Current Research Journal of Biological Sciences 2(2): 118-123, 2010
ISSN: 2041-0778
© M axwell Scientific Organization, 2010
Submitted Date: September 11, 2009
Accepted Date: November 02, 2009
Published Date: March 10, 2010
Studies on the Effect of Coolant Water Effluent of Tuticorin Thermal Power
Station on Hydro Biological Characteristics of Tuticorin Coastal Waters,
South East Coast of India
J. Selvin Pitchaikani, G. Ananthan and M. Sudhakar
Centre of Advanced Stud y in Marine Biology , Annam alai University, Parangipettai,
Pin- 608 502 , Tam il Nadu, In dia
Abstract: Tuticorin Thermal Power Station (TTPS) uses the adjacent sea water as the coolant water and the
sea water after use is discharged into the same environment at an elevated temperature. The impact of coolant
water discharge o n hydro biological characteristics was investigated for a period of one year in three different
stations fixed in the sea covering 3 km distance from TTPS. This study on coastal ecology has been carried out
especially with special referen ce to the water quality, species diversity and biomass of plankton, nekton and
benthos. The ph ysiochem ical parameters were ranged in temperature (25 to 42ºC), dissolved oxygen (3.7 to
6.1 mg/l), salinity (24.6 to 36 ‰) was recorded. About 11species of phytoplankton and 10 species of
zooplankton were recorded. Present study shows that the elevated temperature of 42º C resulted in the
suppression of phytoplankton, zooplankton, fin fishes and shell fishes. The results clearly indicate that, elevated
coolant water temperature has been deteriorating fish population in the Tuticorin bay.
Key w ords: Effluent water, hydro biological character, plankton, chlorophyll
INTRODUCTION
Effect of coolant water discharge in the adjacent
coastal waters of marine environment is a major
worldwide enviro nme ntal crisis. T he coolant water
discharge area of the power plant of Tuticorin has been
investigated in the present study to elucidate the changes
in hydrobiological characteristics of the coastal waters at
three different stations. The effect of coastal water would
be m ore ad verse in tropical zone where normal seawater
temperature is near the upper tolerance limits of most
marine organisms (Thorhaug, 1978). The mixing of
coolant water with elevated temperature with the coastal
water will alter the phy sical, chemical, biological
parame ters and heavy metal load of the coastal waters of
Tuticorin (Suresh et al., 1993; Swamy, 1994 ; Aquenal,
2001; Ananthan et al., 2005; Manimaran et al., 2007).
Thermal pollution affe cts the b iological com ponents in
different ways. Sp ecies which are intolerant to w arm
conditions may disappear, w hile others, rare in unheated
water, may thrive so that the structure of the comm unity
changes. Species that are restricted to heated waters, can
build up large pop ulations in the receiving waters
(Abbaspour, 20 05). Thermal discharges result in plumes
of heated water in near shore coastal and estuarine
environments. Any reduction in the oxygen concentration
of the water, particularly when organic pollution is also
present may result in the loss of sensitive species. It will
alter the species c omp osition of the marine ecosystem
Suresh et al. (1993). Thermal pollution may also increase
the metabolic rate of aquatic animals, as enzyme activity,
resulting in the composition of more food in a shorter time
than if their environmen t were not changed. An increased
metabolic rate may result in food source shortages,
causing a sharp decrease in a popu lation. Primary
producers are affected by warm water resulting in a
shorter lifespan and species overpopulation (Straughan,
1980). This can cause algal blooms which reduce oxygen
levels in the water. In the present study the impacts of
coolant water on physico-chemical and biological
characteristics of Tuticorin coastal water have been
investigated in detail.
Description of study area: Tutico rin is a coastal city
popularly known as ‘Pearl city’ situated in the southeast
coast of Tamil Nadu. Tuticorin Thermal Power Station
(TTPS) plant is located along the Tu ticorin co ast. (Lat.
08º 46! 20" N; Long. 78º 10! 46" E) Environmental Impact
Assessment study in the Tu ticorin bay w as carried out
from Ma y (2007) to April (2008), 200 KL of sea water is
used as coolant w ater per day. It is a coal – fired thermal
power station hence large amou nt of fly ash (6,000 Metric
Tonnes per day) is generated during the process. The
generated fly ash is disposed in the ash pond which is
situated in between Hare island of Gulf of Mannar and
Power plant. Tuticorin Thermal Pow er Station functioning
since 1976 is generating 1050 MW of electricity. 17,000
metric tons of coals are used as fuel for the power
generation per day. Three stations were fixed in the
coolant water receiving coastal water of Tuticorin.
