Vellayani Lake Water Report

A case study of Vellayani Lake 1
A case study of Vellayani Lake ( Vellayani Kayal)
Drinking water supply system
Background
Vellayani lake or ‘Vellayani kayal’ as known in local language is one of the three rain-
fed freshwater lakes in Kerala. It is the largest fresh water lake in Thiruvananthapuram district of
the state. This very vast picturesque lake surrounded by lush greenery is located about 9 kms
away from the Thiruvananthapuram city and about 7 km away from Kovalam.. Vellayani lake is
a rich repository of flora and fauna, and the biodiversity supports the livelihood of people around
the lake. About hundred species of wetland birds frequent the lake, including migratory ones.
The Vellayani fresh water lake is the major source of drinking water for the people of Kalliyoor,
Thiruvallam, Venganoor, and Vizhinjam grama panchayats. The lake water is extensively used
for drinking and irrigational purposes. The lake is under the threat of pollution, sand mining
encroachment and land reclamation. It has been observed that the area of the lake, which was
750 ha in 1926, had been reduced to 397.5 ha by 2005. Ironically, the five panchayats
surrounding the lake- Thiruvallam, Kalliyoor, Venganoor, Nemom and Kovalam- go dry during
summer forcing the Government to spend a huge sum to reach water in mobile tankers. Vellayani
lake presents a unique ecosystem and a multipronged strategy is required to preserve this lake’s
unique ecology while at the same time ensuring adequate drinking water for the villages
dependent on lake water.
Vellayani Drinking water supply scheme
A case study was undertaken as part of the Ag.Econ 513 course to know about the
salient features of the existing Vellayani Kayal drinking water supply scheme of the Kerala
Water Authority. Various offices/ units under the Kerala Water Authority were visited to collect
details of the water quality parameters of the drinking water supplied under the scheme, rates
water charges realized by consumers, working of the water treatment and purification units and
other particulars.
T Paul Lazarus, Asst. Professor (SS), Dept. of Agril. Economics, College of Agriculture, KAU, Vellayani –
695 522, Thiruvananthapuram
The following units of the Kerala Water Authority were visited and discussions held with
the officers in charge as part of the study
WATER CHARGES OF KERALA WATER AUTHORITY

Consumption Rate
A. DOMESTIC
Upto 10 KL Rs 20.00
10-30 KL Rs 20.00 + Rs 5.00 for each additional unit
30-50 KL Rs 80.00 +Rs 5.00 for each additional unit
Above 50 KL Rs 180.00 +Rs 7.35.00 for each additional unit

B. NON-
DOMESTIC
Upto 50 KL Rs 7.35.00 per unit with a minimum of Rs 100.00
10-30 KL Rs 20.00 + Rs 5.00 for each additional unit
Above 50 KL Rs 368.00 +Rs 10.60 for each additional unit

C.
INDUSTRIAL
ALL Rs 10.60 for each unit with a minimum of Rs 200.00
Sources:
1. Office of the Executive Engineer, KWA, Regional Laboratory, Vellayambalam,
Thiruvananthapuram
2. Office of the Assistant Engineer, KWA, Thiruvallam, Thiruvananthapuram
3. The Water Treatment Plant, Vandithadam, Thiruvananthapuram
Visit to the office of the Executive Engineer, KWA, Regional Laboratory, Vellayambalam,
Thiruvananthapuram
Visited the office of the Executive Engineer, Quality Control Sub Division, KWA,
Regional Laboratory, Vellayambalam, Thiruvananthapuram on 10-5-2012 and discussed with
Smt. Zeenath Beegum, Executive engineer and Smt. Asha Latha , Assistant Executive Engineer
about the water quality parameters of the water supplied under the KTM ( Kalliyoor-
Thiruvallm- Muttacaud) scheme of the KWA. It is understood that water quality analysis is taken
up once in six months at the Regional laboratory. Three types of quality parameters of the water
are undertaken in the laboratory which are as follows:-
I. Physical quality parameters
i. Colour
ii. Turbidity
iii. Electrical conductivity
iv. Temperature
v. Hardness
II. Chemical quality parameters
i) pH
ii) Acidity
iii) Alkanity
iv) Sulphates
v) Total dissolved solids
vi) Calcium
vii) Magnesium
viii) Chlorine
ix) Fluorine
x) Iron
xi) Nitrate
xii) Residual Chlorine
III. Bacteriological quality parameters.
i) Coliform count
The Water quality data of the last five analyses made in the Regional laboratory are
furnished as annexure.
Visit to the office of the Assistant Engineer, KWA, Thiruvallam,
Visited the office of the Assistant Engineer, KWA, Thiruvallam Thiruvananthapuram on

