The long pending demand of the residents and nature-lovers of Coimbatore to stop the mixing of sewage water in to the lakes of Coimbatore has finally been answered with the Coimbatore Municipal Corporation all set to install sewage treatment plants at every lake within the city corporation limits.

Coimbatore city has 8 wetlands including Ukkadam Big Tank, Valankulam, and Singanallur Lake. While the lakes attract a variety of wetland birds and prove a major source for ground water recharge, one of the factors threatening the ecology of the lakes has been the mixing of sewages.

Even as some lakes were completely desilted and encroachments cleared from the bunds, the mixing of sewage water continues to disturb the pristine life in the water ecosystem. As a result, birds that prefer cleaner waters have now started living in dirty lakes. Concerned, nature lovers of Coimbatore continued to put pressure on the corporation to stop the sewage mixing. But, nothing materialized. The issue was also raised in the recent council meeting at the Coimbatore Corporation on Monday.

Finally, the civic body has decided to set up sewage treatment plants at each lake in the city. A higher official from the Coimbatore Corporation said that lakes have been given importance in the smart city plan that the civic body will soon submit to the central government.

Lauding the proposal, environmentalist K. Mohan Raj, of Save Coimbatore Wetlands movement, said that if worked out, the plan will pave way to the growth of natural vegetation in the water bodies. “The mixing of sewage water has largely encouraged the growth of water hyacinth, which loves dirty water. If the water in a tank is clean, then there would only be native vegetation in the plant,” he said.

He further added that this will also provide enough food to the fish and smaller insects, which are a major source of food for the birds. “Mosquito breeding can also be brought down if the waters are clean,” he told the Covai Post.