Environ Geol (2008) 54:879–889

DOI 10.1007/s00254-007-0870-z

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Environmental effects of river sand mining: a case from the river

catchments of Vembanad lake, Southwest coast of India
D. Padmalal Æ K. Maya Æ S. Sreebha Æ R. Sreeja

Received: 26 December 2006 / Revised: 30 May 2007 / Accepted: 11 June 2007 / Published online: 30 June 2007

Springer-Verlag 2007

Abstract Rivers in the southwest coast of India are under Introduction

immense pressure due to various kinds of human activities
among which indiscriminate extraction of construction Rivers are the most important life supporting systems of
grade sand is the most disastrous one. The situation is ra- nature. For centuries, humans have been enjoying the
ther alarming in the rivers draining the Vembanad lake natural benefits provided by rivers without understanding
catchments as the area hosts one of the fast developing much on how the river ecosystem functions and maintains
urban-cum-industrial centre, the Kochi city, otherwise its vitality (Naiman 1992; Naiman and Bilby 1998). Man
called the Queen of Arabian Sea. The Vembanad lake has changed the nature of many of the world’s rivers by
catchments are drained by seven rivers whose length varies controlling their floods, constructing large impoundments
between 78 and 244 km and catchment area between 847 (Ittekkot and Lanne 1991), overexploitation of living and
and 5,398 km2. On an average, 11.73 million ty–1 of sand non-living resources (Macfarlane and Mitchell 2003; Ki-
and gravel are being extracted from the active channels and tetu and Rowan 1997) and using rivers for disposal of
0.414 million ty–1 of sand from the river floodplains. The wastes (Haslam 1990). Among these, indiscriminate
quantity of instream mining is about 40 times the higher extraction of non-living resources like sand and gravel
than the sand input estimated in the gauging stations. As a from riverbed is the most disastrous as this activity
result of indiscriminate sand mining, the riverbed in the threatens the very existence of the river ecosystem (Kon-
storage zone is getting lowered at a rate of 7–15 cm y–1 dolf 1994; Poulin et al. 1994). A review of literature re-
over the past two decades. This, in turn, imposes severe veals that indiscriminate extraction of river sand and gravel
damages to the physical and biological environments of many folds higher than natural replenishments can impart
these river systems. The present paper deals with the serious offsite and onsite impacts. This ultimately leads to
environmental effects of indiscriminate sand mining from changes in channel form, physical habitats and food webs
the small catchment rivers in the southwest coast of India, (Starnes 1983; Rivier and Seguier 1985; Thomas 1985;
taking the case of the rivers draining the Vembanad lake Sandecki 1989; Kitetu and Rowan 1997), engineering
catchments as an example. structures associated with river channels (Bull and Scott
1974; Harvey and Smith 1998) and inland sediment supply
Keywords River sand mining
Riverbed lowering
to coastal and nearshore environments (Jenkins et al. 1988;
Vembanad lake catchments
Southwest India Gaillot and Piegay 1999). As these adverse effects become
increasingly recognised and understood, instream sand
mining/aggregate extraction has recognised increasing
scientific scrutiny (Bates 1992; Collins 1995; Norman et al.
1998; Kondolf et al. 2002). Although more focussed re-
D. Padmalal (&)
K. Maya
S. Sreebha
R. Sreeja searches leading to restoration of river environments are
Environmental Sciences Division,
progressing in many developed countries (Tompkins and
Centre for Earth Science Studies,
Thiruvananthapuram 695031, Kerala, India Kondolf 2003; Kondolf 2006; Kondolf et al. 2006), much
e-mail: drpadmalal@yahoo.com attention has not been made in the rest of the world.