Corresponding Author: M. Sudhakar, Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology, Annamalai University, Parangipettai, Pin608502, Tamil Nadu, India.
118
Curr. Res. J. Biol. Sci., 2(2): 118-123, 2010
The coolant water around of 200 KL is discharged
everyday into the sea. Station-1 is located in the Bay of
Tuticorin about 20 m from the Coolant water discharge
point of the power station. Station-2 is located at distance
of about 600 m from the coolant water discharge point of
the pow er station. Station-3 is located at distance about
1050 m from the coolant water discharge point of the
power station
oxygen between 3.7 and 6.1 mg/l (Fig. 2) and BOD
was recorded from 2.0 to 4.2 mg/l (Fig. 3). Maximum 4 .2
mg/l was recorded in the month of January at station-1.
Minimum BOD (2.0 mg/l) was recorded in station-3.
COD (Fig. 4) was recorded betw een 1 2 and 36 m g/l.
Salinity was ranged from 24.6 to 36 ‰ (Fig. 5). Both the
minimum (24.6‰) and maximum (36‰) salinity was
recorded in station-1 in the months of October and May
respectively. pH of the study area have been recorded
from 8.0 to 8.4 and minim um 8 .0 was observed in
station-1 in the months of August, October, November
(Fig. 6) and in station-2 in the mon th of July. Maximum
pH 8.4 was recorded in station-3 in June. Transparency
was varied from 38 to 58 cm (Fig. 7), minimum was
recorded in Oc tober at station-1 and m axim um
transparency was recorded in May at station-3. Turbidity
of the study area has been ranged from 0.01 NTU to 1.22
NT U (Fig. 8) and min imum was observed in station-3 in
the mon th of M ay an d ma ximum was observed in
station-1 during December. Atmospheric temperature was
varied from 29.5 to 3 7ºC (Fig. 9) and minimum (29.5ºC)
and maximum (37ºC ) was recorded in station-3 and 1 in
the months of October and May respectively. TDS
recorded from 29.2 to 39.2 g/l (Fig. 10) in the study area.
Minimum (29.2 g/l) was recorded in June at station-3 and
maximum (39.2 g/l) was recorded at station-2, in the
mon ths of M arch and M ay.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Rainfall data were obtained from meteorological
observatory of Tuticorin Port Trust. Atmospheric
temperature and surface water temperature was measured
using a stand ard centigrad e thermometer. Light
penetration in the w ater column was measured with the
help of a Secchi disc, and the light extinction –coefficient
(LEC) was calculated using (Pool and Atkins, 1929)
formula. Salinity was me asured w ith the help of a
Salinometer Model E- 2 and pH was measured using
“Elico” pH meter. Dissolved oxygen, bio chemical
oxygen demand (BOD) was estimated by the modified
W inkler’s method by Strickland and Parsons, (1972 ).
Chemical oxygen demands (COD) were estimated by
adopting standard procedures by Ramadhas and
Santhanam (1996). The seawater samples were filtered
using a Millipore membrane filtering system and analyzed
for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate, dissolved inorganic
phosphorous, reactive silicate and total dissolved solids
were determined by followin g the standard methods as
described by Strickland and Parsons (1972).
Phytoplankton samples w ere collected a t mon thly
intervals from the surface waters towing plankton net
(Mouth diameter of 0.35 mm) made of bolting silk (No.
30, mesh size 48 :m) for h alf an hour. These samples
were preserved by 5% neutralized formalin and used for
qualitative analysis. For the quantitative analysis of
plankton, the settling method described by Sukhanova
(1978) was adopted and the numerical plankton analyses
was carried out using Uterm ohl’s inverted plank tonic
microscope. Phytoplankters were identified using the
standard keys of Venkataram an (19 39). C hlorophyl, a ,
have been estimated using the standard method by
Strickland an d Parsons (1972).
Nutrients: Am mon ia was recorded from 6.2 to 13.5:g/l.
Am mon ia concentration has been decreased from
station-1 to station-3 as the distance increased from
discharging point. Minimum was record ed at station-3 in
October and maximum was recorded in August at
station-1. Nitrite- N was recorded from 0 .82 to 2.54:g/l.
