ISBN: 978-93-5174-749-9

Goldin Quadros
B Hemambika
A Julffia Begam
P A Azeez

Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON)

Anaikatty, Coimbatore - 641 108, Tamil Nadu
About ENVIS ( Environmental Information System)
Environmental information plays a vital role not only in formulating environmental
management policies but also in the decision making process aiming at environmental
protection and improvement of environment for sustaining good quality of life for the living
beings. Hence, management of environment is key component and thus plays an important
role in effecting a balance between the demands and resources available for keeping the
environmental quality at a satisfactory level. Realizing such need Ministry set up an
Environmental Information System (ENVIS) in 1983 as a plan programme as a
comprehensive network in environmental information collection, collation, storage, retrieval
and dissemination to varying users, which include decision-makers, researchers, academicians,
policy planners and research scientists, etc. ENVIS was conceived as a distributed information
network with the subject-specific centers to carry out the mandates and to provide the relevant
and timely information to all concerned.

The ENVIS Centre was established at the Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural
History (SACON) in the year 2004. The centre collects, collates, disseminates information on
various facets of Wetland Ecosystems including Inland wetlands.

The publication can be reproduced for educational and non commercial purpose without prior permission,
provided the source is fully acknowledged.

Citation: Goldin Quadros, Hemambika B, Julffia Begam A and Azeez P A (2014)

Lakes of Coimbatore City, ENVIS Publication. pp. 43.

First Edition 2014

E-ISBN:978-93-5174-750-5
PB ISBN: 978-93-5174-749-9

For further Information, contact:

E-mail: sacon-env@nic.in; staff.envis@gmail.com

Website: www.saconenvis.nic.in; www.sacon.in

Layout and design by: Julffia Begam A

Photo Credits:
Goldin Quadros
Hemambika B
Kirubhanadhini V
Mahendiran M
Malvika Puntembekar
Mohamed Samsoor Ali A
RajaMamannan M A
Rajan Pilakandy
Rajeshkumar N
Shanthakumar S B
Sharadha B
Suhirtha Muhil M
 Lakes of
Coimbatore City

Goldin Quadros, B Hemambika, A Julffia Begam, P A Azeez

Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON)

Anaikatty, Coimbatore - 641 108, Tamil Nadu
 Acknowledgements

This book "Lakes of Coimbatore City" is an outcome of the secondary research

conducted by SACON ENVIS center on 'Wetland ecosystems including Inland wetlands'.
We are grateful to the ENVIS Secretariat for the logistic and financial support in bringing
out this book. The encouragement by the Economic Advisor, ENVIS MoEF, Dr. Vandana
Aggarwal and the support by the ENVIS secretariat team namely Dr. G S Rawat, Dr. Susan
George, Mr. Kumar Rajnish, Mr. Ravi Goswami and Mr. Irfan Ahmed is acknowledged
with gratitude.

While working on this book we have been constantly encouraged by all the scientific and
support staff and students from SACON, their regular probing kept us motivated.
Moreover, the scientific staff of SACON since 1995 has been periodically conducting
studies on the wetlands of Coimbatore, including short term studies on several aspects of
Coimbatore wetlands while guiding students from different institutions for their M.Sc and
M.Phil degree. We specially thank Dr. S K Mathew, Dr. S Muralidharan, Dr. P R Arun and
Dr. P Pramod who willingly shared information and reports. Dr. M Mahendiran has always
obliged in helping identify birds during the field visits and even provided us with good
photographs for the book. Dr. S Babu has never hesitated in helping out be it preparing the
map of Coimbatore wetlands or correcting the bird list. SACON library assistant Mr. M
Manoharan made easy the task of data collection by providing us the project reports and
newspaper clippings on Coimbatore wetlands. Here we also express our appreciation to
Mr. Kiran Mali (Research associate, FSI Mumbai) and Mr. Alok Chorghe (SRF, BSI
Hyderabad) for their timely help in correcting the fish names and the plant names
respectively. While collecting data we were helped by the librarian and staff of Bharathiar
University, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University and Kongunadu Arts and Science College
whereby we could collate data from some of the unpublished thesis and literature.

There are several NGOs like Siruthuli, Osai, Save Coimbatore wetlands, and others in
Coimbatore who have been untiringly working for the conservation of wetlands, we
acknowledge their effort that has generated much data which facilitated in writing this
book.

We may have missed out in mentioning some names, it is inadvertent; we sincerely thank
each and every one for helping us publish this book, generate awareness about the
Coimbatore wetlands and reach out to the masses.
Goldin Quadros
B Hemambika
A Julffia Begam
P A Azeez
 Contents
Acknowledgements ---------------- i
Acronyms ---------------- iv
Introduction ---------------- 1
Overview of India’s Wetlands ---------------- 2
Tamil Nadu Wetlands ---------------- 4
Coimbatore Wetlands ---------------- 6
Water Quality ---------------- 9
Sediment Quality ---------------- 11
Pollutants ---------------- 11
Flora ---------------- 13
Plankton Community ---------------- 14
Benthic Fauna ---------------- 15
Fish Fauna ---------------- 15
Amphibians and Reptiles ---------------- 16
Insect Fauna ---------------- 16
Birds ---------------- 17
Mammals ---------------- 18
Socio Economic Studies ---------------- 18
Conservation Awareness and Media ---------------- 19
Our Recent survey on Flora and Birds ---------------- 22
Status of the Lakes based on Wetland Rules ---------------- 23
Conclusion and Recommendations ---------------- 24
References ---------------- 25
Annexure ---------------- 29
 Acronyms

BHC Benzene Hexa Chloride

BOD Biological Oxygen Demand
CO2 Carbon dioxide
CCCDP Coimbatore Corporation City Development Plan
CDP Comprehensive Development Plan
COD Chemical Oxygen Demand
DDT Dichloro Diphenyl Trichloro ethane
DO Dissolved Oxygen
EE Environmental Education
EMRs Electromagnetic Radiations
IRS Indian Remote Sensing satellite
IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature
Km Kilometer
KP Krishnampathy
KU Kumaraswamy
MoEF Ministry of Environment and Forests
NGO Non Government Organization
NP Narasampathy
NWCP National Wetland Conservation Programme
O2 Oxygen
PAHs Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
PWD Public Works Department
SAC Space Application Centre
Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural
SACON
History
SC Selvachintamani
SN Singanallur
SP Selvampathy
TEEB The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity
TDS Total Dissolved solids
TMC Thousand Million Cubic
TNAU Tamil Nadu Agricultural University
UD Ukkadam
UN United Nations
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
UNESCO
Organization
USEPA United States Environmental Protection Agency
VK Valankulam
WHO World Health Organisation
WWF World Wildlife Fund
Introduction
The association of man and wetlands is ancient, with the earliest of civilizations originating in
close vicinity of wetland habitats, the flood plains of the Indus, the Nile and the Fertile
Crescent of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Wetlands, providing crucial ecosystem services
that benefit humankind, are also known as the kidneys of a landscape. Wetlands, the most
productive of ecosystems, are also the most threatened. The continuous indiscriminate, overt
or otherwise, abuse of the wetland resources has lead to extinction of several valuable
ecosystem services, species, as well as pollution of various kinds.

A wetland is defined as the “land transitional between terrestrial and aquatic systems where the water table
is usually at or near the surface or the land is covered by shallow water” (Bergstrom and Stoll, 1990).
Scientific literature, however, presents many definitions of wetlands differing in the finer
details. Similar is the case with the systems for their classification. Of these, the widely
recognised is those by the Ramsar Convention that adopts an extremely broad approach in
defining “wetlands”, in fact reflecting the diversity in the characters and features of these
complex ecosystems. According to the convention, wetlands are defined as “areas of marsh, fen,
peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing,
fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six
meters”.

Wetlands provide a variety of services to the society, such as water storage, buffering stream
and river discharge, groundwater recharge, sediment retention, water purification,
microclimate regulation, recreation and ecotourism, organic carbon storage, timber
production, and provision of non-timber products, medicinal plants, fish, agricultural
products, drinking water for humans and livestock, and pasture land for animal husbandry.
Furthermore, they contribute to cultural safeguarding by providing for the needs for
traditional communities (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005).

Wetlands contribute significantly to the biodiversity (Gopal et

al. 2000) and being among the most productive life-support
systems, they have immense social, economic and ecological
importance to humankind. The work by Costanza et al.
(1997) suggests that fifteen percent of the value of the
world's ecosystem services and natural capital is generated by
wetlands. The mean global value of these services was
initially estimated by Costanza et al. (1997), while more recent
estimates are based on efforts of an international initiative on
'The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity' (TEEB
2013)and again by Costanza et al. (2014). Both these show
estimates for wetlands higher than for most other
ecosystems, although, economic valuations for specific
wetlands may vary widely. These ecosystems, accounting for
about six per cent of the global land area, are among the most
threatened of all the environmental resources (Barbier et al.
1997). When properly measured, the total economic value of
a wetland's ecological functions, its services and its resources
may exceed the economic gains of converting the area to
alternative uses. However, appreciation of the ecological
values and services still remains rather qualitative than

1
quantitative, relatively under-monetised for various scientific and methodological reasons, and
the market forces are yet to realise these values; hence, conversion of wetlands into other uses
still proceeds in fast pace all over the world.

Wetlands are increasingly becoming the most

threatened ecosystems worldwide despite global
It is estimated that India has lost 38% of its
interest and several international treaties that advocate
wetlands in just a decade during the 1990's. In
and recommend their regular inventory and efforts
some districts, the loss of wetlands has been as
aimed at their protection (Millennium Ecosystem
high as 88%; Vijayan et al. 2006
Assessment 2005; Darwall et al. 2008; SCBD 2010).
The UN during its General Assembly in December
2003 announced the decade 2005-2015 as international decade of “Water for Life”. The rapid
disappearance of wetlands in India, makes their inventory and classification as one of the key
components in wetland protection. The value of wetlands and their plight has been in
discussion in India for the last several years. End of 2010 saw Wetlands (Conservation and
Management) Rules, 2010, being notified and coming into force; the first legislation
specifically for protecting wetlands in India.

Overview of India's Wetlands

India, situated between 8º 4' and 37º 6' North Latitudes and 68º 7' and 97º 25' East Longitudes,
is the seventh largest country in the world. While occupying only 2.4% of the world's land area
(i.e. 3.28 million sq km), it supports over 16% of the world's population. The Indian peninsula
is surrounded by water along three sides - the Bay of Bengal on the east, the Arabian Sea on the
west and the Indian Ocean to the south. The major rivers of India include the Ganges, the
Brahmaputra, the Godavari, the Cauvery, the Narmada, and the Krishna which debouches
into the seas. Apart from these larger rivers there are innumerable smaller ones interspersing
the length and breadth of the country. The country has various landforms like the lofty
mountains, the deep valleys, extensive plains
and several islands.

The wetland ecosystems in India are spread

over a wide range of varied climatic
conditions, ranging from cold and humid
Jammu and Kashmir to hot and humid
Peninsular India. Wetlands, variously
estimated to be occupying 1-5% of
geographical area of the country, support
about a fifth of the known biodiversity. Like
any other place in the world, there is a
looming threat of unsustainable human
pressures to the Indian wetlands. Looking
into the urgent need for sustainable
management of these assets, the
Government of India has initiated many
steps in terms of policies, programmes and
plans for the preservation and conservation Source: Vijayan et al. 2004
of these ecosystems. India, one of the early
signatory to the Ramsar Convention for
management of wetland, is committed for

2
conserving their biodiversity and wise use extending its scope to a wide variety of habitats.
Under the convention, Twenty-six wetlands have been declared as Ramsar Sites. Further, the
Ministry of Environment and Forests has since 1985-86 identified 115 wetlands for
conservation and management under the National Wetland Conservation Programme and
financial assistance is extended to State Governments for various conservation activities
through approved Management Action Plans.

Based on the definition of wetlands by the Ramsar Convention the first scientific mapping of
wetlands of the country was carried out by Space Applications Centre (SAC, ISRO),
Ahmadabad, during1992-93 at the behest of the Ministry of Environment and Forests
(MoEF), Government of India using remote sensing data from Indian Remote Sensing
satellite (IRS-series). The mapping was done at 1:250,000 scale using IRS 1A LISS-I/II data of
1992-93 timeframe under the Nation-wide Wetland Mapping Project. The inventory put the
wetland extent (inland as well as coastal) at about 8.26 million ha (Garg et al. 1998). Further
updating of the wetland maps was carried out by the SAC using IRS P6/ Resources at AWiFS
data of 2004-05 at 1:250000 scale. In subsequent years, a conservation atlas wherein the
wetlands mapped at 1:50,000 scale was brought out by Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and
Natural History (Vijayan et al. 2004), which provided additional information in habitat
characteristics and species conservation which would be required for any conservation actions.

The Space Application Centre in its National Wetland Atlas of 2011 mapped the entire
country including the island territories for inventory and assessment of wetlands. This exercise
mapped 201503 wetlands at 1:50,000 scale. In addition, 555557 smaller wetlands (< 2.25 ha)
have also been identified. Total wetland area estimated is 15.26 M ha, which is 4.63% of the
geographic area of the country; inland wetlands 10.56 M ha and coastal wetlands 4.14 M ha.
Wetlands in the country were categorised into 2 major categories, 4 sub-categories and 19
classes. River / stream reservoir / barrage, inter-tidal mudflats and natural lake / pond are
some of the major types in India and lagoons, mangroves, corals, riverine wetlands and high
altitude lakes (>3000 m elevation) are some of the unique wetland types.

As per the National Wetland Atlas - 2011, the states with highest extent of wetlands include
Lakshadweep having 96.12% of its geographic area under wetlands followed by Andaman &
Nicobar Islands (18.52%), Daman & Diu (18.46%) and Gujarat (17.56%). Puducherry
(12.88%), West Bengal (12.48%), Assam (9.74%), Tamil Nadu (6.92%), Goa (5.76%), Andhra
Pradesh (5.26%), and Uttar Pradesh (5.16%) are other wetland rich states. The lowest extent
(less than 1.5% of the state geographic area) was seen in Mizoram (0.66%), which is followed
in an increasing order by Haryana (0.86%), Delhi (0.93%), Sikkim (1.05%), Nagaland (1.30%),
and Meghalaya (1.34%).

In terms of number of wetlands the Atlas shows the highest number of lakes in Tamil Nadu
(4369) followed by Uttar Pradesh (3684) and West Bengal (1327). Ox-bow lakes / Cut-off
meanders (wetlands cut off from the main river course especially in its sharp bends) are
observed in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Assam and Orissa, along the course of larger
rivers of the country such as Ganges, Brahmaputra etc. Large numbers of riverine wetlands are
seen in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Assam and Jammu & Kashmir.

Among the human-made wetlands (reservoirs etc) Andhra Pradesh has highest number (4527)
followed by Madhya Pradesh (2005), Uttar Pradesh (1608), Orissa (1379) and Gujarat (1213).
Large number of smaller tanks/ ponds, although smaller in size but serving crucial services of
various sorts, exists in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan
and Karnataka.

3
Tamil Nadu Wetlands
Covering 130,058 sq km of southeast peninsular India, the state of Tamil Nadu is blessed with
a tremendous diversity of natural resources. In the past the economy of the state was largely
agriculture and fishery–based and the population principally rural. The gradual increasing
levels of education and industrialization lead to increased urbanization and a reduction in
explicit dependence of economy on the wild biodiversity or traditional agricultural
biodiversity. Over the last five decades, there has been a boom in the number of small towns
and consequent urban sprawls and several chronic and acute environmental after-effects.
However, the need to protect natural resources, especially habitats containing wild
biodiversity, has not been strongly felt by people in the inland areas.

Land is a major important non-renewable natural resource (Jesudas and Kathirvel 2008). The
availability of land area per person in Tamil Nadu is only about 60% of the national average.
The Census of India (2011) lists Tamil Nadu as the seventh most populous (72,147,030) state
in India. The state has about 6% of the country's population, with the density of population
555 as against the national average of 364.9 per sq km. Tamil Nadu is fast urbanising, with as
per the recent estimates 44% of the state's population living in urban areas, the highest among
the large states in India. All these are pointers emphasise the need to utilize the resources in
optimised manner.