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Here we report the environmental effects of river Recent sediments. The Precambrian crystallines cover
sand mining from the small rivers (catchment area about 85% of the study area and composed mainly of
< 10,000 km2; Milliman and Syvitski 1992) debouching charnockites, khondalites, garnet-biotite gneisses and
into the largest marginal lagoon, in the southwest coast of hornblende gneisses (GSI 1995). The Tertiary sedimen-
India, the Vembanad lake. These rivers are being subjected taries are represented by Quilon and Warkalli Formations.
to indiscriminate sand extraction over the past 3–4 decades While the former (i.e. the Quilon Formation) is composed
consequent to economic development, rise in foreign of limestones, sandstones and claystones, the latter is
remittance and liberalised housing schemes from banking formed of sandstones and claystones with intercalations of
sector for building constructions since early 1970s. Studies lignite seams. The Precambrian crystallines and the Ter-
(Padmalal and Arun 1998; Padmalal et al. 2006) reveal that tiary sedimentaries are lateritised at many places in the
sand mining is taking place many folds higher than natural midlands. Recent to Sub-Recent sediments of Late Qua-
replenishments, which, in turn, led to severe environmental ternary age, represented by coastal sands and alluvium, are
degradation and ecological disorders. Reduction in sedi- confined to the lowlands and parts of midlands (Padmalal
ment supply from upstream reaches and erosion of its own et al. 1997). The area experiences a tropical humid climate
channel during high flow regimes of monsoon season are with an average annual rainfall of about 3,300 mm. Of the
common in many rivers in the southwest coast. This has led total rainfall, southwest monsoon (June–September) con-
to channel incision and undermining of engineering struc- tributes about 75% and the remaining by northeast mon-
tures like bridges, side protection walls, water intake soon (October–December) and summer showers. The
structures constructed for rural water supplies, etc. Lack of temperature varies from 20 to 39C. Humidity is high
sufficient information regarding the negative effects of (>80%) during monsoon period.
sand mining is a major set back for laying strategies for the
conservation and management of the small catchment
rivers of the region. Considering the importance of scien- Rivers in the Vembanad lake catchments
tific assessments on the extent of environmental degrada-
tion consequent to indiscriminate sand mining, an attempt Table 1 shows the characteristic features of the Ach-
has been made in this paper to address a few aspects about ankovil, Pamba, Manimala, Meenachil, Muvattupuzha,
the impacts of sand mining on the physical and biological Periyar and Chalakudy rivers draining the Vembanad lake
environments of Kerala rivers in the southwest coast of catchments. The headwater elevation of these rivers var-
India, taking the river catchments of Vembanad lake as an ies between 700 and 1,830 m with respect to mean sea
example. level. These small, mountainous rivers (Milliman and
Syvitski 1992), except the Achankovil, which is an up-
land river, enfold alluvial deposits rich in construction
Geology and environmental setting grade sand and gravel in its lowlands and midlands. The
highlands, which act as the main production zone for
The Vembanad lake, the largest coastal lagoon (~250 km2) sediments, are generally under dense forests and/or forest
in the west coast of India, and its catchments cover an area plantations. A substantial proportion of the sediments
of about 14,500 km2. The entire area lies between North derived from the uplands is being trapped in the reser-
latitudes 90¢–1035¢ and East longitudes 7605¢–7725¢ voirs constructed for irrigation and hydroelectric power
(Fig. 1). The lake catchment is drained by seven small generation. The channel width of the mainstream that
rivers (i.e. rivers with catchment area <10,000 km2; Mil- holds thick sand beds in the active channel ranges from
liman and Syvitski 1992) viz., Chalakudy, Periyar, Mu- 100 to 500 m. These rivers generally exhibit higher
vattupuzha, Meenachil, Manimala, Pamba and Achankovil meandering index in the midlands than the other two
rivers. These rivers originate from the Western Ghat physiographic zones. The alluvial reaches exhibit a vari-
mountains and flow generally westwards before debou- ety of roughness configurations that vary with slope and
ching into the Vembanad lake. position within the channel network. The entire alluvial
Physiographically, the study area can be divided into 3 reaches of these rivers can be categorised into three dis-
distinct zones—the highlands (>75 m above msl), mid- tinct morphological classes towards downstream—plane
lands (8–75 m) and the lowlands (<8 m); (CESS 1984). bed reach, pool riffle reach and dune ripple reach. The
The total population of the area as per 2001 census is about content of gravel and sand exhibits marked changes over
10 million and population density about 690 inh km–2. The these morphological classes—the former (i.e. gravel) de-
major rock types in the area are: (1) Precambrian crystal- creases in percent contents, while the latter exhibits a
lines, (2) Tertiary sedimentaries and (3) Recent to Sub- marked increase downstream.

