Visakhapatnam’s toxic stormwater drains threaten ecosystem

The disturbing show of integrative discarded and different debris floating connected the stagnant waters adjacent the outfall of a stormwater drain, wherever it converges with the Bay of Bengal astatine Pedda Jalaripeta—one of Visakhapatnam’s astir historical sportfishing settlements—has go a regular view.

The representation captures Visakhapatnam, besides known arsenic the City of Destiny, and its increasing situation with stormwater drains, which are designed to transportation rainwater and trim flooding. However, these drains are progressively transporting wastewater done galore parts of the metropolis passim the twelvemonth earlier discharging into the sea.

The city’s scenery is shaped by hills, valleys, reservoirs, wetlands and earthy drainage channels that transportation rainwater towards the Bay of Bengal. However, implicit time, galore of these earthy channels became portion of the city’s stormwater drainage network.

On World Environment Day (June 5), the information of Visakhapatnam’s geddas (local drainage channels) offers a glimpse into the coastal city’s earthy drainage systems, municipality infrastructure, and biology health, which person go progressively intertwined.

Official records submitted earlier the National Green Tribunal (NGT) amusement that respective drains proceed to transportation what authorities picture arsenic “Dry Weather Flow” (DWF), wastewater generated adjacent successful the lack of rainfall. Unlike achromatic water, which is sewage from households, DWF chiefly consists of grey h2o collected from kitchens, bathrooms, roads and different home sources.

Urbanisation and sewage infrastructure

The improvement highlights the widening spread betwixt municipality maturation and sewerage infrastructure successful 1 of Andhra Pradesh’s fastest-growing municipality centres. As the metropolis expanded, however, the sewerage infrastructure did not ever support pace.

According to submissions made by the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) and the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) earlier the NGT successful December 2025, the metropolis generates astir 224 cardinal litres of sewage each time (MLD). Against this, disposable attraction capableness stood astatine 179 MLD crossed 19 sewage attraction plants (STPs), leaving a shortage of astir 45 MLD.

While 18 of the city’s 41 large drains had been diverted to attraction facilities, respective others continued to discharge into coastal areas, including RK Beach, Jalaripeta, Appughar, Sagar Nagar, and Rushikonda.

The situation is peculiarly evident successful the rapidly urbanising corridor betwixt Madhurawada and Bheemunipatnam, wherever residential and commercialized improvement has expanded faster than underground sewage infrastructure. Several drains successful this agelong proceed to discharge into the oversea due to the fact that sewage networks person yet to beryllium established.

And, for residents surviving on the city’s drainage channels and outfalls, the consequences are contiguous and visible.

Impact connected wellness and livelihood

At the Pedda Jalaripeta outfall, the drain forms a shallow h2o assemblage earlier entering the sea. Plastic discarded and floating debris accumulate on its edges, portion the formation serves arsenic a workspace for sportfishing families. The proximity betwixt the polluted outfall and the community’s regular activities underscores the grade to which the city’s drainage problems are affecting livelihoods and nationalist health.

Over 7,000 radical from the sportfishing assemblage reside successful Pedda Jalaripeta, galore of whom beryllium straight connected the oversea for their livelihoods.

“The gedda overflows whenever it rains, spreading crossed the formation and into the sea. Along with it travel each kinds of waste, including plastic, gunny bags, coconut shells, chickenhearted waste, and adjacent dormant animals. All of america surviving here, including our children, are suffering from tegument ailments and different wellness issues,” says O. Raju, a fisherman.

For sportfishing communities, contamination is not simply an biology contented but besides an economical one. “Earlier, we utilized to propulsion food ashore, but present we propulsion up plastic, gunny bags, and different toxic waste,” helium adds.

Elsewhere successful the city, overflowing drains contiguous a antithetic acceptable of challenges. During periods of aggravated rainfall, channels clogged with coagulated discarded often overflow onto roads and into residential areas.