Tamil Nadu is a state with limited water resources and the rainfall is seasonal and mainly from
the northeast monsoon. The annual average rainfall in the state is 977 mm, approximately 33%
of this from the southwest monsoon and 48% from the northeast monsoon. Tamil Nadu is
among the five Indian states that have over-exploited their ground water resource
(Narayanamoorthy 2010), with grey and red areas in ground water exploitation spreading,
functional depth of bore wells rapidly increasing, and the number of artesian open wells
forced to be abandoned due to the declining water table soaring up. As a testimony of its
mastery and competence in tapping the ground water, Tamil Nadu is a leader in the number of
bore well rigs catering almost all the states in
the country. According to Parvathi (2011),
Tamil Nadu is one of the water-starved states
with a per capita water availability less than the
national average. The available water resource
to Tamil Nadu including the imported water is
about 5.75 million hectare meter (i.e. 2000
TMC) when the demand is estimated at 7
million hectare meter (i.e. 2500 TMC). This
difference can be bridged by getting water
from other states that is increasingly becoming
difficult, or by decisively enforcing water
conservation / management practices. Tamil
Nadu is predominantly a shield area with 73%
of the area covered under hard crystalline
formations while the remaining 27%
comprises of unconsolidated sedimentary
formations. As far as ground water resource is Prioritized wetlands and
concerned, scarcity is the major problem in other conservation areas in
hard rock environment while salinity is the TamilNadu.
Source: Vijayan et al. 2004
problem in sedimentary areas (Natesan 2008).

4
India is a vast country with deep historical roots and strong cultural traditions. One of the most
important among these is the traditional techniques of collecting, storing and preserving water
for various uses. In Tamil Nadu, lake and well irrigation techniques were implemented in large
scale during the reigns of Pandya, Chera and Chola dynasties and large water diversion
structures were built across Cauvery and Vaigai rivers. The Pallavas in the 7th century AD
expanded the irrigation systems significantly. The famous Cauvery Anicut (Kallanai) was built
during this period. Large-scale constructions of tanks (Tataka) for harvesting rainwater were
also done during this period in the state. The Chola period (985-1205 AD) witnessed the
introduction of advanced irrigation systems, which brought about prosperity in the Deccan
region. This included not only anicuts across rivers and streams but also a number of tanks with
connecting channels (Parvathi 2011). This system was more reliable in ensuring water
availability, and it provided better flexibility and control in water distribution. However, the
Tank system once well maintained by villagers, slowly disintegrated over the period of time
(Sakthivadivel et al.2004) due to various reasons such as changes in land holding pattern,
advent of large scale irrigation projects, exploitation of deeper aquifers, and change in
preference of livelihood strategies at village levels, change in control structures and institutions
and so on.

Over-exploitation has seriously undermined the value of natural aquatic ecosystems across the
country and Tamil Nadu is no exception. This has serious implications of various kinds, on
local environment, on various wild and domestic species, on the overall environmental and
human life quality, and ecological security. Hence, it has become imperative to protect the water
bodies from threats; encroachments, disuse and misuse on an urgent basis. In order to protect
the tanks under the control of Water Resources Department, an Act entitled “Tamil Nadu
protection of tanks and eviction of encroachment act (2007)” was legislated. The Act and
Rules have come into force on 1.10.2007. As a first step for purposeful and effective
implementation of this Act, the government of Tamil Nadu had taken steps for creating
awareness among the general public especially at village level about the provision of the Act
and Rules and the need to keep the local tanks in original shape.

Despite the changes in lifestyle and the style of exploitation, numerous tanks and ponds still
exist in the state. As per the National Wetland Atlas (2011), 61% of Tamil Nadu's wetlands are
classified under lakes, ponds and tanks. As noted above 24684 wetlands have been mapped in
the state. In addition, 18294 small wetlands (< 2.25 ha) have also been identified. Total wetland
area estimated is 902534 ha, which is around 6.92% of the total geographic area. Of this, the
major wetland types are lake (316091 ha), tank (237613 ha), river / stream (136878 ha), and
reservoir / barrage (56419 ha). Area under mangrove is around 7315 ha. Coral Reef (3899 ha)
exists mainly in Ramanathapuram district. Proportionately, among the 30 districts in the state,
the Ramanathapuram district has as high as 18.05% of geographic area under wetlands while it
is as low as 1.08% in Coimbatore. In terms of total wetland area, Kancheepuram is the leading
district (80445 ha, 8.91%) and Chennai is trailing (917 ha, 0.10 %).

55
Coimbatore Wetlands
Coimbatore district has a geographic area of 7,47,079 hectares. It was a
small tribal village capital of Kongunad that is said to have existed even
prior to the 2nd century AD, until Karikalan the first of the Cholas
brought it under their control. It was said that the name originated
from “Kovanputtur” after the Irula chieftain 'Kovan' or 'Koyen' who
founded it and that this name later on evolved and came to be
pronounced as Coimbatore (Joy 1973, Chandrabose & Nair 1988).
Kongunad was ruled by many famous kings from Cheras, Pandyas,
Pallavas, Hoysalas, Vijayanagara and Chalukyas.

Coimbatore district located between 10°55' and 11°10'N, and

77°10' and 76°50'E with an approximate altitude of 470m. It forms
part of the upland plateau region of Tamil Nadu with many hill
ranges, hillocks and undulating topography with gentle slopes
towards east from the hilly terrain in the west. The innumerable
depressions formed due to the undulating topography were
effectively used as tanks for storage of rainwater for agriculture and
other direct and indirect uses. The Nilgiris on the north-west and
Annamalai on the south are the important hill ranges. The “Palghat
Gap”, which is an east-west trending mountains pass, is an important
physiographic feature located in the western part (Neha et al. 2007,
Parvathi 2011) while, the river Noyyal (Noyyal in Tamil translates to
'devoid of illness') flows along the southern side of the district.

The River Noyyal is a prominent and historical feature of Coimbatore

and the surrounding districts of Erode and Tirupur of Tamil Nadu State.
It is considered a divine and holy river, which arises from the Vellingiri hills
of the Western Ghats of Coimbatore district. It is a tributary of the river
Cauvery (a large inter-state river that flows through the States of Karnataka
and Tamil Nadu, with a smaller share of catchment in the state of Kerala).
The river Noyyal joins river Cauvery at the Noyyal village, in Erode district
of Tamil Nadu. The main sources of water for this river are the Aandi Sunai
from Vellingiri hills, Siruvani Waters from Porathi and Siruvani hills and
Chinnaru waters from Kodungarai Pallam, and water form Orathi falls and
Ayyasamy falls. The rain fed Noyyal River, flowing from west to east, travels a
distance of 180 km through the five districts of Coimbatore, Tirupur, Erode,
Karur, and Trichy, covering an area of 0.35 M ha. The water from the river,
which is found to be of potable quality for the first few kilometres, becomes
heavily polluted as it traverses through human settlements and industrial
clusters (Mathew et al. 1995, Sivakumar et al. 1996, Senthilnathan and Azeez
1999a, b, c, Sivakumar and Azeez 1999, Rachna et al. 2010, Rajashekariah 2011,
Pragatheesh and Jain 2013).

The nature of the river getting flooded downstream, especially near the
Noyyal village during the rains in otherwise scanty rainfall area typical of this
region caused the Chola kings to create an ingenious system of lakes and
anicuts festooning the course of the river to not only contain and channelize
the monsoon waters but also to aid recharge of the groundwater. During
the Kongu Chola regime in 8th and 9th centuries AD, 30 wetlands were
constructed, for irrigation and floods mitigation, on both sides of the
River Noyyal. All these wetlands are connected with the River Noyyal
and interconnected to each other. Over the years, these wetlands have
played an important part in the human history and environment in the

6
region.

On the decline of the Chola regime, Coimbatore was ruled by the Cheran dynasty during 1200
AD. In course of time it developed into a strategic town especially during the Nayaka rule of
Madurai. The region served as an important trade route between the coastal areas of Kerala
and Tamil Nadu and was a strategic location in the ancient trade route connecting to the east of
the Peninsula (Maddy 2009, Parvathi 2011). In 1799, Tippu Sultan conceded the town to the
British colonialists, who subsequently promoted Coimbatore as the military transit town
between Palghat in the west and Gazalhatty in the north. In the year 1866, Coimbatore was
constituted as a Municipal Town with an area of 10.88 sq km, and beginning in 1879, the city
started emerging as an administrative and industrial town in its own merit. The second largest
city of Tamil Nadu over the years has grown in the number of small-scale engineering units
and textile mills. Coimbatore, due to its flourishing cotton cultivation, for its highly fertile
black cotton soil, favourable climate, and entrepreneurship and consequential cotton industry,
later was called the 'Manchester of South India'. In fact, the metal casting and pump industry
for which Coimbatore later became renowned was nurtured by the requirement of the cotton
industries.

Rajashekariah (2011), in his report on the impact of urbanisation on biodiversity observed that
Table 1: Classification of land into agricultural, urban, water bodies and wasteland areas the urban agglomeration of Coimbatore
expanded from 38 sq km in 1973 to 79 sq
km in 1989 and further to 274 sq km in
2010, registering over five fold
expansion, in less than four decades. In
terms of spatial pattern, the city
developed concentrically during the
initial years and later into linear
development along the major roads
(Coimbatore Corporation City
Source: Devadass, 2010 Development Plan 2006). A review of
2002 land use plan for the city indicated that nearly 75 per cent of land within the corporation
limits had developed into urban land use, while the rest was classified as agricultural land, water
bodies, vacant areas, and heritage sites. This observation conforms with the findings of
Devadass (2010) who while characterizing the urban development in Coimbatore district
using remote sensing techniques noted drastic reduction in the Agricultural land as well as the
wasteland coupled with the increase in urban land area (Table 1) during 1995 to 2002.
Devadass (2010), however, did not talk about the disturbances to the wetlands in the city.

As noted above, Coimbatore district has been ranked lowest in the number of wetlands in
Tamil Nadu. Most of the wetlands in Coimbatore are under severe anthropogenic pressure
and threat. Space Application Centre (SAC) in its National Wetlands Atlas has pointed out that
Tamil Nadu is wetland rich since it has 6.92% of geographical areas under wetlands. However,
the network of manmade wetlands in Coimbatore that is its lifeline as the city has grown
around them, contributes only 1.08% of the total area. Although Coimbatore is a prospering
city, its lakes are in peril. Influx of population (Figure 1) into the city and increasing growth of
more than 40,000 small, medium and large industries including textile mills and foundries has
become a strong economic alternative to the poorly irrigated agricultural lands in the city and
its suburbs. The industrial pollutants from western and northern portions of the city have
disturbed the biotic life in the Noyyal River and associated water bodies. Only during the last
few years the city has seen growing concern among a couple of NGOs and research
organisations about the sad state of the wetlands and the river, which need to spread far and
wide and deep to the public and the authorities for effective actions. Some of the NGOs in the
city have taken notable proactive steps to save the wetlands, although these actions need to be
more rationalized and customised towards ecological enrichment of the habitats and
sustainability; building bunds is an important step but strengthening the bunds into
sustainable habitats is a crucial next step.

7
The City has nine lakes within the Coimbatore Corporation limits set prior to September, 2010,
namely Ammankulam, Narasampathi, Krishnampathi, Selvampathy, Kumaraswamy aka
Muthannakulam, Selvachinthamani, Periya Kulam aka Ukkadam Big Tank, Valankulam and
Singanallur. However, during the last couple of decades a part of the Ammankulam was
converted into housing blocks by the state government and the other part encroached by slums
(Mohanraj et al. 2010). The lake, now completely encroached and converted, will be known
only as a slum redevelopment scheme; the lost and unsung ecological services and values will
remain a myth, to be reminisced by the fading generation.
Figure 1: The population growth of Coimbatore According to the PWD the lake bed area of the lakes
Corporation for the years from 1911 to 2011 is given
below, Elangovan (2005) Census of India (2011). varies and is 19.425 hectares for Narasampathi, 21.853
hectares for Krishnampathi, 16.187 hectares for
Selvampathy, 25.495 hectares for Kumaraswamy, 10.522
P
o
hectares for Selvachintamani, 136.379 hectares for
p Ukkadam, 38.85 hectares for Valankulam and 66.773
u hectares for Singanallur Lake (Pragatheesh and Jain
l 2013). Earlier all these lakes were under the control of
a
t the Public Works Department (PWD), Government of
i Tamil Nadu. Recently, the remaining eight lakes were
o handed over to the Corporation for a lease of Rs 100/yr
n for a period of 90 years.
Years

As noted earlier, the Noyyal River is known to have 30 tanks / lakes along its course before
joining the Cauvery. Of these 24 falls within the limits of Coimbatore district, and nine within
the corporation limits (as on September 2010). This document, addresses only the existing
eight urban lakes of Coimbatore. Aquatic ecosystems are critical for maintaining the health of
cities. In addition to serving the basic human and biodiversity needs, water acts as a sink,
solvent and a medium for transport of sewage and industrial wastes generated in the city
(Rajashekaria 2011). With a desire for first hand experience of the tanks/lakes of Coimbatore,
we conducted a few visits around the lakes. During these visits, we recorded fauna (primarily
birds), flora and made use of the opportunities to interact with the local residents to have a feel
of their perceptions on the water bodies. In addition to our field survey, we browsed
extensively through literature both published and grey on the urban lakes.

The wetlands of Coimbatore are known to have served the society for over 800 years and
continue to do so despite serious setbacks and pressures. The lakes that were aimed at flood
control, ground water recharge and irrigation were indiscriminately exploited for industrial
and agricultural purposes in due course of time. With time, the Noyyal River and the
interconnected lakes have become the recipients of solid waste, treated and untreated sewage
and effluents affecting the water quality. The water courses near almost all developing cities are
easy targets for destruction and negligence as a rule world over rather than an exception; the
River Noyyal and its associated wetlands remains a distressing example lamenting the bygone
wisdom of erstwhile civilisations in the area. The Comprehensive Development Plan for
Coimbatore (CDP 2006) states that only 43 per cent of the households in the city are
connected to a sewage system, while the rest either discharge directly into the fresh water
ecosystems, the River Noyyal or are connected to individual septic tanks. Industrial and other
municipal effluents, much more polluting in terms of their recalcitrant pollutant loads, follow
the same path - flow down to the nearest watercourse.

8
Water Quality
Water is the most vital resource for all forms of life and the inevitable need for water has
located the world's population around water bodies. However, indiscriminate use of the water
resources has led to serious problems for the entire world. A good clean fresh water body
bestows immense economical, ecological and aesthetic benefits. These values in their realistic
terms are yet to be acknowledged by market forces and therefore are pushed back when
compared to other commercial ventures. As a result, very little effort has been made for the
protection and conservation of aquatic ecosystems, particularly in the urban environment
(Kodarkar 1995) which holds true for Coimbatore wetlands.

Ecological studies of lakes help us to understand the quality of water and the system in a more
holistic manner. Early in the history of ecology, lakes were recognised as a paradigm of
ecosystem concept (Forbes 1887) and their studies helped much to reveal many fundamental
ecological principles (Lindeman 1942). Degradation of natural resources is a major
environmental issue the world is currently facing (Twilley et al. 1998) and aquatic systems are
among the most distressed and hence to detect the extent of deterioration of these ecosystems
constant monitoring is essential. The wetlands of Coimbatore have also been to an extent
investigated intermittently, and scientific literature on them is available since mid nineties.
Although none of the wetlands is extensively studied, major ones like the Ukaddam,
Valankulam and Singanallur Lakes seem to be favourites among the researchers, and have
comparatively more scientific information (Table 2).

The knowledge of the physico-chemical parameters of water is crucial for proper

management of any water body. These parameters reflect the status of different metabolic
processes in the water body significantly influencing the aquatic life and ecosystem services
from the wetland. Several physico-chemical parameters as well as nutrients have been assessed
from the eight wetlands of Coimbatore city. Here we present a brief of a few relatively studied
aspects to better understand and highlight the significance of Coimbatore city lakes.

Dissolved oxygen is one of the most important factors in water quality. Generally, low oxygen
levels are associated with heavy contamination by organic matter. The increasing salinity
associated with chloride content is also known to cause reduction of Dissolved Oxygen (DO)

9
in water bodies (Quadros 1995). The low DO reflects the physical and biological process
prevailing in the natural water. The main source of DO is the diffusion from the atmosphere
and the photosynthetic evolution. According to Levington (1982), in shallow waters DO can
be lowered down during phytoplankton blooms, as the bacteria utilize oxygen to degrade the
large amount of dead plankton, or the discharged waste (Trivedy and Goel 1984), leading to
anoxia. In recent years, the urban wetlands of Coimbatore show hypoxia with frequent
instances of anoxia and reports of fish kills. The extent of organic pollution in the Coimbatore
city wetlands as indicated by the Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) far exceeds the
permissible limits of 5 mg/L set by WHO for unpolluted natural waters.
Consequent to high BOD and low DO, aquatic organisms are stressed, suffocated and may die
off. In conjunction with the BOD estimation, the COD test is helpful in indicating toxic
conditions and the presence of biologically resistant organic substances (Sawyer et al. 2003).
Though the COD has not been frequently estimated, the limited number of studies does show
extreme variations in the chemical toxicity in Coimbatore wetlands. This is further
corroborated by the evidences of organic pollution indicated by the high content of nutrients
such as Ammonia, Nitrates, Phosphates and others. Though these nutrients are essential in
biological processes, in excess it is detrimental, lead to eutrophication, and explosion of
resistant species and inaesthetic algal blooms in aquatic ecosystems.