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Fig. 1 Study area showing

Vembanad lake and river
catchments

Methodology Protection Council (AKRPC), etc., were the other sources

of information for the present study. The data analysis and
The study includes extensive field survey in the entire interpretations were done following the published works of
channel networks of the Vembanad lake catchments for: Kondolf et al. (2002), Kitetu and Rowan (1997) and Weeks
(1) mapping locations of river sand mining and storing et al. (2003).
centres, reaches of river degradation, locations of damaged
engineering structures like side walls, bridges, spillways
and water intake structures, etc., and (2) collection of pri- River sand mining
mary and secondary data on mining operations, quantity of
sand and gravel extracted from each locations and infor- River sediments comprise a spectrum of particle sizes such
mation on biological resources of the respective rivers. The as boulders, cobbles, pebbles, granules, sand, silt and clay.
current extraction of sand from the river stretches falling In general, coarser particles concentrate in the low order,
within each river basin was estimated from number counts high gradient streams and finer particles progressively de-
and select weighing of the loaded vehicles moving out the posit towards the downstream because of reduction in shear
mining locations during the period of sand extraction, stress and improved sediment sorting (Kondolf 1994).
interviews with local people and labourers, secondary Three sediment delivery processes are recognised, (1) mass
information available with the district and local adminis- wasting on hill slope, (2) hill slope erosion and (3) erosion
tration etc using standard formats (Gilpin 1995). The of channel bed and banks (Collins and Dunne 1990). Mass
information on the discharge of sand and riverbed lowering wasting includes landslides and soil creep, and occurs
was collected from the river gauging stations of the Central when gravity alone moves soil to the river channels. Hill
Water Commission (CWC), Government of India. The data slope erosion occurs when precipitation intensity exceeds
collected through the major ongoing research programmes the absorption capacity of soil and generates overland flow.
of Centre for Earth Science Studies (CESS) and Centre In relatively undisturbed river systems at its mature phase,
for Water Resource Development and Management gradual erosion of outside bends of meanders and deposi-
(CWRDM), Department of Mining and Geology, Govern- tion of eroded materials on inside bends cause an imper-
ment of Kerala, Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) ceptible shifting of channel within its floodplain. This form
like Pampa Parirakhshana Samithi (PPS), All Kerala River of stability is called dynamic equilibrium (Heede 1986).

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Table 1 Salient features of the rivers draining the Vembanad lake catchments
River River length (km)/ Headwater elevation Features of alluvial reach Remarks
Basin area (km2) (m)/River typea
Length (km)/ Sinuosity
Width (m) index

