharam 10.81 21,458 24,615 14.70% 20 23 8 Thindal 5.89 10,084 15,433 53.00% 17 26 9 Villarasampatty 7.86 4,560 7,439 63.10% 6 9 10 Gangapuram 7.17 4,337 5,840 34.70% 6 8 11 Ellapalayam 3.2 1,921 2,503 30.30% 6 8 12 Muthampalayam 3.14 1,477 1,794 21.50% 5 6 ECMC 109.52 4,05,446 498, 121 22.90% 37 45 OVERALL WATER SUPPLY, SOURCING AND TREATMENT The existing source of water supply for the Erode City Municipal Corporation (ECMC) is from River Cauvery. At present 54.09 MLD of water is drawn from the river and is supplied at an average rate of 108 LPCD. There is a transmission and distribution loss of 13 MLD (3 MLD is transmission loss and 10 MLD is distribution loss) and 34 MLD reaches the public. NWM-TISS WATER PROJECT WATER SERVICE LEVLES Service Levels Unit Norms Existing Per Capita Supply LPCD 135 64 Coverage % 100% 38.62% Duration Hours/day 24 hours No Daily Supply Non Revenue Water % 15% 28% Metering % of total 100% 20% Quality % 100% 62% Complaints redress % of total 80% 100% Cost recovery % 80% 70% Collection Efficiency % 90% 75% MoUD,2015 There is independent water supply distribution for the added areas of ECMC (except for Muthamapalayam). Muthamapalayam has local bore wells as the source. The total water storage capacity of the city is 25.36 MLD (23.4 MLD in elevated service reservoirs and 1.96 MLD is ground level sumps). 4.28 MLD of storage capacity is unusable due to the design restrictions/bad condition. 31MLD is supplied through these elevated reservoirs and 3MLD through direct pumping in added areas.