The temperature is known to play an important role in maintaining all ecosystems including the
aquatic ones. The organisms are tolerant to specific ranges of temperature, outside which they
cannot function. Egbore (1978) stated that a small variation in temperature affects density of
water, which in turn influences the movements of aquatic organisms as well as dissolved
substances in water. Temperature controls chemical and biological reactions in aquatic
organisms and plays important role in shallow water bodies as the changes are rapidly
distributed across the water mass (Somani 2002). The lakes in the Coimbatore city are all of
shallow depth where in the water temperature would be significantly influenced by the
atmospheric temperature; that would also notably alter the biogeochemical processes in the
ecosystem. Interestingly, except for the study by Maharajan (2012) on the Coimbatore city
lakes, none of the earlier researchers gave any attention to this crucial parameter. At the same
time pH, a function of dissolved carbon dioxide (CO2) content (Odum 1971) that can illustrate
the metabolism of CO2 and Oxygen (O2) in water has been habitually recorded. Except for a
few occasions where the lakes are acidic as expected of fresh water bodies the literature for the
Coimbatore city lakes show them to be mostly alkaline indicating stress on the ecosystem.
According to the World Health Organisation (1997), alkalinity of natural waters above 120
mg/L (as CaCO3) is harmful to the aquatic ecosystem. Corroborating the observations for pH,
the alkalinity in the Coimbatore wetlands far exceeded even the BIS standard of 600 mg/L and
reached up to 1470 mg/L as recorded by Mohanraj et al. (2000) for Selvachintamani Lake. The
high alkalinity can be attributed to the silicate, phosphates, borates, in addition to the
carbonates and bicarbonates fluctuating with the pollution load (Srivastava et al. 2011). Further,
most of the salts (including nutrients such as Nitrates and Phosphates) and a variety of organic
substances are soluble in water, thereby the quantity of dissolved solids conferring a degree of
hardness to it. According to WHO (1997) Total Dissolved solids (TDS) higher than 200 mg/L
makes the water non-potable. With incessant misuse of the city wetlands, for over a couple of
decades, now the water has become unfit for routine uses including human consumption. The
researchers are of consensus that the release of untreated sewage and industrial effluents are
the main sources of chlorides and other chemicals leading to high TDS and hardness in the
wetland waters. The ecological significance of chlorides lies in its potential to regulate salinity
of water and consequent osmotic stress to biotic communities (Somani 2002). Depending on
the effluent load in the wetlands, there are reports of fluctuations in the chloride content of the
water bodies that at times even exceeded the WHO limit of 250 mg/L for chlorides.

10
Sediment Quality
Sediment is an inseparable part of the aquatic ecosystem and acts as the reservoir for several
nutrients and pollutants. Nandan and Aziz (1996) opine that sediments are indicators of the
overlying water quality and study of sediments is a useful tool to assess environmental
pollution. Sediment is a complex heterogeneous system made up of organic matter, soil
particulates, pore-water, minerals, several nutrients and macro and microorganisms. They
replenish the overlying water with nutrients in times of need and remove them from water,
when it carries too much of the same, which helps the biological cycle of the system. Wetlands
according to Conley et al. (1991) are universally used as biological systems for effluent
purification and are attractive to the industries as they provide an alternative low cost, low
maintenance and simple methods for domestic and industrial sewage treatment. The
mechanisms involved in the immobilization of pollutants in the sediment of a wetland include
adsorption on ion exchange sites, binding to organic matter, incorporation into lattice
structures and precipitation
into insoluble compounds
(Dunbabin and Bowmer
1992). These reactions largely
are microbe mediated and the
processes according to
DeBustamante (1990) are
affected by biological,
ch e m i c a l a n d p hy s i c a l
properties of the sediment in
particular pH, soil texture,
cation exchange capacity,
redox potential, salinity and
nutrients. Having known this,
the studies on the sediment
and microbial characteristics
of Coimbatore urban
wetlands are far and few;
however, whatever literature
available show evidences of
pollution accumulation
including that of heavy metals
(Table 3).

Pollutants
In aquatic ecosystems that receive solid waste, domestic and industrial effluents, chemical
pollutants and recalcitrant ones such as heavy metals are likely to be serious problem. In
Coimbatore, a growing city and an industrial hub, the effluents would contain metals like Lead,
Zinc, Cadmium, Chromium and Iron (Mathew et al. 2002, 2003). These metals were recorded in
the water, sediment and the biota in the urban Coimbatore wetlands (Table 3). The trace metals
present in waters and sediment are not conservative, but dynamic and go through
biogeochemical cycles. They tend to accumulate in organisms at various trophic levels creating
potential hazards for the biota and human beings. In the case of Coimbatore city wetlands
heavy metal contamination from the water column and sediments has been assessed but not
much attempts have gone into analysing the heavy metal accumulation in the biota. In 1995
Mathew et al. assessed the accumulation of heavy metals in the most common fish Tilapia
mossambica after which only recently has John and Muralidharan (2013) recorded accumulation
of some trace metals from the sediments to the plants while, Chitra et al. (2013) documented
accumulation of metals beyond the permissible limits in tissues of some fish species. Polycyclic

11
Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) a priority pollutant listed by the US Environmental
Protection Agency (USEPA) is found naturally in the environment but can also be human-
made. Major sources of PAHs in the environment are fossil fuel combustion processes, crude
oil, coal and oil shale (Mastral and Callen 2000). PAHs, which are detrimental to the human
health, are also produced due to incomplete burning process of materials such as garbage, a
frequent scene all around Coimbatore. PAHs studies in Coimbatore wetlands are also rare
except for the one-off studies such as those by Suresh (2012) and Karthick (2013) on the PAH
accumulation in 11 fish species and a mollusc species respectively. Since agriculture is usually
practiced in the drained- out portions of the wetlands of Coimbatore, pesticides and fungicides
used in agriculture find its way into the wetlands. Although few of these chemicals can naturally
degrade fast, some of them like BHC, DDT and endosulphan are persistent for longer period
and find their way into the biota from the water column. The knowledge of this aspect of
pollution is crutial for the city like Coimbatore where there is a significant population that is
dependant on the wetlands for the ecological and economic benefits. Barring Mathew et al.
(1995) reporting occurrence of BHC, DDT and endosulphan in the fish Tilapia mossambica
from Ukkadam Lake, there is no literature available addressing pesticide pollution in the urban
wetlands of Coimbatore.

Recent research findings indicate that electromagnetic radiation from cell towers could be one
of the possible environmental pollutant (electro-smog) resulting in various negative biological
effects. Impact of Electromagnetic radiations (EMRs) near cell phone towers / stations has
been reported on several aspects of human health. It also reportedly affects distribution and
populations of plants, birds, bees and other animals (Arun and Azeez 2011), although further
intensive investigations are required to corroborate the suspicions. Indian telecom industry is
one of the fastest growing industries and has the highest growth rate in the world (about 45%,
Kumaresh 2012). Coimbatore has a continuously increasing urban population that is
dependent on cell phones. Orapim (2012) conducted a preliminary study to check the radiation
from the urban cell phone towers and their role in the abundance, diversity and distribution of
the birds of urban Coimbatore wetlands during September and October 2012. The study has
documented maximum number of cell phone towers around Selvachinthamani Lake (15
towers) and the lowest around Krishnampathy Lake (two towers). Notable difference in the
levels of radiation, among the lakes was also observed, with only one of the eight lakes, namely
Krishnampathy Lake, showing safe level of radiation. While Selvachinthamani Lake showed
Dangerous level of radiation, the other six (Singanallur, Valankulam, Periyakulam, Selvampathy,
Narasampathy and Kumaraswamy), showed 'Caution level' of radiation. Correlating the data
with the bird survey showed that the Singanallur Lake had more bird species (41 species) while
Selvachinthamani Lake had the lowest number of bird species. The author infers that the
radiation level could possibly influence the wetland usage pattern by birds; a conclusion that
needs further corroboration by a wider investigation. As high level of radiation may lead to less
bird species and number, Orapim (2012) emphasised the need for a long-term study on the
radiation / Electromagnetic pollution.

The release, deposition and aggregation of pollutants result in altering the flora and fauna
supported by the wetlands. Environmental factors vary on spatial and temporal scales in
complex ecosystems such as wetlands. Aquatic communities (like plankton, algae, vegetation,
invertebrates, fish, birds), reflect the effects of chemical and physical disturbances. A biota that
shows change from dominance to gradual disappearance of a species is of high ecological and
conservational significance. Biological monitoring or Biomonitoring consists of groups of
species, each group with relatively well-defined resource / habitat requirements, so that they
may reflect changes in the environment. Biomonitoring of aquatic ecosystems is done using
numerous methods, which are based on attributes of species assemblages ranging from
macrophytes (Galatowitsch et al. 1999, Gernes and Helgen 1999), diatoms (Fore and Grafe
2002), macro invertebrates (Kerans and Karr 1994, Barbour et al. 1996), amphibians
(Micacchion 2004), fish (Schulz et al. 1999), birds (O'Connell et al. 2008) and such taxa.
Biological indicators are important tools in the environment assessment process because
protection and management of these organisms are also important aims that most assessment
programs hope to achieve.

12
 Flora
The vegetation in and around the wetlands are important in
the ecology and economics of a wetland and knowledge
of the flora in the system is important to gauge the health
of a water body and it is more so in an urban setup. The
flora of Coimbatore city has interested botanists for
decades because of several reasons and since it is the
type locality for as many as six taxa (Chandrabose
1981). Several taxonomists starting with Barber in
1826 have made sporadic collections from the city,
followed by Chandrashekaran and Girija Lakshman in
1950 documenting 100 tree species. Chandrabose in
1981 reported that only 76 of the above 100 trees
existed then while he recorded 31 additional tree
species in the region. Chandrabose (1981) and
Chandrabose and Nair (1988) based on their study of
over a decade have made a comprehensive account of
the floral diversity; 159 species belonging to 51 families
across the Coimbatore city including the Noyyal River, its
ponds and canals. Their study covering six urban wetlands
categorised the aquatic flora into four plant communities;
i) submerged aquatics rooted in the sandy or muddy
bottom, growing at different water depths (e.g. Ceratophyllum
demersum, Hydrilla verticillata, etc.), ii) attached floating aquatics
comprising of plants rooted in the soil with slender and long
petioles whose leaves emerge at the surface floating (e.g.
Ipomoea aquatica, Nymphaea nouchali, etc), iii) the common Free
floating aquatics (e.g. Eichhornia crassipes and Lemna paucicostata )
and the Reed swamp vegetation that margins the ponds with pure
stands of species such as Colocasia esculenta, Cyperus alopecuroides,
etc. In addition to these four communities, during the dry season
they have recorded instances of cultivation in the ponds amidst
which unwanted species such as Argemone mexicana, Chloris barbata,
and Cleome chelidonii grew. Despite this important work, the floral
diversity for Noyyal River, its ponds and channels remains described
only in a collective manner leaving room for specific pond wise
studies. The literature shows that the flora of only Ukkadam Lake
has been documented separately, first by Mathew et al (1995) and
recently by Shankar (2012). While the former reported 41 species
Shankar mentions only 28 species of aquatic and associated
vegetation from the lake . Over the years, 70 plant species (19
Orders and 30 families) are reported from the four urban
Coimbatore wetlands (Kumaraswamy Lake - Jayalakshmi et al.
2006 and Kevin & Muralidharan 2013; Ukkadam Lake - Mathew
et al. 1995, Bubesh et al., 2006, Nishadh 2009, Rachna 2010,
Shankar 2012 and Kevin & Muralidharan 2013; Valankulam -
Jayalakshmi et al. 2006 and Bubesh et al. 2006; Singanallur
Lake - Bubesh et al. 2006, Thangavelu 2006,
Dhanalakshmi 2008, Karthick et al. 2009, Kevin &
Muralidharan 2013). In terms of plant diversity, Ukkadam
Lake stands first with 59 species followed by Singanallur with 24 plant species (Table 4).

13
Plankton Community

The plankton community is an important component in any aquatic ecosystem. Based on the
variations in character, composition and habit the plankton are categorised into
Bacterioplankton (including bacteria), Phytoplankton (autotrophs / plants) and Zooplankton
(heterotrophs / animals). The bacteria are responsible for conversion of nutrients into
different forms and decomposition of complex organic substances to simple ones. The
phytoplankton act as primary producers trapping the solar energy and make it available to the
primary consumers and other higher trophic level species such as fishes and birds. The
plankton mainly support the pelagic food chain, but also play an important role supporting
the detritus food chain, as many of them are short lived, with high turnover rate and settle
down to form the detritus. The estimates of plankton diversity and quantity are useful in
evaluating the health and productivity of aquatic ecosystems (Lodh 1990). Although, in Tamil
Nadu, plankton studies covering algae are frequent (Somani 2002); the data on the urban
wetlands of Coimbatore is limited.

The plankton studies in Coimbatore are recent; Manivannan et al. (2013) reported prevalence
of pathogens in Selvachintamani and Valankulam while undertaking microbial analysis
relating the pathogens mainly as disease causing factors to the humans from the nearby areas.
The zooplankton from Ukkadam Lake were studied during 2003–2004 by Ezhili et al. (2013),
who documented eight Protozoan genera, six genera of Rotifers, seven genera of Cladocerans
and six genera of Copepods. Further, their study revealed the dominance of pollution
indicator species such as Didinium sp., Oxitricha sp. and Alona sp., There is no information
available on the phytoplankton in the water column of Coimbatore wetlands, except for the
rare ones such as by Karthick et al. (2009); the lone study is on the benthic (sediment dwelling)
diatoms from Singanallur Lake. The diatoms along with chlorophytes, euglenoids and
cyanobacteria comprise the microphytobenthos also known as benthic microalgae that form
the autotrophic component in aquatic sediments. Diatoms known to be specific in their
preference and tolerance to environmental conditions can be used as indicators of water
quality and organic pollution. Karthick et al. (2009), recorded 90% dominance of the extreme
pollution tolerant benthic diatom Cyclotella meneghiniana among the ten species recorded for the
Singanallur Lake, indicating the bad water quality and eutrophic conditions in the lakes.

14
Benthic Fauna
Benthic organisms, those living in or on the sediment, are an
important link in the food web. They connect the detritus and
small planktonic and bottom organisms into the main food
chain (Mann 1976). Benthic infauna are important mediators of
nutrient recycling from sediments into the water column.
According to Hartley (1982), benthic studies can indicate the
magnitude as well as spatial and temporal distribution of
pollution in the environment. Benthos is superior to other
biological groups in indicating pollution stress because they are
sedentary and must adapt to environmental stress or perish.
Benthic organisms are very sensitive to habitat disturbance, including organic enrichment, and
some species and communities are regarded as the best indicators of pollution. The wetlands
of Coimbatore have been under pressure from anthropogenic activities and continuous stress
for over a decade now. However, the stress factor that has been explored has never included the
benthic community except for one study by Nishadh (2009). He recorded 13 families
belonging to four classes while concluding that the Ukkadam Lake have minimum diversity
and was most polluted than other lakes located outside the city limits. Rashmi (2004) reported
nine species of gastropods from Singanallur Lake. Karthick (2012) reported Pila globosa to be
the common gastropod in five of the city lakes and used the species to estimate the
accumulation of PAH in the mollusc. He inferred that the mollusc at Krishnampathy Lake
accumulated maximum PAHs, while the minimum concentration was recorded in
Narasampathy Lake. Thus, benthos seems to be providing accurate and reproducible model
that reflects the status of water quality. Hence, it would be sound to undertake regular
monitoring of benthic organisms in all the wetlands while designing conservation strategies
and measures.

Fish Fauna
Fresh water fishes constitute the most conspicuous components of inland aquatic fauna.
According to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) report, inland fishery is of
particular importance to developing countries as they form the primary source of animal
protein accessible to the poor people. Being a major source of protein, fish are cultured in lakes
and reservoirs by systematic techniques. The ponds and lakes of Coimbatore have traditionally
been used for aquaculture; fish fry are stocked every year and fattened fishes are harvested,
largely by the Seviyar fishing community (Mathew et al. 1995) who holds customary rights or
rights obtained through tender. However, there has been very little documentation of the
natural fish fauna in the lakes. Twenty one species of fish have been recorded (Table 5) from six

15
of the city lakes although the studies undertaken have mainly focused on aspects of pollution
accumulation only (Mathew et al. 1995, Senguttavan 2003, Ezhili 2008, Suresh 2012 and Chitra
2013). All the 21 species are reported from Ukkadam as the lake has comparatively easier
access. While assessing the socio-ecological aspects for sustainable management of Ukkadam
lake, Shankar (2012) interviewed the fishers and other community residing close by the lake. As
per the interview the fishermen were depending on the lake for minimum of one year to over
58 years and in recent years they earn an average daily income of Rs 300/-. The income was
mainly from the fish cultured in the lake, and it varied with the season and on the size of the
harvest. The city's fisher folks, who also runs cooperative societies, are of the opinion that
regular monitoring of the diversity and health of the fish will help the community as well as the
society.