Achankovil 128/1,484 700/upland 108/100 1.50 Major tributaries of the river are Kallar, Chittar, Pallikondan Ar and Tuval thodu. The
river hosts a 16 m waterfalls in the Tuval thodu at Palakappara
Pamba 176/2,235 1,650/mountainous 140 /150 1.44 Kakki Ar and Kakkad Ar are the major tributaries. The two reservoirs in the basin are
the Kakki and Pamba reservoirs. The basin hosts many water falls and the important
one being falls at Perunthenaruvi. The sandy riverbed at Cherukol and Maramon are
used for holding annual religious congregations
Manimala 90/847 1,156/mountainous 77/100 1.51 Kokkayar, Para thodu, Kanjirapally thodu, Pullaga Ar, Chemban thodu, Elakkal thodu,
Papan thodu and Kuvani thodu are the major tributaries. River hosts a 60 m and 8 m
waterfalls in its tributaries. The riverbed at several places is used for holding annual
religious congregations
Meenachil 78/1,272 1,097/mountainous 49/110 1.38 Important tributaries are Kalathukadavu Ar, Tikovil Ar, Chittar Ar and Kala Ar. The
river hosts three waterfalls in its tributaries
Muvattupuzha 121/1,554 1,094/mountainous 46/165 1.71 Thodupuzha Ar, Kothamangalam Ar and Kaliyar are the major tributaries of the river.
The river hosts a reservoir at Malankara. The tail race water of the Idukki hydro-
electric project of Periyar river is diverted through the Thodupuzha tributary
Periyar 244/5,398 1,830/mountainous 148/500 1.47 Major tributaries of Periyar river are Pooyamkutty Ar, Idamala Ar, Muthirapuzha Ar,
Perinjankutty Ar and Mangalapuzha Ar. The basin hosts ten reservoirs in its
upstream. Important waterfall is at Kokkaranipara. The river bed at Kalady and
Aluva are used for holding annual religious congregations
Chalakudy 130/1,704 1,250/mountainous 78/140 1.47 Parambikulam Ar, Sholayar, Kuriarkutty Ar, Karappara Ar and Anakkayam Ar are the
tributaries. The river basin hosts 5 reservoirs. Several waterfalls are in the upstream
area of the river of which Athirapalli falls of 45 m is a major attraction
a
Headwater elevation is measured from mean sea level; River type is identified following the scheme of Milliman and Syvitsky (1992)
Environ Geol (2008) 54:879–889
Environ Geol (2008) 54:879–889 883

Although river flows and sediment loads are variable higher in numbers in midlands (523) than highlands (309)
within and among years, sediment balance and channel and lowlands (171). A total of about 22,300 registered
stability occur over long term. Instabilities introduced by labourers are employed in instream mining sector and the
human activities like deforestation, sand and gravel mining number of indirect workers depending on the quarried
and other activities, and by natural processes like extreme sand, especially in the construction sector, would be over a
precipitation, forest fires and other events can cause lakh. In some places, sand mining is even clubbed with
channel bed and banks to become net sources of sediment. extraction of subfossil logs embedded within alluvial sand
River sand and gravel are mined extensively from the deposits (Fig. 2). These subfossil logs that are segregated
drainage networks of the Vembanad lake catchments, in the Early Holocene higher sea levels (Kumaran and Nair
irrespective of the physiographic zones, river orders and 2005) are used as firewood in the brick kilns of the nearby
ecological significance. However, the intensity of mining is areas. An apparent assessment of the quantity of sand
high in the alluvial reaches of the main channels. In extraction with respect to the available sand input data
addition to mining of sand and gravel from active channels reveals that sand mining in the river reaches down to the
(instream mining), a substantial amount of sand is also gauging stations is of the order of 40 times higher than the
being extracted from the overbank areas (floodplain min- sand input recorded at the gauging stations of the respec-
ing) of the river as well. Generally, two types of instream tive rivers (Table 3). The natural replenishment is very
mining are in practice in the area—pit excavation and bar meagre as the river catchments are occupied mainly by
skimming. Pit excavation is extraction of sand and gravel Precambrian crystallines. Further, a substantial part of sand
from the riverbed or floodplain areas by uncontrolled dig- originated from natural crustal weathering will be detained
ging. In some cases, diesel powered suction pumps are within the reservoirs constructed in the uplands for irriga-
used to extract sand rich sediments from wet pits in the tion and hydropower generation (see Fig. 1). According to
active channels and floodplains. Bar skimming, on the Nair and Padmalal (2006) whatever sand reaches in the
other hand, is the controlled extraction of sand from alluvial zones are derived from erosion/slumping of early–
the exposed sand bars (instream bars and point bars) in the middle Holocene sand layers interbedded within the river
channel environment. Usually, bar skimming would be banks of the midlands and lowlands.
done above the water table and within a minimum width River degradation, damage to agricultural lands close to
buffer that separates the excavation site from the low flow river channel, etc., led to agitation among the local people
channel and the adjacent active channel bank. Of the two who directly depend on rivers for various purposes. Peo-
types, pit excavation is the widespread sand mining method ple’s opposition and strict regulation of instream sand
adopted in the alluvial reaches of the rivers in the Vem- mining often lead to mining of sand from floodplains and/
banad lake catchments. or river terraces. Floodplain mining is severe in the low-
Table 2 shows the estimated quantity of sand extraction lands of Muvattupuzha river basin compared to the others.
from various rivers of the study area. It is revealed that an It is estimated that an amount of 0.414 million ty–1 of sand
amount of 11.73 million tonnes of sand and gravel are and gravel is being mined annually from the floodplain
being extracted annually from the active channels of these areas of the seven rivers subjected to the present study
rivers. Out of the total quantity of sand extraction, nearly (Table 4). The number of pits and labour force in the
half the amount (i.e. 5.64 million tonnes) is from the floodplain-mining sector are 137 and 600, respectively.
Periyar river, which flows through the most urbanized and
industrialized areas of the Vembanad lake basin, the Kochi
city. Although small in river length and catchment area Effects of instream sand mining
compared to Periyar river (244 km/5,398 km2), the river
Muvattupuzha (121 km/1,554 km2) is also affected se- River basins have long been exploited as sources of fine
verely by sand extraction (2.00 million ty–1), owing to its aggregates for building constructions. Depending on the
proximity to the development centre, the Kochi city and its geologic and geomorphic setting, river sand mining can
satellite townships. The sand extraction in the other rivers impose serious environmental consequences in the long run
are of the order Manimala > Achankovil > Chal- (UNEP 1990). The cumulative effects of uncontrolled sand
akudy > Pamba > Meenachil (see Table 2). Spatial analy- mining have substantially altered the physical, chemical
sis reveals that about 75% of the extracted sand is from the and biological environments of the small southwest Indian
midlands, which cover only 30% of the entire study area. rivers. Table 5 shows some of the general impacts of river
The highlands and lowlands account for almost equal sand mining noticed in the river catchments of Vembanad
amount of sand extraction (Table 2), although the former lake. Degradation of rivers is severe in the alluvial reaches
covers a greater portion of the study area (60%) than the of the midlands and lowlands compared to the production
latter (10%). The sand harvesting (mining) centres are also zones in the highlands. In some cases, the riverbank itself is

