Less than two years after massive clean-up op, water hyacinth takes over large swathes of Ooty lake

Water hyacinth covers the Ooty lake | Photo Credit: M. Sathyamoorthy

Less than two years after ₹7.51 crore was spent on desilting and “cleaning” the Ooty lake in the Nilgiris, pollution in the waterbody remains rampant, leading to a vast tract of the lake being taken over by water hyacinth – a telltale sign of eutrophication.

In addition to the ineffectual exercise, local bird watchers have noted a drastic reduction in the bird population in the lake due to the unscientific clean-up that led to the destruction of sand banks and reed beds on which the birds had become dependent.

Clean-up of lake

The project to clean the lake was inaugurated in October 2024, with ₹7.51 crore being sanctioned for the exercise across 24 hectares, as well as to modernise the sewage treatment plant with additions to keep debris, including solid waste, from entering the waterbody. 

However, less than two years after the work began and less than a year after it was completed, pollution in the lake remains comparable to previous levels, leading to the proliferation of water hyacinth across a substantial portion of the waterbody. Conservationists said that the presence of water hyacinth is a telltale sign of eutrophication or ‘nutrient-pollution’ caused by the uncontrolled runoff of pollutants, including fertilisers, manure, and untreated sewage that leads to the rapid growth of plant life, choking whatever little aquatic life that remains.