Amphibians and Reptiles

Amphibians play a pivotal role in the ecosystem, especially the aquatic ones, as secondary
consumers in many food chains. From ecological perspective, amphibians are regarded as
good indicators, due to their high degree of sensitivity, during either tadpole or adult stage
responding to very slight change in environment and relatively high sight fidelity. Such
responces have been used to indicate habitat fragmentation,
ecosystem stress, impact of pesticides and various anthropogenic
activities.
Reptiles, a category that include lizards, snakes, turtles, alligators
and crocodiles. They are mostly carnivorous and are beneficial to
man in controlling the pest population including insects and
rodents. Changes in the land use patterns and increased
anthropogenic activities are one of the main causes for their
disappearance from ecosystems.
Amphibians and reptiles are much-neglected group of fauna from
the Coimbatore wetlands. The only records available for Coimbatore wetlands is for the
Ukkadam Lake, where in Mathew et al. (1995) documented eight species of amphibians and 27
species of reptiles. Of the eight amphibian species they observed, three highly aquatic species
were very common viz. Euphlyctis cyanophylictis, Euphlyctis hexadactylaus and Fejerverya limnocharis.
The reptiles documented were nine species of lizards including the endangered Varanus
bengalensis and 14 species of snakes that included the Cobra, Common Krait and Sawscaled
Viper. However, turtles were not recorded during their study.

Insect Fauna
Insects, despite some of them being harmful to man and economy, are overwhelmingly vital in
various ecosystem services. Their adaptive ingenuity has allowed them to exploit varied niches
in almost all the habitats of the world. The wetlands from Coimbatore city also harbour a
diversity of insect fauna; although not much attempt to document the same have happened. A
brief investigation by Nishadh (2009) documented nine
families belonging to six orders of benthic insects from
Ukkadam Lake, which apparently was low than other lakes
from the district attributing the low diversity to local
pollution stress. Arulprakash and Gunatilakraj (2010)
reported eight species of Odonata and attributed the low
diversity to sewage load and presence of insectivorous fish
in Ukkadam Lake. Apart from these two studies, there has
been no consummated interest among the researchers and
naturalists concerning the insect fauna in these lakes.

16
Birds
Birds are not precisely aquatic creatures but a large number of them depend vitally on the
aquatic environment for their survival. Their population reflects the health of the ecosystem
since birds are remarkable biological indicators. In urban landscapes, the habitat dynamics are
entirely dictated by human population and the subsequent anthropogenic activities are
primarily responsible for the habitat change. The degradation caused to urban wetlands have
an incalculable effect on the wildlife, water quality, hydrological cycles and other wetland
functions and values. Birds prefer habitats that provide them with plenty of food. Prabhadevi
et al. (2011) at Point Calimere documented water birds consuming a variety of food ranging
from algae, plankton, worms, insects, molluscs, fish and their like. In recent years,
there have been many studies in the country on the urban wetlands and their
potentials in terms of providing the ecosystem services and goods
(Nagarajan 2011, Thiyagesan and Nagrajan 1995, Meganathan 2002,
Saikia and Saikia 2011, Quadros et al. 2009, Murugesan et al. 2011,
Chandravanshi et al. 2011, Kedar 2011, Mehra et al. 2011, Chettiar
et al. 2011, Abbey and Rebecca 2013, Akram et al. 2013, Sharma
2013).

Coimbatore city wetlands, as evident from earlier

discussions, have been a subject of interest to many
naturalists as well as researchers, especially with
respect to bird fauna, for the last couple of decades.
One of the earliest, relatively comprehensive, study is
by Mathew et al. (1995) reporting 71 species of birds
from Ukkadam Lake. Yet, except for several short notes
and grey reports not much scientific publications are
available on bird fauna of the city lakes. The studies, mostly
short term ones, resulted in checklists of species for a few of
the lakes. Until date, around 133 species of birds representing 48
families and 16 orders have been recorded around the city
wetlands; most of the species either wetland birds or wetland-
associated species (Table 6). The checklist of birds would surely change, as
certain earlier unrecorded species are reportedly visiting these wetlands in recent
years, perhaps for the changes happening in climate or wider landscape. The study by
Reginald et al. (2007), listing 116 bird species, is a relatively long-term documentation of
Singanallur Lake, covering a few years of regular observation. Other studies include the list of
birds made by Deivanayaki (2007) for Ukkadam and Singanallur Lakes, and a comparative
study of birds covering several districts of Tamil Nadu that included Valankulam, Ukkadam
and Singanallur Lakes of Coimbatore city by Gupta et al. (2011). Over the years, in the city
wetlands Kavitha et al. (2011) have observed a rise in the population of Spot billed Pelican, in
addition to the regular sightings of Painted stork, Cormorants and Oriental white ibis all of
which belong to the Near Threatened category in IUCN's Red List. Pramod during 2011
conducted a simultaneous survey of 17 wetlands from the Coimbatore district that also
included three of the city wetlands. Recently Maharajan (2012), while studying the physico-
chemical aspects of the city wetlands, documented 43 species of birds from the citys' eight
urban lakes. During the same year, Orapim (2012) also listed 60 bird species, while assessing
effects of the mobile tower radiation, from the eight urban lakes of Coimbatore.

17
Mammals
Coimbatore district is richly endowed with hills, forests,
wildlife, and rivers. The Coimbatore forest division
forms the part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. The
region is rich in wide variety of flora and fauna. Apart
from the Avifauna that numbers over 200 species for
the district, the mammalian fauna comprises of
herbivores such as Asian Elephant, Wild Gaur, Sambar,
Chital etc; carnivores such as Tiger, Leopard, Wild
dogs; omnivores such as Sloth Bear, Wild Boar and
Primates (common languor) etc. Wetlands are known to
provide suitable habitat for several organisms including
aquatic and terrestrial, both vertebrates and invertebrates. However, as far as the Coimbatore
city wetlands are concerned the mammals are hardly explored. The ones that are usually
encountered during visits include the domestic cattle, cats and dogs (Reginald et al. 2007) that
do not excite the researchers or naturalist usually.

The wetlands as already discussed are important to several invertebrates including insects that
may lead either their entire or part of their life cycle around water bodies. The insects are an
attraction to the flying mammals, the bats that otherwise is a relatively neglected taxa. The bats
play a crucial role as an ecological mammalian indicator species in wetland functionality
assessment (Athira 2012). The bats being sensitive to environmental changes can provide
information on habitat degradation and human induced changes. An attempt to study the bats
at two different wetland habitats of Coimbatore was made by Athira (2012) during the months
of March and April 2012. One of the study sites was the Ukkadam Lake in the city. The study
documents Pipistrellus as the wide spread and dominant genus of bat in the study area with
Pipistrellus tenuis as the most common and most abundant species of the three recorded during
the study. The results obtained during the study hint towards extending more attention to this
neglected taxa and assessment of its importance in habitat evaluation.

Socio-Economic Studies
Economic valuation is a powerful tool to aid and improve wise use and management of global
wetland resources by providing a means for measuring and comparing various benefits from
wetlands (Barbier et al. 1997). Wetlands perform numerous valuable functions, which include
flood control, ground water recharge, waste management and offering habitats and breeding
grounds for numerous water birds, fishes,
crustaceans and other aquatic life form (Azeez et al.
2000, Prasad et al. 2002). The ecological state or
health of a wetland apart from attitude of the people
/ stakeholders depends on its management, level of
anthropogenic activities, solid waste collection and
disposal, land use in the catchment and disposal of
used water . Perhaps as the first such attempt during
1995, Mathew et al. attempted to assessing the
economic utilities of Ukkadam Lake and
documented the dependance of several communities
on the lake. The services utilised then included
grazing by the Kuruba kaunder community, fishing
by the Seviyar community in addition to agricultural

18
use and harvesting of fodder grass by the natives of Coimbatore. In recent years, Shankar
(2012) attempted to evaluate the ecosystem services provided by the Ukkadam Lake. Although
the study was not conceived as an extensive one using standard methods to evaluate ecosystem
services, the author has attempted to look at the use of the wetland for agriculture, water
source and fishery using a questionnaire. The survey reveals that the lake is now only used by
the fishers for their sustenance while the direct dependence on the lake for agriculture and
water has long been discontinued. Urbanisation and anthropogenic stress to meet the growing
urbanisation needs of Coimbatore City is reported to be the major threat that has resulted in
the disappearance of wetlands, which has led to the disturbance of the hydrological flow
regime of the Noyyal River.

Conservation Awareness and Media

As human beings, we have significant impacts on the environment and its resources. The
existence of the wetlands in Coimbatore city is being endangered due to rapid urbanisation and
lack of awareness among the citizens. Environmental Education (EE) seems to be the best tool
for providing the public with an understanding of the ramifications of their actions and
behaviour patterns in order to increase sensitivity and concern on environmental issues. EE is
a continued learning process that builds up
people's knowledge and awareness about
the environment and associated challenges,
develops the necessary skills and expertise
to address the challenges, and foster
attitudes, motivations, and commitments to
make informed decisions and take
responsible action [UNESCO (Tbilisi
Declaration 1977) 1978]. The term EE is
often used to imply education within the
school system, from primary to post-
secondary. It is also sometimes used more
broadly to include all efforts to educate the
public and other audiences, including print
materials, websites, media campaigns, etc.
Related disciplines include outdoor
education and experimental education.

Coimbatore city has its fair share of awareness generation, activism and conservation
programs that are organised by several Non Government Organisations and research
organisations in association with the education institutions. However, there is no
documentation or statistics available on activities
and the outcomes of the outreach programs.
Hence, to have an understanding of the possible
awareness level we tried to look at the articles
published by the press as an indicator for social
awareness. We selected two English News dailies
namely 'The Hindu'(Figure 2) and 'The Times of
India' (Figure 3) to find the number of articles
published on issues related to the Coimbatore
lakes from 2011 until March 2014. We found both
the newspapers giving fair coverage to the
environmental issues. Among the two the Hindu
had a higher percentage covering topics of
Coimbatore wetlands. The coverage mainly

19
19
News Articles from Coimbatore Wetlands

20
included news items on awareness programs, bird diversity and sightings, pollution and
encroachment problems and the conservation actions undertaken by NGOs, Government
bodies or Institutions and academics as well as the role of the media in disseminating such
information. We found that the major emphasis of the media coverage was on birds and
awareness activities conducted during the environment day celebrations and the cleaning of
the city lakes involving NGOs, Civil society organisations and individuals.
Figure 2: Articles Covering Coimbatore Lake News in the Hindu daily
On the conservation front, the
PWD for Coimbatore region has
been diligent in trying to maintain
the Coimbatore lakes for over the
past 90 years, despite various
pressures of urbanisation and
Numbers

other growing human activities

around the lakes. The changing
land use pattern and human
needs, and chang es in
management strategy by the
concerned authorities caused a
News Types change in the guardians of the
city lakes from the PWD to the
Coimbatore Municipal
Corporation. The municipal corporation proposed a Rs 128/- crore renovation plan for eight
of the city lakes under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewable Mission and invited
various government bodies, organisations such as SACON, NGOs and the stakeholders for a
public consultation during 2009 to 2010 (Gunasekaran 2011, Mohan Raj 2011). The
consultations resulted in turning down the proposal for various reasons and highlighted the
concern of the public for conservation of the city lakes. Subsequently, there have been a
couple of meetings, conferences and seminars, thwhich thdiscussed the issues related to these
wetlands. One of the symposia held during 24 & 25 January 2012 with involvement of
several NGOs from Coimbatore, Animal Rescuers and WWF in collaboration with SACON,
deliberated upon the issues and the road map for ecological sustainable management of the
Coimbatore wetlands. Here probably for the first time for the city an evaluation on the
understanding and knowledge of Coimbatore wetlands was conducted, which was followed
with a field visit to the city
wetlands to generate
awareness among the Figure 3: Articles Covering Coimbatore Lake News in the
masses to highlight the Times of India daily
need for conservation for
the future.
Numbers

News Types

21
21
Our Recent Survey on Flora and Birds
(Inputs by Dr S Babu and Dr M Mahendiran)

Further to our survey and analysis of the available literature on the wetlands of Coimbatore
city, we considered it necessary to conduct a preliminary survey around the eight lakes of the
city. Hence, during the months of December 2013 and January 2014 we made some visits with
the purpose of documenting the present condition of the lakes. In this process, we
documented the birds, interacted with the local community living around the lakes and made
cursory notes on the vegetation around the lakes.

Barring the works on the flora along the Noyyal River and adjoining six lakes (Chandrabose
and Nair 1988) and Shankar (2012) on the vegetation around Ukkadam Lake there has been no
attempt to systematically document the vegetation of and along the Coimbatore city wetlands.
Our visits to the lakes although brief are probably the first to focus on understanding the
vegetation around the eight city lakes. We could record 30 species representing 18 families and
15 orders (Table 6); the maximum diversity was recorded at Ukkadam followed by Singanallur
Lake while the minimum diversity was noted at Narasampathy Lake. However, we are of the
opinion that more intensive systematic vegetation studies will reveal higher diversity along the
other wetlands like Valankulam, Singanallur, Selvachintamani and Krishnampathy due to the
presence of rich vegetative cover.

In the lakes in the city, birds, probably well recorded if for only a few lakes, total up to 133
species. During our visits to the lakes, we followed the standard total count method (Bibby et al.
2000) to document birds during 0600 to 1000 hours and 1600 to 1800 hours. We recorded 71
species belonging to 35 families and 14 orders (Table 7). Among the 14 orders, Passeriformes
dominated with 18 species followed by Ciconiiformes and Charadriiformes with 10 species
each followed by the other families. This included four species (Spot billed Pelican, Painted
Stork, Oriental Darter and Oriental White Ibis) of globally threatened birds. From the 71
species recorded 36 (50%) were wetland species, 26 terrestrial (36%) species and 10 (14%)
wetland dependant species. Despite the location of the lakes amidst bustling city, the wetland
and the wetland dependant species were dominant. Maximum number of species was in
Ukkadam Lake followed by Selvampathy Lake, and Singanallur Lake while the number was
lowest at Valankulam Lake. We attribute the lack of bird diversity at Valankulam to several
human centric factors that include the development activities like flyover, railway track and
other human encroachments.

Coimbatore, a fast growing and busy city, however with large number of bird species
occupying its wetlands, indicates the availability of resources and habitat, and non-availability
of appropriate habitats elsewhere in the nearby surroundings. Of the 71 species, which we
recorded during a brief field survey, seven species (three wetland and four terrestrial bird
species) are new additions to the existing list of 133 birds recorded earlier from these wetlands
making a tally of 141 bird species.

During our interactions with the locals, we realised several aspects of the wetlands; for
instance, all the wetlands had active religious structures such as temples, church or mosque on
the banks. The small temples where there were only the deities in place, according to the local
people had myths associated to their presence there. We felt that a more detailed and systematic
study on this aspect could lead to participatory conservation of the lakes.

The local community informed us of the fishing practices that were undertaken along all the
lakes, which varied in duration from a few days, as in Krishnampathy Lake, to year round

22
fishing under fishing societies as in the case of Ukkadam, Singanallur and Kumaraswamy
Lakes. When enquired about any conflicts with the fisher folk we were informed of their close
association with the birds, as they would help them in actually locating the fish movement. The
main problems of the wetlands and the fish catch according to the locals were the release of
polluted waters that killed the introduced fish seeds causing major losses to the fishers. They
expressed their displeasure at the bunds constructed and the cleaning process that had affected
their catch substantially. Another problem faced by the fisher folk was related with the
increasing urbanisation and encroachment along the lakes, and the increasing number of
individuals involved in game fishery suggesting that the matter need to be addressed on
priority.