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Table 2 Sand mining and other relevant details of the rivers draining the Vembanad lake catchments with respect to different physiographic
zones
Physiographic Rivers/River Sand extraction No. of sand No. of local bodies Labour
zone/unit total (·106 ty–1) mining locations engaged in sand mining force

Lowland (<8 m amsl) Chalakudy 0.15 7 2 300

Periyar 0.49 45 6 1,510
Muvattupuzha 0.44 69 4 1,323
Meenachil 0.03 6 1 80
Manimala 0.11 14 4 332
Pamba 0.15 23 4 505
Achankovil 0.09 7 2 410
Total 1.46 171 23 4,460
Midland (8–75 m amsl) Chalakudy 0.79 40 8 1,263
Periyar 4.45 85 10 5,035
Muvattupuzha 1.46 168 26 3,367
Meenachil 0.15 35 8 699
Manimala 0.91 127 11 1,652
Pamba 0.38 18 8 746
Achankovil 0.69 50 12 1,212
Total 8.83 523 83 13,974
Highland (>75 m amsl) Chalakudy – – – –
Periyar 0.70 195 21 1,970
Muvattupuzha 0.10 24 5 275
Meenachil 0.04 23 3 120
Manimala 0.08 32 5 374
Pamba 0.33 25 10 725
Achankovil 0.19 10 3 409
Total 1.44 309 47 3,873
River basins Chalakudy 0.94 47 10 1,563
Periyar 5.64 325 37 8,515
Muvattupuzha 2.00 261 35 4,965
Meenachil 0.22 64 12 899
Manimala 1.10 173 20 2,358
Pamba 0.86 66 22 1,976
Achankovil 0.97 67 17 2,031
Total 11.73 1,003 153 22,307