“Bottlenecks and shrinking drainage channels proceed to aggravate flooding successful respective localities,” says Vivek Rathod, an Environmentalist. He argues that stormwater drains gradually became linked to wastewater disposal systems arsenic the metropolis expanded, creating a concern successful which channels intended for rainwater present transportation wastewater.

Wastewater and the city

The interaction of wastewater entering stormwater drains does not extremity astatine the outfall. Monitoring conducted by the APPCB and submitted to the NGT recovered that wastewater prime astatine respective coastal discharge points failed to conscionable prescribed standards. The Board reported exceedances successful Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) astatine aggregate locations wherever wastewater entered coastal waters.

Every drain carrying wastewater to the oversea becomes a pathway done which pollutants, excess nutrients, and coagulated discarded participate marine ecosystems. Plastic waste, integrated matter, and different debris carried downstream yet accumulate connected beaches and near-shore waters. During the monsoon, the measurement of discarded transported by drains increases significantly.

Rajendra Singh, h2o conservationist and laminitis of Jal Biradari, estimates that astir 200 MLD of untreated wastewater yet reaches the oversea done assorted pathways. This figure, drawn from his autarkic assessment, is considerably higher than the authoritative attraction shortage of 45 MLD, and apt accounts for STPs operating beneath rated capacity, bypasses, and informal discharge points not captured successful authoritative submissions.

“All this polluted h2o yet reaches the ocean, damaging the situation and ecology,” helium says. Fishing communities are among the worst affected due to the fact that deteriorating h2o prime impacts marine beingness and food resources connected which livelihoods depend, helium explains.

Environmental groups person repeatedly raised concerns astir the cumulative interaction of wastewater discharges connected marine ecosystems, food populations and coastal biodiversity. Questions person besides been raised astir the effects of contamination connected marine wildlife, including Olive Ridley turtles that predominant the coast.

Ecological diversity

The geddas have undergone important changes implicit the years. Many earthy drainage corridors, which erstwhile functioned arsenic earthen seasonal waterways, person been modified, narrowed, oregon progressively lined with concrete—first nether the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission and much precocious done ongoing GVMC works. Continuous wastewater flows person further altered the ecological quality of these channels.

Few Indian cities inhabit a mounting arsenic ecologically divers arsenic Visakhapatnam. Rajendra Singh describes the metropolis arsenic an environmentally, ecologically, and hydrologically delicate region. “There are mountains, sea, forests, and cultivation fields. The fig of specified regions successful India is low,” helium says.

Singh, who has been associated with efforts to code h2o contamination issues successful the metropolis for astir a decade, says the degradation of h2o bodies and coastal waters warrants urgent attention. “Visakhapatnam’s h2o bodies and the oversea are being polluted astatine a accelerated pace,” helium laments.

Urban planners and environmentalists reason that Visakhapatnam needs to rethink its narration with these drainage corridors.

Sohan Hatangadi, president of the Greater Visakhapatnam Citizens’ Forum (GVCF), believes geddas should beryllium viewed arsenic biology and nationalist assets alternatively than simply drains.

“The bottommost enactment is that stormwater channels should beryllium treated arsenic utile nationalist spaces alternatively than specified drains. If they are decently developed with a way alongside the gedda, children tin locomotion to school, radical tin commute connected foot, and the country tin relation similar a park. In this way, the abstraction tin service aggregate purposes,” helium says.

He advocates treating geddas as ‘blue-green veins’ wrong the metropolis and integrating them into municipality readying done landscaping, ecological restoration, and pedestrian access. He besides cautions against excessive concretisation.

“If you cement the full gedda, the h2o that is expected to seep into the crushed to summation the h2o array volition besides stop. In immoderate places, the gedda should beryllium near earthy due to the fact that the h2o volition seep into the crushed and promote flora and fauna,” helium observes.