Status of the Lakes Based on the Wetland Rules 2010

The Government of India in exercise of the powers conferred by the Environment Protection
Act, 1986 made certain rules for conservation and management of wetlands namely the
Wetland Rules 2010. The Wetlands Rules (2010) comprise the definition wetlands, the
different categories of wetlands, the restrictions on activities within the wetlands, constitution
of the wetland regulatory authority, process for identification of wetlands, overlapping
provisions, enforcement of regulated activities and appeals against the decision of the wetland
authority. We tried to assess the status of the Coimbatore city wetlands in the context of these
rules. We have identified some of the concerns and observed that in all the eight existing city
wetlands the rules have been violated, more specifically the section 4 subsection 1 and a few
rules from the subsection 2 of the rules (Annexure II).
Wetland Rules 2010 Section 4 Violations in the city lakes
Sub section 1.i - reclamation of wetlands Krishnampathy lake, Selvachintamani lake, Ukkadam
and Valankulam lake
Sub section1.iii - manufacture or handling or storage or Indirect evidences from the literature of occurrences of
disposal of hazardous substances covered under the heavy metals and other pollutants (Studies conducted by
Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Suresh 2012, Maharajan 2012, and Chitra et al. 2013).
Chemical Rules, 1989 Moreover, all the lakes have several factories that deal
with hazardous chemicals nearby.
Sub section1.iv - solid waste dumping Recent solid waste dumping, construction debris,
construction of bunds along all the eight city lakes
Sub section 1.v - discharge of untreated wastes and All the city lakes have sewage and industria l outlets,
effluents from industries, cities or towns and other which are interconnected to each other, finally leading to
human settlements the Noyyal river. In addition, a growth in the hutments
all along the city lakes has increased the effluent load.
Sub section 1.vi - any construction of a permanent Several recent constructions along the Selvampathy,
nature except for boat jetties within fifty metres from Kumarasamy, Selvachintamani , Ukkadam, Valankulam
the mean high flood level observed in the past ten and Singanallur lakes.
years calculated from the date of commencement of
these rules
Sub section 1.vii - Any other activity likely to have an Some of the lakes have high-tension electric lines and
adverse impact on the ecosystem of the wetland to be pylons line that crisscross the lakes affecting the bird
specified in writing by the Authority constituted in diversity and bird activity.
accordance with these rules.
Sub section 2.i - withdrawal of water or the Several recent instances where the Krishnampathy and
impoundment, diversion or interruption of water Valankulam lakes of being impounded impacting the
sources within the local catchment area of the wetland natural ecosystem function
ecosystems
Subsection 2.iv - Treated effluent discharges from The Coimbatore city is yet to have a have a functional
industries, cities or towns, human settlements and sewage treatment plant fully covering the city. Hence,
agricultural fields falling within the limits laid down by the sewage directly is released into the water bodies
the Central Pollution Control Board or the State without any concern of the pollution.
Pollution Control Committee, as the case may be ;

23
Conclusions and Recommendations
It is evident that cultural eutrophication (i.e. human induced) is an important environmental
problem that the city water bodies are now facing. While the literature informs us about the
importance and status of the lakes in Coimbatore city, it also highlights the gaps in the
information base. So far, no long-term studies as well as research covering different
taxonomic groups like amphibians and reptiles associated with the wetlands have been
undertaken. It would be appropriate that the ecosystem services and economic benefits of the
Coimbatore wetlands are to be evaluated undertaking a comprehensive multi-institutional
study.
For the wetlands in the city have to be conserved and managed, academicians, policy and
decision makers and the citizens should work in unison. The Wetland Rules (2010) and the
Tamil Nadu protection of tanks and eviction of encroachment act (2007) should be employed
in a manner that the lakes can be sustainably managed. This will involve wider participation
from the society, which can be a herculean task to set, but easy once starts moving. Visionary
clean governance would help in striking the balance between development and environment
and making Coimbatore city a model for sustainable conservation and management of the
urban wetlands.
Some of the immediate actions to benefit the wetlands are as given below
1. Effectively and visibly demarcate the lake boundaries; however, the bunds made for the
purpose should be designed in such a way that they are green and stable. Slipping bunds
are damaging to the rejuvenating lakes.
2. Bird attracting and native species of trees may be planted along the bunds or in the
mounts in the lakes.
3. Control encroachment activities along the lakes, and move out and rehabilitate those
who have lived in the encroachments for years.
4. Stop the dumping of garbage and other solid waste into the wetlands. The Municipal
Corporation should remove the municipal garbage / solid waste dumped there already.
That would assist in rejuvenation of the lake basins.
5. Sanitation facilities detached from the wetlands need to be established for the people
who are living in the close by shanties and slums and control public easing themselves on
the banks of the wetlands which is the leading cause for high faecal pathogens in the
water.
6. Appoint local watch and ward personal to report violations immediately to the
authorities for immediate actions.
7. Involve local NGOs and other academic / research organisations in designing plans for
ecological rejuvenation of the lakes. In consultation with the above, a plan for each
wetland may be developed, the execution of which could be sponsored by corporate or
other agencies perhaps under their respective CSR schemes.
8. Totally ban the release of effluents and sewage into the wetlands.
9. The Municipal Corporation of Coimbatore should take measures at installing the
sewage / effluent treatment plants to tackle the sewage/effluent generated by the city.
10. Make the industries responsible to the effluents generated by making it mandatory to pay
for the treatment of their effluents.
11. Cleaning of the lakes should be undertaken in a scientific manner after understanding
the ecology and characteristics of the individual lakes.
12. The community and the fishers living around the lakes are presently the unofficial
guardians of the lakes. These individuals' attempts should be recognised and a collective
system should be designed for their role in management of the lakes.
13. Introduction of exotic floral and faunal species should be prohibited.

24
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Website References
www.coimbatoreforests.org
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www.discoverwild.in
www.ecgmdia.org
www.arulagam.org
www.siruthuli.com
http://moef.nic.in

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Annexure I: Tables
Table 2. Water quality parameters and the heavy metals studied by several researchers for the eight urban lakes of Coimbatore
Lake* → NP KP SP KU SC UD VK SN
References → 1&2 2 2&3 1, 2, 3 2, 3&5 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 2, 3&5 2, 4,
Parameters ↓ Range &4 8, 9, 10&13 11&12
Color Brownish to Black - - - - - + - +
Temp (°C) 21 to 28 + + + + + + + +
pH 6 to 10 + + + + + + + +
Oxidation reduction potential (mV) 75 to 80 - - - - - + - -
EC (µS/cm) 210 to 9650 + + + + + + + +
DO (mg/L) 0.6 to 6.5 + + + + + + + +
BOD (mg/L) 1.8 to 44 + + + + + + + +
COD (mg/L) 4 to 673 + + + + + + + +
TDS (mg/L) 150 to 9233 + + + + + + + +
Total hardness (mg/L) 70 to 560 + + + + + + + +
Calcium hardness (mg/L) 21 to 490 + + + + + + + +
Magnesium hardness (mg/L) 7 to 250 + - + + + + + +
Chloride (mg/L) 0.7 to 1479 + + + + + + + +
Salinity (mg/L) 122 to 1455 + + + + + + + +
Alkalinity mg/L) 85 to 730 + + + + + + + +
Phosphate (mg/L) 0.6 to 10 - - + + + + + +
Sulphate (mg/L) 33 to 466 + - + + + + + +
Ammonia (mg/L) 0.2 to 15 - - - - - + - +
Nitrite (mg/L) 0.09 to 0.1 - - - - - + - -
Sodium (mg/L) 15 to 3354 + + + + + + + +
Potassium (mg/L) 6 to 430 + + + + + + + +
Lithium (mg/L) 0.4 to 21 + + + + + + + +
Ammonia nitrogen (mg/L) 0.09 to 3.3 - - + - + + + -
Nitrate Nitrogen (mg/L) 0.1 to 48 + - + + + + + +
Water Quality Index 52 to 60 + - - + - - - -
Heavy metals (ìg/L)
Cu 6 to 177 - - + + + + + +
Zn 17 to 493 - - + + + + + +
Ni 5 to 25 - - + + + + + +
Pb 2.5 to 375 - - + + + + + +
Cd 0.5 to 10 - - - - + + + -
Cr 29.8 to 387 - - + + + + + +
Fe 0.3 to 8020 - - + + + + + +
Mn 54 to 1260 - - + + + + + +
As 35 to 58 - - - - + - + -

References - (1) Priya et al. 2011, (2) Maharajan 2012, (3) Mohanraj et al. 2000, (4) Kevin John 2013, (5) Mannivannan et al. 2013,(6)
Lalitha et al. 2007, (7) Deivanayaki 2007, (8) Nishadh 2009, (9) Rachna et al. 2010, (10) Rajiv et al. 2012, (11) Azeez et al.
1998,(12) Dhanalakshmi 2008, (13) Mathew et al. 1995

Table 3. Sediment quality and the sediment heavy metals studied by several researchers for the eight urban lakes of Coimbatore

Lake* → NP KP SP KU SC UD VK SN
References → - - - - 1&2 1, 1&2 1, 2,
Sediment Parameters Range 2&3 3&4
pH 7 to 10 - - - - + + + +
EC (millimhos) 1 to 1450 - - - - + + + +
Chloride (mg/g) 11 to 25 - - - - + + + +
Alkalinity (as CaCO3 mg/g) 1.7 to 3 - - - - + + + +
Calcium (as CaCO3 mg/g) 0.5 to 92 - - - - + + + +
Magnesium (as CaCO3 mg/g) 0.1 to 22 - - - - + + + +
TOC (mg/g) 0.5 to 9 - - - - + + + +
Phosphate (mg/g) 0.2 to 1.2 - - - - + + + +
Sulphate (mg/g) 2 to 5 - - - - + + + +
Sodium (mg/g) 0.3 to 2 - - - - + + + +
Potassium (mg/g) 0.4 to 1.2 - - - - + + + +
Available nitrogen (mg/g) 160 to 405 - - - - + + + +
Total Nitrogen % 0.01 to 0.03 - - - - - - - +
Heavy Metals
Cu (µg/g) 9.3 to 25 - - - - + + + +
Zn (µg/g) 63 to 168 - - - - + + + +
Ni (µg/g) 3.5 to 51 - - - - + + + +
Pb (µg/g) 0.04 to 9 - - - - + + + +
Cd (µg/g) 0.04 to 0.25 - - - - - + - +
Cr (µg/g) 10 to 16 - - - - + + + +
Fe (µg/g) 25 to 1180 - - - - + + + +
Mn (µg/g) 315 to 377 - - - - + + + +

References - (1) Mathew et al. 2002, (2) Mathew et al. 2003, (3) Kevin John 2013, (4) Shathi et al. 2003
*NP- Narasampathy, KP-Krishnampathy, SP-Selvampathy, KU-Kumarasamy, SC-Selvachinthamani, UD-Ukkadam, VK-
Valankulam, SN-Singanallur

35
35
Table 4. The flora studied by several researchers for the eight urban lakes of Coimbatore

Lake* → NP KP SP KU SC UD VK SN
References → - - - 1&2 - 2, 3, 1&3 2, 3, 6,
Scientific Name Type 4&5 7&8
Order: Caryophyllales; Family: Amaranthaceae
Alternanthera pungens Kunth Creeper - - - - - + - -
Alternanthera paronychioides A.St.-Hil. Herb - - - - - + - -
Alternanthera sessilis (L.) R.Br. ex DC. Herb - - - - - + - -
Amaranthus viridis L. Herb - - - - - + - -
Order: Caryophyllales; Family: Aizoaceae
Trianthema portulacastrum L. Herb - - - - - + - -
Order: Caryophyllales; Family: Chenopodiaceae
Chenopodium album Herb - - - - - + - -
Order: Caryophyllales; Family: Nyctaginaceae
Boerhavia diffusa L. Herb - - - - - - - +
Boerhavia chinensis (L.) Rottb. Herb - - - - - - - +
Order: Caryophyllales; Family: Portulacaceae
Portulaca oleracea L. Herb - - - - - + - -
Order: Poales; Family: Poaceae
Arundo donax L. Shrub - - - - - + - +
Cenchrus ciliaris L. Shrub - - - - - - - +
Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. Herb - - - + - + - +
Ischaemum ciliare Retz. Herb - - - - - + - -
Paspalum scrobiculatum L. Herb - - - - - + - -
Paspalum conjugatum P. J. Bergius Herb - - - - - + - -
Paspalum distichum L. Herb - - - - - + - -
Echinochloa colona (L.) Link Herb - - - - - + - -
Eragrostrissp. Herb - - - - - + - -
Paspalidium punctatum (Burm.) A. Camus Herb - - - - - + - -
Saccharum spontaneum L. Herb - - - - - + - -
Order: Poales; Family: Cyperaceae
Cyperus difformis L. Herb - - - - - - - +
Cyperus rotundus L. Herb - - - - - + - +
Cyperus pangorei Rottb. Aquatic Plant - - - - - + - -
Cyperus alopecuroides Rottb. Herb - - - - - + - -
Order: Poales; Family: Typhaceae
Typha angustifolia L. Shrub - - - - - + - +
Order: Gentianales; Family: Apocynaceae
Calotropis gigantea (L.) Dryand. Shrub - - - - - - - +
Order: Ceratophyllales; Family: Ceratophyllaceae
Ceratophyllum sp. Aquatic Plant - - - - - - - +
Order: Commelinales; Family: Pontederiaceae
Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms Aquatic Plant - - - + - + + +
Order: Cucurbitales; Family: Cucurbitaceae
Cucumis melo L. Herb - - - - - + - -
Cucumis pepo Herb - - - - - + - -
Cucumis sativus L. Herb - - - - - + - -
Luffa acutangula (L) Herb - - - - - + - -
Order: Solanales; Family: Convolvulaceae
Ipomoea Carnea Jacq. Shrub - - - - - + + +
Ipomoea aquatica Forssk. Shrub - - - - - + + +
Order: Solanales; Family: Solanaceae
Physalis angulata L. Herb - - - - - + - -
Datura innoxia Mill. Herb - - - - - + - -
Datura metel L. Herb - - - - - + - -
Order: Alismatales; Family: Hydrocharitaceae
Hydrilla verticillata (L. f.) Royle Aquatic Plant - - - - - + - +
Vallisneria sp. Aquatic Plant - - - - - - - +

38
Table 4. Continued
Lake* → NP KP SP KU SC UD VK SN
References → - - - 1&2 - 2, 3, 1&3 2, 3, 6,
Scientific Name Type 4&5 7&8
Order: Alismatales; Family: Araceae
Lemna minor L. Aquatic Plant - - - - - + + +
Lemna perpusilla Torr. Aquatic Weed - - - - - + - -
Pistia stratiotes L. Aquatic Plant - - - - - + - +
Wolfia sp. Aquatic Plant - - - - - - - +
Order: Alismatales; Family: Potamogetonaceae
Potamogeton nodosus Poir. Aquatic Plant - - - - - + - +
Order: Alismatales; Family: Alismataceae
Sagittaria sagittifolia L. Herb - - - - - - - +
Limnophyton obtusifolium (L.) Miq. Aquatic Plant - - - - - + - -
Order: Lamiales; Family: Verbenaceae
Lippia nodiflora (L.) Greene Herb - - - - - + - +
Lantana indica Roxb. Herb - - - - - + - -
Order: Asterales; Family: Asteraceae
Parthenium hysterophorus L. Herb - - - - - + - +
Xanthium indicum Herb - - - - - + - -
Order: Violales; Family: Passifloraceae
Passiflora calcarata Mast. Climbing Shrub - - - - - - - +
Passiflora foetida L. Climbing Shrub - - - - - + - -
Order: Zygophyllales; Family: Zygophyllaceae
Tribulus terrestris L. Herb - - - - - - - +
Order: (unplaced); Family: Boraginaceae
Heliotropium indicum L. Herb - - - - - + - -
Order: Fabales; Family: Fabaceae
Parkinsonia aculeata L. Tree - - - - - + - -
Acacia nilotica (L.) Delile Tree - - - - - + - -
Prosopis juliflora (Sw.) DC. Tree - - - - - + - -
Pithecellobium dulce (Roxb.) Benth. Tree - - - - - + - -
Order: Brassicales; Family: Capparidaceae
Gynandropsis gynandra L. Herb - - - - - + - -
Cleome chelidonii L. f. Herb - - - - - + - -
Order: Malpighiales; Family: Euphorbiaceae
Chrozophora rottleri (Geiseler) A. Juss. ex Spreng. Herb - - - - - + - -
Croton bonplandianum Baill. Herb - - - - - + - -
Ricinus communis L. Shrub - - - - - + - -
Kirganelia reticulatus Poir. Herb - - - - - + - -
Order: Malvales; Family: Malvaceae
Abutilon indicum (L.) Sweet Herb - - - - - + - -
Malachra capitata (L.) L. Herb - - - - - + - -
Order: Malvales; Family: Tiliaceae
Corchorus olitorius L. Herb - - - - - + - -
Order: Nymphaeales; Family: Nymphaeaceae
Nymphaea nouchali Burm. f. Aquatic Plant - - - - - + - -
Nymphaea pubescens Willd. Aquatic Plant - - - - - + - -
Order: Proteales; Family: Nelumbonaceae
Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn. Aquatic Plant - - - - - + - -
Total 0 0 0 2 0 59 4 24
*NP- Narasampathy, KP-Krishnampathy, SP-Selvampathy, KU-Kumarasamy, SC-Selvachinthamani, UD-Ukkadam, VK-
Valankulam, SN-Singanallur