being scooped out first for brick earths and then the Collins and Dunne 1989; Kondolf 1994). This process
intervening sand layers for fine aggregates. could mobilize a substantial quantity of streambed sedi-
It is now well understood that indiscriminate sand ments that are then transported downstream and ultimately
mining well above the natural replenishments could lead to deposited in the excavated area. In some cases, the head-
serious environmental problems in the river basins. Of the cuts moves long distances upstream and often spreads into
two types of sand mining from the active channels de- even the tributary channels (Hartfield 1993; Kondolf 1997).
scribed earlier, pit excavation is the most dangerous than Merging of the adjacent pits during monsoon season could
bar skimming. Excavation of mining pits in the active lower the streambed faster imposing instability to the riv-
channel of the alluvial reaches lowers the streambed, cre- erbanks and riparian vegetation. The sediment-laden water
ating knick points. The knick point could locally steepen passing downstream leaves coarser sediments like gravel
the channel slope, which in turn increases the flow energy. and sand in these pits and thereby carries only sediments
During high flows of the monsoon season, knick point much less than its capacity. Thus, the hungry water leaving
becomes a location of bed erosion and gradually moves the pit may erode the downstream reaches with aggression,
upstream through head cutting (Garde and Raju 1985; ultimately ending up in the degradation of the entire river

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Water Commission located in the storage zones of these

rivers. Among the seven rivers, the Periyar river draining
the most industrialised and urbanised area of Kerala state,
the Kochi city, records the highest bed lowering value of
19 cm year–1. Furthermore, the rate of bed lowering
exhibits a marked increase in the last 2–3 decades (Table 6;
Fig. 3). Contrary to Periyar, the Achankovil river draining
the southern part of the study area exhibits a reverse trend
with a marked decrease in bed lowering during 1985–2000
period. This is because, the channel bed at the gauging
station of Achankovil river can no longer respond to sand
mining as the channel here has already touched the crys-
talline basement rocks. The rate of channel bed lowering in
the other rivers exhibits wide fluctuation during the mon-
itoring periods because of interventions of Honourable
Fig. 2 Combined mining of subfossil logs and river sand: a scene Court and Government from time to time. Although such
from the Muvattupuzha river interventions could yield positive results for short-term
periods (which in turn reflected well in the slow pace of
channels. A similar kind of process in the Cheny creek in channel bed lowering at certain periods) the efforts could
USA, degraded the river stretch, ultimately lowering the not sustain long due to the ever increasing demands of river
stream bed as much as 4.9 m from the original bed level sand for construction works. The riverbed lowering and
(Lane 1955). It is reported that pit excavation in the active channel degradation have damaged many bridges, rural
channel of a Russian river near Healdsburg, California in water supply schemes and side protection structures in
1950s and 1960s caused channel incision in excess of 3 m addition to imposing habitat changes through riparian and
over a 11 km length of river, with a maximum incision of instream vegetation (Fig. 4). Many perennial wells in the
6 m (Collins and Dunne 1990; Kondolf 1997). A similar floodplain areas became dried up in summer season due to
effect occurs below dams, which trap sediment and release lowering of water table in the nearby areas of the river
hungry water downstream where channel incision usually channel.
ensues; instream sand excavation below dams compounds Apart from the above changes in the physical environ-
this problem (Kondolf and Swanson 1993; Kondolf and ment and damages to engineering structures, indiscriminate
Larson 1995). sand mining could also impose drastic changes in the
All the seven rivers draining the Vembanad lake biodiversity of aquatic fauna and flora. According to Kurup
catchments are degrading severely since 1980 consequent et al. (2005), the physical habitat variables play a leading
to indiscriminate mining of construction grade sand from role in the distribution of many fish species of Pamba,
instream and floodplain areas. As a result, the channel beds Periyar and Chalakudy rivers. The study revealed that the
in the storage zones of these rivers are lowering fast posing habitat alteration consequent to indiscriminate sand mining
instability problems to riverbanks and associated engi- contribute significantly to the endangerment of fishes like
neering structures. Table 6 shows the rate of channel bed Labeo dussumieri, Puntius denisonii, Batasio travancoria,
lowering recorded by the gauging stations of the Central Horabagrus nigricollaris and Lepidopygopsis typus. In