11-5-2012 and discussed with Sri. Raghunathan Achary Assitant engineer and his subordinates
on the Vellayani Kayal Drinking water supply scheme. It was informed that KTM ( Kalliyoor-
Thiruvallm- Muttacaud) scheme is the most important water supply scheme implemented using
the Vellayani kayal water. It is informed that the number of total consumers under the KTM
scheme as on 11.05.2012 is 3149. The water under the scheme is supplied to consumers in
Muttacaud, Kovalam, Poonkulam, Kozhyoor,, Palappoor, Punchakkari, Vandithadam and other
areas . The Assistant Engineer informed that the average monthly consumption of drinking water
is about 40 kilolitres per household under the KTM scheme. According to the Assistant engineer,
the Vellayni kayal water is highly polluted due to the unhygienic practices practiced by the
people around the lake. The important factors causing pollution of the lake include washing of
cloths, bathing of animals, discharge of waste water from open drains near the bund road,
emptying of drains from nearby colonies, cleaning and washing of vehicles. He said that the
chemical contamination due to pesticides and fertilizers are not serious.
The rates of water charges for the different types of consumers by the KWA collected
from the office are furnished as annexure.
Visit to the Water Treatment Plant at Vandithadam

Visited the Water Treatment Plant at Vandithadam on 09-05-2012 to understand its
functioning. The plant was commissioned during 1993. The plant is operated in three shifts each
day. During each shift 10 kg Bleaching powder, 10 kg hydrated lime and 20 kg Alum is added
to the incoming raw water in small quantities in a distributed manner. Chlorination is undertaken
in two phases – prechlorination and post chlorination.
The following treatment processes are undertaken in the plant water purification
 Aeration
 coagulation
 flocculation
 sedimentation
 filtration
 disinfection
It will be ensured that the outgoing drinking water supplied to the consumers meet the
quality parameters prescribed by WHO/ICMR and other agencies.
Past studies on water quality assessesment of Vellyani lake water
The various physical and chemical parameters of Vellayani lake in comparison with the
limits prescribed by World Health Organisation( WHO), Indian Council of Medical Research
( ICMR), Central Public Health Environmental Engineering Office ( CPHEEO) and Bureau of
Indian Standards (BIS) are given in the table. It can be seen that the various physical and
chemical parameters of Vellayani lake water such as odour, Total dissolved solids, PH, nitrate,
sulphates, chlorides, hardness, Calcium, Magnesium fall within the prescribed limits of Indian
and international standards. The turbidity values are slightly higher the BIS limit for drinking
water. Thus the bacteriological and chemical examination of the water samples from Vellayani
Lake have revealed that while the level of minerals and salts in the water is within permissible
limits, the level of faecal coliform and other bacteria is on the higher side.
The samples of water were collected by the Group Endeavour for Environment and
Nature Sustenance (Greens), the Nature lovers' club in the Government Secretariat, from five
places on March 14 and tested in the laboratory of the Department of Ground Water. The
samples were taken from the reservoir, Palappuru, Kulangara opposite Agricultural College,
from the area between Kakkamoola-Poonkulam road and Vauvamoola-Muttakkad bund road,
and from the south of Vauvamoola-Muttakkad road.
Bacteriological test
The bacteriological examination revealed that the total coliform content was found to be
above the desirable and permissible level in the water samples. While the desirable and
permissible limit of pH is in the range of 6.5-8.5, it was 7.3 each in the sample from the reservoir
and Palappuru, 8 in Kulangara, 7.7 in Kakkamoola and 7.1 in Vauvamoola.
The desirable limit of total dissolved solids is 500 (ppm) mg/litre and permissible limit is
2000 (ppm) mg/litre. However, it was found to be 62.1 in the reservoir, 62 in Palappuru, 60 in
Kulangara, 58 in Kakkamoola and 59 in Vauvamoola.
The desirable limit of total hardness is 300 mg/litre and permissible limit is 600 mg/litre.
The tests showed that it was 63 in the reservoir, 75.6 in the Palappuru, 81.9 in Kulangara, 63 in
Kakkamoola and 81.9 in Vauvamoola. According to Greens, the waste dumped into the lake
from the locality have resulted in the alarming situation.
In 2008, students of the Mannam Memorial Residential Higher Secondary School,

Neeramankara, submitted a report on their study on conservation of Vellayani Lake to Water
Resources Minister. According to their project report, the analysis of water samples from the
lake, conducted at the Government Analyst’s Lab, indicated a high content of iron, ammonia and
E-coli bacteria.

Vellayani Lake Water Report

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Vellayani Lake Water Report

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Vellayani Lake Water Report

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

A case study of Vellayani Lake 1

A case study of Vellayani Lake ( Vellayani Kayal)

Drinking water supply system

Vellayani Drinking water supply scheme

WATER CHARGES OF KERALA WATER AUTHORITY

30-50 KL Rs 80.00 +Rs 5.00 for each additional unit

Above 50 KL Rs 180.00 +Rs 7.35.00 for each additional unit

Upto 50 KL Rs 7.35.00 per unit with a minimum of Rs 100.00

10-30 KL Rs 20.00 + Rs 5.00 for each additional unit

Above 50 KL Rs 368.00 +Rs 10.60 for each additional unit

Visit to the office of the Assistant Engineer, KWA, Thiruvallam,

Visited the office of the Assistant Engineer, KWA, Thiruvallam Thiruvananthapuram on

Visit to the Water Treatment Plant at Vandithadam

Past studies on water quality assessesment of Vellyani lake water

In 2008, students of the Mannam Memorial Residential Higher Secondary School,

You might also like