References - (1) Jayalakshmi et al. 2006, (2) Kevin John 2013, (3) Bubesh 2006, (4) Arun Shankar 2012, (5) Mathew et al. 1995,(6)
Dhanalakshmi 2008, (7) Karthick et al. 2009, (8) Thangavelu 2006

39
39
Table 5. Fish studied by several researchers for the eight urban lakes of Coimbatore

Lake* → NP KP SP KU SC UD VK SN
References → 1 - 1 2&3 - 1, 2, 3, 4, 2 1
5&6
Scientific Name
Order: Cypriniformes; Family: Cyprinidae
Catla catla - - + + - + - +
Cirrhinus mrigala - - - - - + - -
Ctenopharyngodon idella + - - - - + - -
Cyprinus carpio + - - - - + - -
Hypophthalmichthys molitrix + - - + - + - -
Labeo rohita + - + + - + - -
Barbodes carnaticus - - - - - + - -
Haludaria fasciata - - - - - + - -
Devario aequnipinnatus - - - - - + - -
Barilius bendelisis - - - - - + - -
Order: Perciformes; Family: Channidae
Channa punctata - - - + - + - +
Channa striata - - + + - + - +
Channa orientalis - - - - - + - -
Order: Perciformes; Family: Cichlidae
Oreochromis nilotica + - + - - + - +
Oreochromis mossambica - - - + - + + -
Etroplus suratensis - - - - - + - -
Order: Perciformes; Family: Ambassidae
Parambassis ranga - - - - - + - -
Order: Siluriformes; Family: Siluridae
Wallago attu - - - - - + - -
Ompok bimaculatus - - - - - + - -
Order: Siluriformes; Family: Bagridae
Mystus seenghala - - - - - + - -
Mystus keletius - - - - - + - -
Total 5 0 4 6 0 21 1 4

*NP- Narasampathy, KP-Krishnampathy, SP-Selvampathy, KU-Kumarasamy, SC-Selvachinthamani, UD-Ukkadam, VK-

Valankulam, SN-Singanallur

References - (1) Suresh 2012, (2) Chitra et al. 2013, (3) Arun Shankar 2012, (4) Senguttuvan 2003, (5) Ezhili 2008, (6) Mathew et al.
1995

36
Table 6. The avifauna studied by several researchers for the eight urban lakes of Coimbatore

Lake → NP KP SP KU SC UD VK SN
Authors → 1&2 1&2 1&2 1&2 1&2 1, 2, 3, 1, 3, 1, 2, 3,
Family ↓ Scientific Name Common Name Category 4&5 4&6 4, 7 & 8
Order: Podicipediformes
Podicipedidae Tachybaptus ruficollis Little Grebe LC + + + + + + + +
Order: Pelecaniformes
Pelecanidae Pelecanus philippensis Spot-billed Pelican NT + - - - - + + +
Phalacrocorax niger Little Cormorant LC + + + + + + + +
Phalacrocoracidae Phalacrocorax fuscicollis Indian Shag LC + + + + - + + +
Phalacrocorax carbo Great Cormorant LC + - + + - + + +
Anhingidae Anhinga melanogaster Darter LC + + + + - + + +
Order: Ciconiiformes
Egretta garzetta Little Egret LC + + + + + + + +
Egretta gularis Western Reef Heron - - - - - + - +
Ardea cinerea Grey Heron LC - - - + - + + +
Ardea purpurea Purple Heron LC + + + + + + + +
Ardeidae Casmerodius albus Large Egret LC + + + + - + + +
Mesophoyx intermedia Median Egret LC - - - - - + + +
Bubulcus ibis Cattle Egret LC + + + + + + + +
Ardeola grayii Indian Pond Heron LC + + + + + + + +
Nycticorax nycticorax Black-crowned Night Heron LC - - - - - - + +
Mycteria leucocephala Painted Stork NT - - - - - + + +
Ciconiidae Anastomus oscitans Asian Openbill-Stork LC + + - - - + - -
Ciconia episcopus White-necked Stork LC - - - - - - - +
Plegadis falcinellus Glossy Ibis LC - - - - - + - +
Threskiornis melanocephalus Black headed ibis NT - - - - - + - +
Threskiornithidae
Threskiornis aethiopica White Ibis LC - - - - - + - -
Platalea leucorodia Eurasian Spoonbill LC - - - - - - - +
Order: Anseriformes
Dendrocygna javanica Lesser Whistling Duck LC - - - - - + - +
Anas crecca Common Teal LC - - - - - + + +
Anas strepera Gadwall LC - - - - - - - +
Anas poecilorhyncha Spot-billed Duck LC + + + + - + + +
Anatidae Anas clypeata Northern Shoveller LC - - - - - - - +
Anas acuta Northern Pintail LC - - - - - - + +
Anas querquedula Garganey LC - - - - - - - +
Anas penelope Wigeon - - - - - + - -
Nettapus coromandelianus Cotton Teal LC - - - - - + - -
Order: Falconiformes
Milvus migrans Black Kite LC + + + + + + + +
Haliastur indus Brahminy Kite LC + + + + + + + +
Elanus caeruleus Blackwinged kite LC - - - - - + - -
Spilornis cheela Crested Serpent-eagle LC - + - - - - - -
Accipitridae
Circus aeruginosus Western Marsh-Harrier LC - - - - - + + +
Circus macrourus Pallid Harrier LC - - - - - - - +
Circus melanoleucos Pied Harrier LC - - - - - - - +
Accipiter badius Shikra LC - - - - - - + +
Order: Galliformes
Francolinus pondicerianus Grey Francolin LC - - - - - + - +
Phasianidae
Pavo cristatus Indian Peafowl LC - - - - - - - +
Order: Gruiformes
Turnicidae Turnix sylvatica Small Buttonquail LC - - - - - - - +
Amaurornis phoenicurus White breasted Waterhen LC + + + + + + + +
Porzana parva Little Crake LC - - - - - - - +
Porzana fusca Ruddy-breasted Crake - - - - - - - +
Rallidae Gallicrex cinerea Water Cock LC - - - + - + - +
Porphyrio porphyrio Purple Moorhen LC + + + + + + + +
Gallinula chloropus Common Moorhen LC - - - - - + + +
Fulica atra Common Coot LC + + + + + + + +
Order: Charadriiformes
Hydrophasianus chirurgus Pheasant tailed Jacana LC - - + + - + + +
Jacanidae
Metopidius indicus Bronze winged Jacana LC - - + - - - - -
Pluvialis squatarola Grey Plover LC - - - - - + - -
Charadrius dubius Little Ringed Plover LC - - - - - + - +
Charadriidae Charadrius alexandrinus Kentish Plover LC - - - - - - - -
Vanellus malabaricus Yellow-wattled Lapwing LC - + - - - + + +
Vanellus indicus Red wattled Lapwing LC + + + + + + + +
Limosa limosa Black-tailed Godwit NT - - - - - - - +
Tringa stagnatilis Marsh Sandpiper LC - - - - - + - +
Scolopacidae Tringa glareola Wood Sandpiper LC - - - - - + + +
Actitis hypoleucos Common Sandpiper LC + + + + - + + +
Calidris minuta Little Stint LC - - - - - - - +
Recurvirostridae Himantopus himantopus Black-winged Stilt LC - - - - - + + +
Sterna hirundo Common Tern LC - - - - - - + +
Laridae
Sterna acuticauda Black-bellied Tern LC - - - - - - - +
Order: Columbiformes
Columba livia Blue Rock Pigeon LC + + - - - + + +
Columbidae Streptopelia senegalensis Little Brown Dove LC - - - - - - - +
Streptopelia chinensis Spotted Dove LC - - - - - + + +
Order: Psittaciformes
Psittacidae Psittacula krameri Rose-ringed Parakeet LC - - - - - + + +
Order: Cuculiformes
Clamator jacobinus Pied Crested Cuckoo LC - + - - - + + +
Cuculidae Eudynamys scolopacea Asian Koel LC - + + + - + + +
Centropus sinensis Greater Coucal LC + + + + - + + +

41
41
Table 6. Continued

Lake → NP KP SP KU SC UD VK SN
Authors → 1&2 1&2 1&2 1&2 1&2 1, 2, 3, 1, 3, 1, 2, 3,
Family ↓ Scientific Name Common Name Category 4&5 4&6 4, 7 & 8
Order: Strigiformes
Tytonidae Tyto alba Barn Owl LC - - - - - - + +
Strigidae Athene brama Spotted Owlet LC - - - - - - + +
Order: Apodiformes
Apodidae Cypsiurus balasiensis Asian Palm Swift LC + + + + + + + +
Apus affinis House Swift LC + + + + + + + +
Order: Coraciiformes
Alcedo atthis Small Blue Kingfisher LC + + + + - + + +
Halcyon capensis Stork-billed Kingfisher LC - - - - - - - +
Alcedinide
Halcyon smyrnensis White-breasted Kingfisher LC + + + + + + + +
Ceryle rudis Lesser Pied Kingfisher LC - - - - - + + +
Merops orientalis Small Bee-eater LC + + + + + + + +
Meropidae Merops philippinus Blue-tailed Bee-eater LC - + - - - + - +
Merops leschenaulti Chestnut-headed Bee-eater LC + - - - - - - +
Coraciidae Coracias benghalensis Indian Roller LC + + + + + + + +
Upupidae Upupa epops Common Hoopoe LC - - - - - + - +
Order: Piciformes
Capitonidae Megalaima haemacephala Coppersmith Barbet LC - - - - - - + +
Picidae Dinopium benghalense Lesser Golden-backed Woodpecker LC - - - - - - + +
Order: Passeriformes
Hirundo rustica Common Swallow LC + + + + + + + +
Hirundinidae Hirundo smithii Wire-tailed Swallow - + - - - - - -
Hirundo daurica Red-rumped Swallow LC - - - - - - + +
Mirafra erythroptera Red-winged Bush-Lark LC - - - - - - - +
Alauda arvensis Eurasian Skylark LC - - - - - - - +
Alaudidae Alauda gulgula Skylark LC - - - - - + - -
Eremopterix grisea Ashy-crowned Sparrow-Lark LC - - - - - + - -
Galerida cristata Crested Lark LC - - - - - + - -
Motacilla alba White Wagtail LC - - - - - - - +
Motacilla maderaspatensis Large Pied Wagtail LC + + + + + + + +
Motacillidae Motacilla flava Yellow Wagtail LC - + - - - + - +
Motacilla cinerea Grey Wagtail LC - - - - - - - +
Anthus rufulus Paddyfield Pipit LC - - - - - + - +
Campephagidae Tephrodornis pondicerianus Common Woodshrike LC - - - - - - - +
Pycnonotus jocosus Red-whiskered Bulbul LC + + + + + + + +
Pycnonotidae
Pycnonotus cafer Red-vented Bulbul LC + + + + + + + +
Lanius schach Rufous-backed Shrike LC - - - - - - - +
Laniidae
Lanius cristatus Brown Shrike LC - - - - - - - +
Saxicoloides fulicata Indian Robin LC - - - - - - - +
Muscicapidae Saxicola torquata Common Stonechat LC - - - - - - - +
Saxicola caprata Pied Bushchat LC + - - - - + + +
Timaliinae Turdoides affinis White-headed Babbler LC - - - - - - + +
Cisticola juncidis Streaked Fantail-Warbler LC - - - - - + - +
Prinia socialis Ashy Prinia LC - + - - - + + +
Prinia inornata Plain Prinia LC - - - - - - - +
Acrocephalus agricola Paddyfield Warbler LC - - - - - - - +
Sylviidae Acrocephalus dumetorum Blyth's Reed Warbler LC - - - - - - + +
Acrocephalus stentoreus Indian Great Reed Warbler LC - - - - - - - +
Orthotomus sutorius Common Tailor Bird LC - - - - - + + +
Phylloscopus trochiloides Greenish Leaf Warbler LC - - - - - - - +
Sylvia hortensis Orphean Warbler LC - - - - - - - +
Monarchinae Terpsiphone paradisi Asian Paradise Flycatcher LC - - - - - - - +
Dicaeidae Dicaeum erythrorhynchos Tickell’s Flowerpecker LC - - - - - - + +
Nectarinia zeylonica Purple rumped Sunbird LC + + + + + + + +
Nectariniidae
Nectarinia asiatica Purple Sunbird LC + + + + + + + +
Lonchura striata White-rumped Munia LC - - - - - - - +
Estrildidae Lonchura punctulata Spotted Munia LC - + - - - - - +
Lonchura malacca Black-headed Munia LC - - - - - - - +
Passerinae Passer domesticus House Sparrow LC - - - - - - + +
Ploceinae Ploceus philippinus Baya Weaver LC - - - - - - - +
Sturnus roseus Rosy Starling LC - - - - - - - +
Sturnidae
Acridotheres tristis Common Myna LC + + + + + + + +
Oriolus oriolus Eurasian Golden Oriole LC - - - - - - + +
Oriolidae
Oriolus xanthornus Black-headed Oriole LC - - - - - - - +
Dicruridae Dicrurus macrocercus Black Drongo LC + + + + + + + +
Dendrocitta vagabunda Indian Treepie LC - + - - - - - +
Corvidae Corvus splendens House Crow LC + + + + + + + +
Corvus macrorhynchos Jungle Crow LC + + + + + + + +
Total 40 46 38 39 27 77 69 121

*NP- Narasampathy, KP-Krishnampathy, SP-Selvampathy, KU-Kumarasamy, SC-Selvachinthamani, UD-Ukkadam, VK-

Valankulam, SN-Singanallur
References - (1) Orapim 2012, (2) Maharajan 2012, (3) Bubesh 2006, (4) Deivanayaki 2007, (5) Mathew et al. 1995, (6) Kavitha et
al. 2011, (7) Reginald et al. 2007, (8) Dhanalakshmi 2008

42
Table 7. The flora observed during our recent study on the eight urban lakes of Coimbatore

Scientific Name Type NP KP SP KU SC UD VK SN

Order: Arecales; Family: Arecaceae
Borassus flabelliformis L Tree + + - + - + - +
Order: Asterales; Family: Asteraceae
Parthenium Hysterophorus L. Herb - + + + - + - +
Order: Commelinales; Family: Pontederiaceae
Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms. Aquatic Herb - + + + - + + +
Order: Caryophyllales; Family: Amaranthaceae
Aerva lanata (L.) Juss. Herb - + - - - + - +
Amaranthus palmeri S. Watson Herb - - - - - + - -
Celosia argentea L. Herb - - + + + + - +
Gomphrena globosa L. Herb - - + + - + - +
Order: Fabales; Family: Fabaceae
Acacia nilotica (L.) Delile Tree + - + + + + + +
Albizia saman (Jacq.) Merr. Tree - + - - - + - -
Peltophorum pterocarpum (DC.) K. Heyne Tree - - - - - + - -
Delonix regia (Hook.) Raf. Tree - - + + - - - -
Pithecellobium dulce (Roxb.) Benth. Tree - - - - - + - -
Prosopis juliflora (Sw.) DC. Tree - - + + - + - +
Tamarindus indica L. Tree - - - - - + - -
Order: Gentianales; Family: Apocynaceae
Calotropis gigantea (L.) Dryand. Shrub + - + + + + - +
Order: Malpighiales; Family: Euphorbiaceae
Ricinus communis L. Shrub - - + + + + + +
Order: Malvales; Family: Malvaceae
Abutilon indicum (L.) Sweet Small Shrub + - + + + + - +
Order: Nymphaeales; Family: Nymphaeaceae
Nymphaea odorata Aiton Aquatic Herb - - - - - + - +
Order: Poales; Family: Poaceae
Phalaris arundinacea L. Herb - - - - - + - +
Order: Poales; Family: Typhaceae
Typha sp. Aquatic Herb - - - - + + + +
Order: Rosales; Family: Moraceae
Ficus religiosa L. Tree - + - - - - + -
Order: Rosales; Family: Rhamnaceae
Ziziphus jujuba Mill. Tree - + - - - - - -
Order: Solanales; Family: Solanaceae
Datura inoxia Mill. Herb - - + + - + - +
Solanum lycopersicum L. Herb - - - - - - - -
Solanum sp. Herb - + + + - - - -
Solanum sp. Herb - + - - - + - +
Order: Solanales; Family: Convolvulaceae
Ipomoea sp. Erect Herb + - - - - - - -
Order: Sapindales; Family: Meliaceae
Azadirachta indica A. Juss. Tree - - + + - + - +
Order: Zingiberales; Family: Cannaceae
Canna indica L. Herb - - + + - - - -
Order: Chroococcales; Family: Microcystaceae
Microcystis sp. Algae - - + - - + - +
Total 5 9 15 15 6 23 5 18