Table 3 Quantity of river sand mining with respect to the sand discharge estimate of the gauging station
River Location of River length down the Total sediment Total sand discharge Sand mining below the
gauging station gauging station (km) discharge (·106ty–1) (·106ty–1) gauging station (·106ty–1)

Chalakudy Arangali 27 0.05 0.01 0.56

Periyar Neeleeswaram 50 0.37 0.08 4.00
Muvattupuzha Ramamangalam 35 0.17 0.02 1.09
Meenachil Kidangoor 24 0.03 0.01 0.08
Manimala Kallooppara 20 0.09 0.02 0.17
Pamba Malakkara 27 0.10 0.03 0.18
Achankovil Thumpamon 38 0.09 0.01 0.49
Sources CWC, Kochi and CESS, Thiruvananthapuram

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Table 4 Estimated quantity of

Sl. no. River basin No. of mines/ Quantity of sand No. of
floodplain mining in the rivers
wet pits mining (·106 ty–1) labourers
joining the Vembanad lake
1. Achankovil, Pamba and Manimala 9 0.048 40
2. Meenachil 7 0.024 30
3. Muvattupuzha 116 0.320 500
4. Periyar 2 0.006 12
5. Chalakudy 3 0.016 18
Total 137 0.414 600

Table 5 Impact of river sand and gravel mining on various environmental components of rivers draining the Vembanad lake
Sl. no. System/components Impact(s) of mining

1. River channel Erosion of river banks; river bank slumping; lowering of river channels; changes in river bed
configuration; undermining of engineering structures like bridges, water intake structures, side
protection walls, spillways, etc.; loss of placer mineral resources associated with alluvial sand and
gravel
2. Surface water Rise in suspended particulate level, turbidity and other pollutants like oil, grease, etc., from vehicles used
for the removal of sands; ponding of water and reduction in natural cleansing capacity of river water;
aggravated salt water ingression
3. Ground water Lowering of ground water table in areas adjacent to mining sites; damage to the fresh water aquifer
system in areas close to the river mouth zones
4. Flora and fauna Dwindling of floral and faunal diversity within river basin; decline in terrestrial insects like mayfly,
dragon fly, stone fly etc., whose larval stages are in the shallow water sandy fluvial systems; habitat
damage/loss and changes in breeding and spawning grounds; reduction in inland fishery resources
5. Culture Damage to culturally significant places; places of annual religious congregations, etc
6. Coast/near shore Lack of replenishment of coastal beaches leading to coastal erosion and reduction in the supply of
nutrient elements from terrestrial source

Table 6 Riverbed lowering

Sl. no. Rivers 1980–1985 1985–1990 1990–1995 1995–2000 Bed lowering
(cm year–1) consequent to
over the years
indiscriminate extraction of
sand from the rivers draining the 1 Chalakudy NA 12.00 17.00 6.70 13.00
Vembanad lake
2 Periyar 4.00 9.60 21.00 40.00 19.00
3 Muvattupuzha NA 13.50 3.60 NA 8.00
4 Meenachil NA 19.75 3.80 23.60 15.00
5 Manimala NA NA 14.00 10.00 12.00
Data source: Central Water 6 Pamba NA NA 14.40 8.60 12.00
Commission, Kochi
Achankovil 4.60 13.00 8.60 1.00 7.00
NA Not available

another study in the Achankovil river, Sunilkumar (2002) banks (Fig. 6), river bed lowering and also clearing of
reveals that the benthic fauna in the river has severely af- vegetation for brick earth and sand mining for the devel-
fected by indiscriminate river sand mining. Number counts opment of roads (Fig. 7), sand harvesting centres, etc. ad-
of benthic animals were very low or even absent in some versely affected the ecosystem functioning of the river
cases, in the sampling stations affected severely by sand reaches in midlands and lowlands. Loss of instream vege-
mining (Fig. 5). Scooping of sand along with the larval tation, sand and gravel in the river bed, etc., not only affect
forms of many insects like mayfly, dragonfly, caddisfly and the feeding and hiding grounds of fishes and other fresh-
other insects of the order Diptera has imposed marked water animals but also induce spawning disorders to
decrease in population of these beneficial insects which phytophilic and psammophilic fishes in the aquatic envi-
form food to other higher order animals like fishes and ronment (FAO 1998). This may, of course, end up in the
amphibians. Loss of riparian habitats due to caving of river decline of inland fishery resources, which ultimately affect