Bollisetty Satyanarayana, an environmentalist and co-petitioner successful the Andhra Pradesh High Court PIL connected sewage discharge, argues that solutions request not ever beryllium ample and long-term. Referring specifically to the stormwater drain that passes done MVP Colony and Lawson’s Bay Colony earlier discharging into the oversea astatine Pedda Jalaripeta, helium contends that contiguous bioremediation measures and decentralised sewage attraction facilities located on the drain could trim contamination substantially, without waiting for large infrastructure projects to beryllium completed.

“With a fraction of the funds, bioremediation tin beryllium utilized to halt the pollution. Why don’t you physique the STP here? Why bash you privation to physique a pumping presumption present and pump it elsewhere? You tin bash it downstream. It is the champion happening to do. A information of the adjacent park, which is not being afloat used, tin besides beryllium utilised to physique an STP. Everybody is funny successful making a big-size task alternatively of identifying and implementing tiny solutions to the problem,” helium says.

Restoration and treatment

Acknowledging the increasing request for amended drainage systems, the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) states that a operation of drainage improvements, sewerage expansion, and wastewater interception projects is nether way.

According to GVMC Chief Engineer P.V.V. Satyanarayana Raju, the city’s roadworthy web spans astir 2,700 km, and stormwater drains — classified arsenic insignificant (300 mm to 600 mm), mean (600 mm to 2 metres) and large (above 2 metres) — are designed to tally parallel to these roads. Against a theoretical request of 4,000 km, the metropolis has astir 3,000 km of drains, a spread of 1,000 km identified done a consultant-prepared drainage maestro plan.

“An Urban Flood Risk Management Project has been projected by the Central authorities and is expected to person administrative authorisation shortly. Under this project, we volition screen astir 15 to 20 low-lying areas that are often inundated, including parts of Seethammadhara and KRM Colony. After sanction, we person to hole the Detailed Project Report (DPR) and telephone for tenders. The works should beryllium completed wrong 2 years,” helium said.

On wastewater entering drains, the Chief Engineer says astir 20 specified drains transportation mixed flows into the oversea and the corp is diverting them to STPs. A pipeline is already being laid on the Beach Road from Sagar Nagar to intercept that drain and pump its travel to a attraction plant.

The metropolis presently operates 5 large STPs and 14 smaller attraction plants serving lodging colonies. An further STP is planned astatine Kapuluppada, and a 25 MLD STP is projected astatine Appughar.

“For that level of coverage, the existing STPs are astir adequate. There is lone a shortage of astir 30 to 40 MLD. To code that, we are gathering caller STPs. We person secured projects worthy ₹1,500 crore nether the Urban Challenge Fund, including a ₹658 crore underground sewerage task for Madhurawada with a 20 MLD attraction works and 450 km of network, and a ₹725 crore bulk h2o proviso task for that country wherever proviso is presently lone 60 to 70 litres per capita per time against a modular of 150 litres,” helium said.

Ahead of the monsoon, GVMC undertook large-scale desiltation of stormwater drains. According to the Chief Engineer, the corp identified astir 180 km of captious drains for desiltation and had completed astir 165 km truthful far, with the remaining stretches scheduled for completion shortly. Such works are carried retired annually earlier the onset of the monsoon, helium said, adding “GVMC is besides installing screens adjacent outfalls to trap floating waste, with sanitation unit deputed to periodically wide the accumulated material.”

As Visakhapatnam expands, the situation for policymakers is not simply to physique much drains; it is to reconstruct the favoritism betwixt stormwater and sewage systems, grow attraction capacity, support earthy drainage corridors, and forestall wastewater from reaching the sea.

Stormwater drains were ne'er intended to relation arsenic year-round carriers of wastewater. Yet, galore present do. The consequences are disposable successful flood-prone neighbourhoods, sportfishing communities, beaches, and coastal waters.

“On World Environment Day, fto the city’s geddas offer a reminder that biology wellness is shaped not lone by forests, hills and coastlines, but besides by the information of the waterways that link them,” notes Rajendra Singh.