*NP- Narasampathy, KP-Krishnampathy, SP-Selvampathy, KU-Kumarasamy, SC-Selvachinthamani, UD-Ukkadam, VK-

Valankulam, SN-Singanallur

37
37
Table 8. The Avifauna observed during our recent study on the eight urban lakes of Coimbatore

Order Family Scientific Name Common Name Category NP KP SP KU SC UD VK SN

Podicipediformes Podicipedidae Tachybaptus ruficollis Little Grebe LC - - + + + + - +
Pelecanidae Pelecanus philippensis Spot-billed Pelican VU - - + + - + - +
Pelecaniformes Phalacrocorax niger Little Cormorant LC + - + + + + + +
Phalacrocoracidae
Phalacrocorax fuscicollis Indian Shag LC + - - - - - - -
Anhingidae Anhinga melanogaster Oriental Darter NT - - + - - + - -
Egretta garzetta Little Egret LC - + + + - + + +
Ardea cinerea Grey Heron LC - + - - - + - -
Ardea purpurea Purple Heron LC - - + - - + - +
Ardeidae Casmerodius albus Large Egret LC - + + - - + - -
Mesophoyx intermedia Median Egret LC + - + - + + + +
Bubulcus ibis Cattle Egret LC + + + + + + + +
Ciconiiformes
Ardeola grayii Indian Pond Heron LC + + + + + + + +
Mycteria leucocephala Painted Stork NT - - - - - + - -
Ciconiidae
Anastomus oscitans Asian Openbill-Stork LC + - - - - - - -
Plegadis falcinellus Glossy Ibis LC - + + - + - - -
Threskiornithidae Threskiornis melanocephalus Black headed ibis NT - + - - - - - -
Platalea leucorodia Eurasian Spoonbill LC - - - - - + - -
Dendrocygna javanica Lesser whistling Duck LC - - + - - + - -
Anas poecilorhyncha Spot-billed Duck LC - + + + + + - -
Anseriformes Anatidae Anas clypeata Northern Shoveller LC - - - - - + - -
Anas acuta Northern Pintail LC - - + - - + - -
Anas querquedula Garganey LC - + + - + + - -
Milvus migrans Black Kite LC - + - + + + - +
Falconiformes Accipitridae
Haliastur indus Brahminy Kite LC + - - - - - - +
Francolinus pondicerianus Grey Francolin LC + - - - - + - +
Galliformes Phasianidae
Pavo cristatus Indian Peafowl LC - - - - - - - +
Amaurornispho enicurus White breasted waterhen LC - + + - + + + +
Porphyrio porphyrio Purple Moorhen LC - + + - + + + +
Gruiformes Rallidae
Gallinula chloropus Common Moorhen LC - - - - + - - -
Fulica atra Common Coot LC - - + + + + - +
Hydrophasianus chirurgus Pheasant tailed Jacana LC - - + - + - - -
Jacanidae
Metopidius indicus Bronze winged Jacana LC - - + - + - - -
Charadrius dubius Little Ringed Plover LC - - - - - + - -
Charadriidae
Vanellus indicus Red wattled Lapwing LC - - - - - - - -
Tringa glareola Wood Sandpiper LC - - - - + + - -
Charadriformes
Xenus cinereus Terek Sandpiper LC - - - - + - - -
Scolopacidae
Actitis hypoleucos Common Sandpiper LC + + - - - + - -
Calidris minuta Little Stint LC - - - - - + - -
Recurvirostridae Himantopus himantopus Black-winged Stilt LC + - + - - + - -
Laridae Chlidonias hybridus Whiskered Tern LC - - - - - - - +
Columba livia Blue Rock Pigeon LC - - + - + - - +
Columbidae
Columbiformes Streptopelia chinensis Spotted Dove LC - - - - - + - -
Psittacidae Psittacula krameri Rose Ring Parakeet LC - - - - - + - +
Hierococcyx varius Brainfever Bird LC - - - - - - - +
Cuculiformes Cuculidae Eudynamys scolopacea Asian Koel LC - - - - - - - -
Centropus sinensis Greater Coucal LC - + - - - - - +
Strigiformes Strigidae Athene brama Spotted Owlet LC - + - - + + + +
Alcedo atthis Small Blue Kingfisher LC - - - - - + - -
Alcedinidae Halcyon smyrnensis White-breasted kingfisher LC - - - - - + - +
Ceryle rudis Lesser pied Kingfisher LC - - - - - + - +
Coraciiformes
Meropidae Merops philippinus Blue-tailed Bee-eater LC - - + - - - - +
Coraciidae Coracias benghalensis Indian roller LC - - - - - + - -
Upupidae Upupa epops Common Hoopoe LC + + - - - + - +
Piciformes Capitonidae Megalaima haemacephala Coppersmith Barbet LC + + - - + + + +
Hirundinidae Hirundo rustica Common Swallow LC + + + + + + + +
Motacilla maderaspatensis Large Pied Wagtail LC + - - - - + - -
Motacillidae
Motacilla flava Yellow Wagtail LC - - - - - + - -
Pycnonotus cafer Red-vented Bulbul LC + + + + + + + +
Pycnonotidae
Pycnonotus luteolus White-browed bulbul LC - - - - - - - +
Aegithina tiphia Common Iora LC - - - - - + - +
Irenidae
Chloropsis aurifrons Gold-fronted Chloropsis LC - - - - - + - +
Timaliinae Turdoides affinis White-headed babbler LC - - - - - - - +
Passeriformes Prinia socialis Ashy Prinia LC - - - - + - - -
Prinia inornata Plain Prinia LC - - - - - + - +
Sylviinae
Acrocephalus dumetorum Blyth's Reed Warbler LC - - + + - - - +
Orthotomus sutorius Common Tailor Bird LC + - - - - + - +
Nectariniidae Nectarinia zeylonica Purple rumped Sunbird LC - - - + - + - +
Estrildidae Lonchura striata White-rumped Munia LC - - + - - - - -
Sturnidae Acridotheres tristis Common Myna LC - - - + - + - +
Corvus splendens House Crow LC - - + + - + - +
Corvidae
Corvus macrorhynchos Jungle Crow LC - - + + - + - -
Total 16 19 29 16 23 49 11 38
*NP- Narasampathy, KP-Krishnampathy, SP-Selvampathy, KU-Kumarasamy, SC-Selvachinthamani, UD-Ukkadam, VK-
Valankulam, SN-Singanallur

40
Annexure II WHEREAS the wetlands, vital parts of the hydrological cycle, are
Wetland highly productive, support exceptionally large biological diversity and
provide a wide range of ecosystem services, such as waste assimilation,
Rules water purification, flood mitigation, erosion control, ground water
recharge, microclimate regulation, aesthetic enhancement of the
landscape while simultaneously supporting many significant recreational,
social and cultural activities, besides being a part of the cultural heritage;
AND WHEREAS many wetlands are seriously threatened by reclamation
through drainage and landfill, pollution (discharge of domestic and industrial effluents,
disposal of solid wastes), hydrological alterations (water withdrawal and inflow changes) and
over exploitation of their natural resources resulting in loss of biodiversity and disruption in
goods and services provided by wetlands;
AND WHEREAS India is a signatory to the Ramsar Convention for the conservation and
wise use of wetlands, which includes in its ambit a wide variety of habitats, such as rivers and lakes, coastal lagoons,
mangroves, peatlands, coral reefs and numerous man-made wetlands, such as ponds, farm ponds, irrigated agricultural
lands, sacred groves, saltpans, reservoirs, gravel pits, sewage farms and canals;
AND WHEREAS the Central Government has identified certain wetlands for conservation and management under
its conservation programme and provides financial and technical assistance to the State Governments and Union
territory Administrations for various conservation activities through approval of the Management Action Plans;
AND WHEREAS the National Environment Policy, 2006 recognises the ecological services provided by wetlands
and emphasizes the need to set up a regulatory mechanism consistent with the Ramsar Convention to maintain the
ecological character of the identified wetlands and develop a national inventory of such wetlands;
NOW, THEREFORE, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 25, read with sub-section (1) and clause (v)
of sub-section (2) and sub-section (3) of section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (29 of 1986), the
Central Government hereby makes the following rules for conservation and management of wetlands, namely:-
1. Short title and commencement:
(1) These rules may be called the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2010.
(2) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the official Gazette.
2. Definitions:
(1) In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) “Act” means the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (29 of 1986);
(b) “Authority” means the Central Wetlands Regulatory Authority constituted under rule 5;
(c) “dredging' means an excavation activity or operation usually carried out at least partly underwater, in
shallow sea or fresh water areas with the purpose of gathering up bottom sediments and disposing them
off at a different location;
(d) “National Park” means an area declared, as National Park under section 35 or section 38, or deemed to be
declared as a National Park under sub-section (3) of section 66, of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972
(35 of 1972)
(e) “Ramsar Convention” means the Convention on Wetlands signed at Ramsar, Iran in 1971;
(f) “UNESCO” means the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation;
(g) “wetland” means an area or of marsh, fen, peatland or water; natural or artificial, permanent or
temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water, the
depth of which at low tide does not exceed six meters and includes all inland waters such as lakes,
reservoir, tanks, backwaters, lagoon, creeks, estuaries and manmade wetland and the zone of direct
influence on wetlands that is to say the drainage area or catchment region of the wetlands as determined
by the authority but does not include main river channels, paddy fields and the coastal wetland covered
under the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Environment and Forest, S.O.
number 114th (E) dated the 19 February, 1991 published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II,
Section 3, Sub-section (ii) of dated the 20th February, 1991;
(h) “wildlife sanctuary” means an area declared as a wildlife sanctuary under the provisions of Chapter IV of
the WildLife (Protection) Act, 1972 (35 of 1972) and shall include an area deemed to be sanctuary under
sub section (4) of section 66 of, the said Act.
(2) The word and expressions used in these rules and not defined but defined in the Act, shall have the meaning
respectively assigned to them in the Act.
3. Protected wetlands:
Based on the significance of the functions performed by the wetlands for overall well being of the people and for
determining the extent and level of regulation, the following wetlands shall be regulated under
these rules, namely:-
(i) wetlands categorized as Ramsar Wetlands of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention
as specified in the Schedule.

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 (ii) wetlands in areas that are ecologically sensitive and important, such as, national parks, marine parks,
sanctuaries, reserved forests, wildlife habitats, mangroves, corals, coral reefs, areas of outstanding natural
beauty or historical or heritage areas and the areas rich in genetic diversity;
(iii) wetlands recognised as or lying within a UNESCO World Heritage Site;
(iv) high altitude wetlands or high altitude wetland complexes at or above an elevation of two thousand five
hundred metres with an area equal to or greater than five hectares;
(v) wetlands or wetland complexes below an elevation of two thousand five hundred metres with an area equal
to or greater than five hectares;
(vi) any other wetland as so identified by the Authority and thereafter notified by the Central Government
under the provisions of the Act for the purposes of these rules.
4. Restrictions on activities within wetlands:
(1) The following activities within the wetlands shall be prohibited, namely:
(i) reclamation of wetlands;
(ii) setting up of new industries and expansion of existing industries;
(iii) manufacture or handling or storage or disposal of hazardous substances covered under the Manufacture,
Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemical Rules, 1989 notified vide S.O. number 966 (E) dated the 27th
November, 1989 or the rules for Manufacture, Use, Import, Export and Storage of Hazardous Micro-
organisms / Genetically engineered organisms or cells notified vide GSR number 1037 (E) dated 5th
December, 1989 or the Hazardous Wastes (Management, Handling and Transboundry Movement) Rules,
2008 notified vide S.O. number 2265 (E), dated the 24th September, 2008;
(iv) solid waste dumping: provided that the existing practices, if any, existed before the commencement of these
rules shall be phased out within a period not exceeding six months from the date of commencement of these
rules;
(v) discharge of untreated wastes and effluents from industries, cities or towns and other human settlements:
provided that the practices, if any, existed before the commencement of these rules shall be phased out
within a period not exceeding one year from the date of commencement of these rules;
(vi) any construction of a permanent nature except for boat jetties within fifty metres from the mean high flood
level observed in the past ten years calculated from the date of commencement of these rules.
(vii) Any other activity likely to have an adverse impact on the ecosystem of the wetland to be specified in writing by
the Authority constituted in accordance with these rules.
(2) The following activities shall not be undertaken without the prior approval of the State Government within the
wetlands, namely:-
(i) withdrawal of water or the impoundment, diversion or interruption of water sources within the local
catchment area of the wetland ecosystems;
(ii) harvesting of living and non-living resources;
(iii) grazing to the level that the basic nature and character of the biotic community is not adversely affected;
(iv) treated effluent discharges from industries, cities or towns, human settlements and agricultural fields
falling within the limits laid down by the Central Pollution Control Board or the State Pollution Control
Committee, as the case may be;
(v) plying of motorized boat, if it is not detrimental to the nature and character of the biotic community;
(vi) dredging, only if the wetland is impacted by siltation;
(vii) construction of boat jetties;
(viii) activities within the zone of influence, as per the definition of wetlands, that may directly affect the ecological
character of the wetland;
(ix) facilities required for temporary use, such as pontoon bridges, that do not affect the ecological character of the
wetland;
(x) aquaculture, agriculture and horticulture activities within the wetland;
(xi) repair of existing buildings or infrastructure including reconstruction activities.
(xii) any other activity to be identified by the Authority.
(3) Notwithstanding any in sub-rule (1) or sub-rule (2), the Central Government may permit any of the prohibited
activities or non-wetland use in the protected wetland on the recommendation of the Authority.
(4) The State Government shall ensure that a detailed Environment Impact Assessment is carried out in accordance
with the procedures specified in the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Environment
and Forests S.O. number 1533 (E) dated the September 14th, 2006 as amended from time to time.
(5) No wetland shall be covered to non-wetland use unless the Central Government is satisfied on the
recommendation of the Authority that is expedient in the public interest and reasons justifying the decision
are recorded.

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5. Constitution of Central Wetlands Regulatory Authority:
(1)TheCentralGovernment,inexerciseof thepowersconferredbysub-section(3)of section3of theEnvironment
(Protection) Act, 1986 (29 of 1986), hereby constitutes Central Wetlands Regulatory Authority constituting of
thefollowingChairpersonsandmembersforthepurposeof theserules,namely:-
(a) Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forest s, Government of India – Chairperson;
(b) a representative (not below the rank of Joint Secretary) from Ministry of Tourism, Government of
India – Member exofficio;
(c) a representative (not below the rank of Joint Secretary) from Ministry of Water Resources,
Government of India – Member ex-officio;
(d) a representative (not below the rank of Joint Secretary) from Ministry of Agriculture, Government
of India – Member ex-officio;
(e) a representative (not below the rank of Joint Secretary) from Ministry of Social Justice,
Government of India – Member ex-officio;
(f) Chairman or his nominee, the Central Pollution Control Board – Member exofficio;
(g) Joint Secretary or Adviser, dealing with the wetland in the Ministry of Environment and Forests,
Government of India, member ex-officio;
(h) Dr. Asad R. Rahmani, Director, Bombay Natural History Society, Hornbill House, Dr. Salim Ali
Chowk, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Road, Mumbai 400 023; Expert Ornithology – member;
(i) Prof. A.R. Yousuf, Dean, Academic Affairs and Biological Sciences University of Kashmir, Srinagar,
Jammu and Kashmir; Expert Limnology – member;
(j) Dr. C.K. Varshney, 88 Vaishali, Pitampura, New Delhi – 110034; Expert Ecology – member;
(k) Dr. E.J. James, Director, Water Institute, Karunya University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu; Expert
Hydrology – member;
(l) Director or Additional Director or Joint Director dealing with the Wetland in the Ministry of
Environment and Forests – Member Secretary.
(2) The term of the Authority shall be three years effected from the date of publication of the notification referred
to in sub-rule (1).
(3) The Authority shall exercise the following powers and perform the following functions, namely:
(i) appraise proposals for identification of new wetlands, projects or activities in consultations with the
concerned local authorities;
(ii) identify and interface with the concerned local authorities to enforce the provisions contained under these
rules and other laws for the time being in force;
(iii) grant clearances or identify in consultation with the local state government, the areas for the grant of
clearance for regulated activities in the wetlands within their respective jurisdictions;
(iv) determine, in consultation with concerned local authority, the zone of direct influence of the wetlands;
(v) issue whatever directions, necessary for the conservation, preservation and wise use of wetlands to the
State Governments.
(4)The Authority shall periodically review the list of wetlands and the details of prohibited and regulated
activities under the rules.
(5) The Authority shall specify the threshold levels for activities to be regulated and the mode and methodology for
undertaking activities in wetland.
6. Process for identification of wetlands under different categories:
(1) Wetlands covered under item (i) of rule 3 specified under Schedule shall be the wetland to be regulated under
these rules.
(2) The States Government shall prepare, within a period of one year from the commencement of these rules, 'Brief
Document' identifying and classifying the wetlands within their respective territories in accordance with the
criteria specified under Rule 3 and submit the same to Authority.
(3) The 'Brief Document' of each wetland for identification shall comprise of following information, namely:-
i) broad geographic delineation of the wetland;
ii) its zone of influence along with a map (accurate and to scale);
iii) the size of the wetland;
iv) account of pre-existing rights and privileges, consistent or not consistent with the ecological health of the
wetland.
(4) The Authority, shall on receipt of the 'Brief Document' under sub-rule (2), if consider it necessary refer in
consultation with the State Government to a research institute or university having relevant multi-disciplinary
expertise related to wetlands, to conduct a comprehensive survey of the
wetland within a period of thirty days: provided that the institute or university to which the matter has been
referred under sub-rule (4) shall submit a report within next ninety days from the date of such reference to
Authority, which shall contain information with respect to the criteria specified under rule 3.