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Fig. 4 A water intake structure constructed in Manimala river is

found exposed due to river bed lowering, which is an after effect of
sand mining

need for multidisciplinary studies in the riverine environ-

ments of the Vembanad lake for assessing the extent of
degradation consequent to indiscriminate sand and gravel
mining. This is very much important for laying down
strategies for regulating the mining activities on environ-
ment friendly basis and also for creating awareness on the
impact of river sand mining on the physical and biological
environment of these life support systems.
Fig. 3 Riverbed lowering of Periyar river during the period 1980–
Given below are some of the recommendations sug-
2000 (Data source: CWC, Kochi)
gested to improve the overall environmental quality of the
river systems of southwest coast of India, in general and
the protein and energy flow to fish feeding animals in the
Vembanad lake catchments, in particular.
aquatic and terrestrial environments.
• An integrated environmental assessment, management
and monitoring program should form part of the sand
Conclusions and recommendations extraction processes. Also, there is an urgent need for
integrating the studies on various disciplines on the
In the past 3–4 decades, rivers in the densely populated human induced degradation of the small catchment
areas of the world are subjected to immense pressures due rivers of southwest coast of India.
to various kinds of human interventions, among which • Evaluate physical, chemical and biological effects of
indiscriminate mining for construction grade sand from instream mining on a river basin scale, so that
alluvial reaches is the most disastrous one. This is mainly cumulative effects of extraction on the aquatic and
because of the fact that uncontrolled scooping of sand riparian resources can be recognised and addressed at
aggravates river degradation and threatens its trophic various levels for proper remedial measures.
structure. The situation is rather alarming in the small • Examine and encourage alternatives to river sand for
rivers of Kerala in the southwest coast of India, which construction purposes. Immediate steps are to be taken
support the life and greenery of the region. Loss of riparian to intensify research activities leading to the finding of
and instream vegetation, changes in the feeding, breeding a suitable, low cost and easily available alternative to
and spawning grounds of aquatic organisms including river sand.
fishes not only impose stress in the river ecology but also • Evaluate control measures such as bank stabilisation,
create damages in the terrestrial and nearshore marine revegetation of buffer strips, influences of connected
environments as well. All these points to the immediate floodplain pits etc. Restoration efforts should concen-

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888 Environ Geol (2008) 54:879–889

Fig. 5 Average abundance

(0.1 m2 area) of benthic
organisms in the Achankovil
river (Data source: Sunilkumar
2002)

trate on techniques that will optimise fish production,

promote aquatic diversity and restore biotic integrity.
• Awareness campaign should be conducted at various
levels about river sand mining, present state of
environment of rivers and immediate need for control
measures.

Acknowledgments We thank Director, Centre for Earth Science

Studies (CESS), Thiruvananthapuram for encouragement and support.
Mr. Arun P.R. and Smt. Mini S.R. helped the authors in the field and
also in statistical processing of field data. We are indebted to Mr. N.K.
Sukumaran Nair (PPS), Mr. Gopinathan Nair and Professor Sithar-
aman (AKRPC) for fruitful discussions and help in various ways
during collection of secondary data. Thanks are also due to Dr.
Fig. 6 Slumped/exposed bank of Pamba river due to unrestricted K.M.Nair, Director, Vakkom Moulavi Foundation Trust, Thiruva-
mining activities nanthapuram and former Director, CESS for guidance and encour-
agement. We thank the Central Water Commission, Kochi for
sediment discharge and riverbed lowering data. The financial assis-
tances from Government of Kerala and various Panchayat Raj Insti-
tutions of State are also greatly acknowledged.

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