27
27
 (5) The Authority shall, thereafter, arrive at a decision in consultation with the State Government, on the
proposal, within a period of ninety days from the date of receipt of the report under sub-rule (4).
(6) The Central Government shall on the receipt of the recommendation of the Authority notify the area of
wetlands as recommended by the Authority for public information inviting objections and suggestions from
the general public likely to be affected to make representation to the Central Government within a period of
sixty days;
(7) The Authority shall consider all the representations which the Central Government may receive under sub-rule
(6) and submit its recommendation on the such representations to Central Government within a period of
sixty days for final notification;
(8) The Central Government shall on receipt of the recommendations of the Authority under sub-rule (7) issue a
final notification notifying therein the area of the wetland its category or classification to be regulated under
these rules and display the said notification in public places in English and vernacular languages.
(9) The Authority may, suo moto or on application made to it, review any decision under these rules or issue
direction for inclusion of wetland under these rule.
7. Overlapping provisions:
(1) The wetlands within the protected areas of the National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries shall be regulated by the
provisions of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (35 of 1972).
(2) The wetlands within the protected or notified forest areas shall be regulated by the provisions of the Indian
Forest Act, 1927 (16 of 1972); the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 (69 of 1980); and the Environment
(Protection) Act, 1986 (29 of 1986).
(3) The gaps in the regulation of wetlands within the protected and notified forest areas, if any, under the
provisions of the Indian Forest Act, 1927; Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972; and Forest (Conservation) Act,
1980; shall be plugged by invoking provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
(4) The wetlands situated outside the protected or notified forest areas referred to in sub-rule (2) shall be
regulated by the relevant provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (29 of 1986).
8. Enforcement of regulated activities:
(1) The identified activities for management and wise use of wetlands situated within the protected or notified forest
areas referred to in sub rule (2) of rule 7 shall be regulated by the Forest Department of the State concerned.
(2) The identified activities for management and wise use of wetlands situated outside the protected or notified
forest areas shall be regulated by the nodal Department or the relevant local state agencies to be designated
by the State Government within a period of six months from the date of commencement of these rules.
9. Appeals against the decisions of Authority:
Any person aggrieved by the decision of the Authority may prefer an appeal to the National Green Tribunal
constituted under the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 (19 of 2010) with in a period of sixty days from the date of
such decision: Provided the National Green Tribunal may entertain any appeal after the expiry of the said period of
sixty days if it is satisfied that the appellant was prevented
Serial Name of Wetland State
by sufficient cause from filing the appeal in time. Number (2) (3)
(1)
1 Ashtamudi Wetland Kerala
THE SCHEDULE 2 Bhitarkanika Mangroves Orissa
3 Bhoj Wetland Madhya Pradesh
[see-rule 3(I)] 4 Chilika Lake Orissa
5 Deepor Beel Assam
Wetlands in India identified as Ramsar sites under Ramsar 6 East Calcutta Wetlands West Bengal
Convention on Wetlands of International Importance. 7 Harike Lake Punjab
8 Kanjli Punjab
9 Keoladeo National Park Rajasthan
10 Kolleru Lake Andhra Pradesh
11 Loktak Lake Manipur
12 Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Tamil Nadu
Sanctuary
13 Pong Dam Lake Himachal Pradesh
14 Ropar Punjab
15 Sambhar Lake Rajasthan
16 Sasthamkotta Lake Kerala
17 Tsomoriri Jammu and Kashmir
18 Vembanad-Kol Wetland Kerala
19 Wular Lake Jammu and Kashmir
20 Chandratal Himachal Pradesh
21 Renuka Himachal Pradesh
22 Rudrasagar Tripura
*During September 2012 the Nalsarovar Wetland from 23 Upper Ganga Uttar Pradesh
Gujarat state was also added to the Ramsar list making 24 Hokarsar (Hokera) Jammu and Kashmir
the total number of Ramsar sites in India to 26 numbers. 25 Surinsar and Mansar (complex) Jammu and Kashmir.

Source: The Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II- Section 3- Sub section (I).New Delhi, the 4 December, 2010 (G.S.R. 951 (E)) &
the New Delhi, the 24 March, 2011 (G.S.R. 952 (E)),Government of India Press, New Delhi 110064

28
 Profile of the Coimbatore City Lakes
(a) Narasampathy Lake (Latitude 11° 0’ 3. 5994" N and Longitude 76° 54' 54" E): The catchment area of the
lake is 963 hectares with the current lakebed area of 19.425 hectares and a water storage capacity of 4.45 Mcft. It is
located west of Coimbatore city adjacent to the Thondamuthur road and west of Krishnampathy Lake. It is the first
lake to receive water from the Noyyal River through Chitrachavadi channel. It also receives runoff from a stream
course coming from the Maruthumalai forest area. The tank has one masonry weir of length 14.10 M located near
Veerakeralam village. The lake has four inlets, of which three are sewage inflows, and three outlets comprising of one
weir dam and two sluice gates. There are about 150 huts located on the bund covering an area of 2.48 hectares.

(b) Krishnampathy Lake (Latitude 11° 0’ 21.6" N and Longitude 76° 55' 40.7994" E): The catchment area of the
lake is 2600 hectares with the current lakebed area of 21.853 hectares and a water storage capacity of 8.48 Mcft. The
lake is situated west of Coimbatore city on the Thadagam to Kondamuthur road. The lake has two main feeding
sources, one from Koilmedu that receives water from the research farm area of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University
(TNAU) and the Karperayan channel that drains from the Marudamalai forest area directly joining the lake. It also
receives water from the Noyyal River through the Chitrachavadi channel. The lake has four inlets including three
sewage inlets. It has only one outlet in the form of masonry weir located under a bridge. The bridge is located on the
Thondamuthur to Thadagam road from the town. The length of the weir is 30 m with a height of 1.40 m. There are
about 300 huts located in the foreshore area of the lake occupying about 1.214 hectares.

(c) Selvampathy Lake (Latitude 11° 0’ 10.8"N and Longitude 76° 56' 16.8"E): The catchment area of the lake is
1600 hectares with the current lakebed area of 16.187 hectares and a water storage capacity of 4 Mcft. The surplus
water from the Krishnampathy Lake reaches Selvampathy lake. The outlet is connected to Kumarasamy Lake. It
receives sewage water through two inlets. The lake has one outlet in the form of
masonry weir located under a bridge. The length of the weir is 30 m with a height
of 1.40 m. Moreover, it has 267 tiled houses, which have come up during the past
25 years, around this lake illegally covering an extent of 3.237 hectares.

(d) Kumarasamy Lake (Latitude 11° 0’ 7.2" N and Longitude 76° 56' 38.4" E):
a It is situated on the Thondamuthur road. It receives excess water from the
Selvampathy Lake. It has catchment area of 1600 hectares with the current
lakebed area of 4.281 hectares and a water storage capacity of 6 Mcft. It receives
sewage water through many sewage inlets. The lake has only one sluice has an
outlet. The north and east side of the lake is lined with several hutments.

(e) Selvachinthamani Lake (Latitude 10°59' 24" N and Longitude 76° 56'
52.7994"E): It is located within the city on the north the Perur road and east of
b
Selvapuram. It has a catchment of 1600 hectares with the current lakebed area of
10.522 hectares and a water storage capacity of 3 Mcft. It receives surplus water
from the Kumaraswamy Lake in addition to a major sewage inlet. The outlet of the
tank is through a regulator with three shutters located along the Perur road. It is a
smaller lake compared to other lakes in the city. It is surrounded by lot of houses,
the vehicular traffic is heavy in this road, and the bunds are covered with debris.

c (f) Ukkadam / Periyakulam Lake (Latitude 10° 56' 48" N and Longitude 76°
57' 28.7994” The biggest of the Coimbatore city lakes is situated near to Ukkadam
bus-stand, it has catchment area of 6300 hectares and the current lakebed area is
136.379 hectares and a water storage capacity of 97 Mcft. This tank is located north
of the River Noyyal and is fed by the channel from the Coimbatore anicut on the
Noyyal River. The lake also receives surplus water from the Selvachinthamani Lake
located in the upstream (north-west) in addition to five major sewage inlets. The
d lake is provided with five outlets one with a connection to feed the Valankulam
Lake situated on east of the lake. It has a surplus weir arrangement of about 25.8 m

29
situated on the south side of the lake, which is a masonry weir with sidewalls and
solid apron. It is situated close to a fish market, bus station and a taxi stand, and is a
recipient of various industrial effluents, urban sewage and municipal solid wastes.
There are 300 pucca / thatched houses located at the toe of the bund on southern
side of the lake. Approximate area under encroachment as per PWD is around
4.047 hectares. e

(g) Valankulam Lake (Latitude 10° 59' 31.2" N and Longitude 76° 58' 26.4"
E): It has catchment area of 480 hectareswith the current lakebed area of 38.85
hectares and a water storage capacity of 16.7 Mcft. Valankulam is located between
Sungam in the east to Ukkadam in the west. It receives supply from the
Coimbatore anicut channel through the Coimbatore big lake and surplus flows
into a stream, which joins the Singanallur lake. Earlier the water used to reach the f
Ammankulam but is diverted directly to the Sanganurpallam drain. The present
length of the water passage is 6.0 m at the Sungam junction in the city. The
Ukkadam to Trichy road bye-pass, starting from Ukkadam (South West) to
Sungam (North East), itself was formed on the bund of the Valankulam. As per
the PWD records, there are about 1500 huts located in the lake occupying about
6.070 hectares.
g
(h) Singanallur Lake (Latitude 10° 59' 16.7994" N and Longitude 77° 01'
37.2" E): It is one of the biggest lakes in Coimbatore situated on the Coimbatore –
Singanallur road. It has a catchment area of 1178 hectares with the current lakebed
area of 66.773 hectares and a water storage capacity of 30 Mcft. The length of the
bund on the lake extends to 3102 m. It has 3 major inlets one from River Noyyal,
and two sewage drains from Sanganur and Kalimadai, one weir dam and two
sluices act as outlets for the lake. A railway track connecting Podanur and Irugur h
passes through this lake. It is surrounded by agricultural and residential areas on the
eastern, southern and western side of lake.

Map Courtesy Dr.S Babu

30
Annexure III: National Wetlands Conservation Programme
The Government of India has been implementing the National Wetlands Conservation Programme (NWCP) in close
collaboration with the State/UT Governments since the year 1985-86. Under the programme, 115 wetlands have
been identified till now by the Ministry which requires urgent conservation and management interventions. The aim
of the programme is to prevent the further degradation of wetlands and ensuring their wise use for the benefit of
local communities and overall conservation of biodiversity.
Role of Central Government
The Central Government is responsible for overall coordination of wetland conservation programmes and initiatives
at the international and national levels and;
· Providing financial assistance for implementation of the approved items of the programme;
· Providing technical expertise and know-how including training of personnel;
· Issue of detailed guidelines covering all aspects of management; and
· Evaluation of the interventions made.
Role of State Government/UT Administration
Since the land resources belong to them, the State Governments/UT Administration are responsible for management
of wetlands and implementation of the NWCP for ensuring their wise-use.
Sl. Name of Wetlands State/UT Sl. Name of Wetlands State/UT
No. No.
1 Kolleru Andhra Pradesh 59 Dihaila Madhya Pradesh
2 Deepor Beel Assam 60 Govindsagar
3 Urpad Beel 61 Sirpur
4 Sone Beel 62 Ujni Maharashtra
5 Kabar Bihar 63 Jayakawadi
6 Barilla 64 Nalgona Wetland
7 Kusheshwar Asthan 65 Loktak Manipur
8 Nal Sarovar Gujarat 66 Umiam Meghalaya
9 Great Rann of Kachh 67 Tamdil Mizoram
10 Thol Bird Sanctuary 68 Palak
11 Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary 69 Chilka Orissa
12 Little Rann of Kachh 70 Kuanria Wetlands
13 Pariej 71 Kanjia Wetlands
14 Wadhwana 72 Daha Wetlands
15 Nanikakrad 73 Anusupa
16 Sultanpur Haryana 74 Ousteri Lake Pondicherry
17 Bhindawas 75 Harike Punjab
18 Renuka Himachal Pradesh 76 Ropar
19 Pong Dam 77 Kanjli
20 Chandertal 78 Nangal
21 Rewalsar 79 Sambhar Rajasthan
22 Khajjiar 80 Kechuperi Holy lake Sikkim
23 Wullar Jammu and Kashmir 81 Tamze wetland
24 Tso Moriri 82 Tambao wetland complex
25 Tisgul Tso and Chisgul Marshes 83 Phendang wetland complex
26 Hokersar 84 Gurudokmar wetland
27 Surinsar - Mansar 85 Tsongmo wetland
28 Ranjit Sagar 86 Point Calimere Tamil Nadu
87 Pangogng Tso 87 Kalivel
30 Gharana 88 Palaikarni
31 Hygam 89 Rudrasagar Tripura
32 Mirgund 90 Gumti reservoir
33 Shalbhug 91 Nawabganj Uttar Pradesh
34 Chushul and Hanley 92 Sandi
35 Udhwa Jharkhand 93 Lakh Bahoshi
36 Tilaiya Dam 94 Samaspur
37 Magadhi Karnataka 95 Alwara wetlands
38 Gudavi Bird Sanctuary 96 Semarai Lake
39 Bonal 97 Nagaria lake
40 Hidkal and Ghataprabha 98 Keetham Lake
41 Heggeri 99 Shekha wetland
42 Ranganathittu 100 Saman Bird sanctuary
43 K G Koppa Wetlands 101 Sarsai Nawar
44 Ashtamudi Kerala 102 Patna bird sanctuary
45 Sasthamkotta 103 Chando wetland, Basti
46 Kottuli 104 Tal Bhagel wetland
47 Kadulandi 105 Tal Ganbhirvan and Tal Salona
48 Vembanad - Kol 106 Aadi Jal Jeev Jhee
49 Barna Madhya Pradesh 107 Ban Ganga Jhilmil Tal Uttarakhand
50 Yeshwant Sagar 108 Asan
51 Wetland of Ken River 109 East Calcutta wetlands West Bengal
52 National Chambal Sanctuary 110 Sunderbans
53 Ghatigaon 111 Ahiron Beel
54 Ratapani 112 Rasik Beel
55 Denwa Tawa Wetland 113 Santragachi
56 Kanha Tiger Reserve 114 Patlakhawa Rasomati
57 Pench Tiger Reserve 115 Sukhna UT (Chandigarh)
58 Sakhya Sagar

Source: http://moef.nic.in

43
43
The Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History
(SACON) is a national institution devoted to the cause of
conservation of India's biodiversity with focus on birds. SACON is
situated in the sylvan surroundings of Anaikatty, 24 km northwest
of Coimbatore city, within the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. It is a
Centre of Excellence of the Ministry of Environment and Forests,
Govt. of India. The management of SACON is vested in a
Governing Council comprising 17 members and its Chairman is the
Secretary/Additional Secretary of Govt. of India, Ministry of
Environment and Forests.

SACON's mission is to help conserve India's biodiversity and its

sustainable use through research, education and peoples'
participation with birds at the centre stage.
SACON conducts research in Ornithology covering all aspects of
biodiversity & Natural History.

Published by,

Environmental Information System (ENVIS),

Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON),
Anaikatti P.O. Coimbatore 641 108. TamilNadu, India

44