Maximum was recorded at station-1 and minimum was
recorded at station-3 as the distance increased. Minimum
of nitrate- N was observed at station-3 and maximum
recorded at station-1. The nitrate concentration has been
decreased with distance. Phosphate- P was varied from
0.9 to 2.71 :g/l. Maximum (2.71 :g/l) was recorded in
station-2 and minimum (0.9 :g/l) wa s recorded in
station-3. Silicate-silica of maximum (82.24 :g/l)
recorded in station-2 and minimum (46.0 :g/l) was
obse rved in station-3.
Biological param eters: Chlorophyll ‘a’ was recorded
from 0.14 to 84.9 m g/m 3 . Minimum w as observed in
station1, in the mon th of June and max imum was 84.9
mg/m 3 was recorded in station 3 in the month of
Decembe r. Chlorophyll “a” has been increased w ith
distance (Fig. 11 ). Phytoplankton was recorded between
4600 and 384 00 cells/ m 3 in station-1 and 3 respectively.
Minimum was recorded in May and maximum was
recorded October and February (Fig. 12). Zooplankton
varied from 5800 to 51200 cells/ m 3 and minimum and
maximum was recorded in station-1 and 3 respectively
(Fig. 13).
RESULTS
Physiochemical characteristics of water: Sea surface
temperature in station-1 was high (42ºC) during May
month (Fig. 1). The solar heating with coolant wate r
temperature causes the high temperature in station-1.
Mean temperature 4 0.41, 36.70 and 27.79ºC w ere
recorded in station-1, station-2 and station-3 respectively.
Station-1 is located just 20 m from the discharging point
it causes increases the water temperature and mean
minimum 27.79ºC was recorded in station-3, it is about
3 km far away from the discharging points. Dissolved
119
Curr. Res. J. Biol. Sci., 2(2): 118-123, 2010
Fig. 1: Monthly variation of surface water temperature station
1, 2 and 3 of Tuticorin Bay
Fig. 5: Monthly variation of salinity in station 1, 2 and 3 of
Tuticorin Bay
Fig. 2: Monthly variation of dissolved oxygen station 1, 2 and
3 of Tuticorin Bay
Fig. 6: Monthly variation of pH in station 1, 2 and 3 of
Tuticorin Bay
Fig. 7: Monthly variation of Transparency in station 1, 2 and 3
of Tuticorin Bay
Fig. 3: Monthly variation of bio chemical oxygen demand in
Station 1, 2 and 3 of Tuticorin Bay
Fig. 8: Monthly variation of Turbidity in station 1, 2 and 3 of
Tuticorin Bay
Fig. 4: Monthly variation of chemical oxygen Demand in
Station 1, 2 and 3 of Tuticorin Bay
stations including coolant water disch arge p oint; fixed in
the bay covering an area of 3 km distance from TTPS.
Thermal power plants in the temperate zone are
discharging the coolant water (heated effluent) into the
coastal waters regularly. Such discharged effluent water
affect the marine organisms attached to intertidal
substrates in the vicinity Straughan (1980). The impact of
heated effluents on community structure of coastal
DISCUSSION
The effect of coolant water and ash pond slurry from
Tuticorin Thermal Power Station (TTPS) disposal on
marine ecosystem especially water quality characteristics,
phytoplankton and zooplankton density have been
investigated for a period of one year in three different
120
Curr. Res. J. Biol. Sci., 2(2): 118-123, 2010
Fig. 9: Monthly variation of Air temeperature in Station 1, 2
and 3 of Tuticorin bay
Fig. 13: Monthly variation of Zooplankton in Station 1, 2 and
3 of Tuticorin bay
in station 1. Tem peratu re has been decreasing with
increasing the distance. Minimum (25ºC) was recorded in
the month of O ctobe r at station 3 due to rainfall effect.
225.2 mm of rainfall was recorded in this month resulting
decrease the w ater tem peratu re, also the station 3 is
located faraway from the coo lant water disch arge point.
Dissolved oxygen content of the study area have been
increased from station 1 to station 3 with increasing
distance from d ischarge po int, the tempe rature is
decreased, however oxygen level is increased w ith
distance. It shows that temperature is affecting the
dissolved oxygen level in water (Theis, 1975;
Guthrie et al., 1982; Subramanian et al., 1990). Kailasam
and Sivak ami (1996) have reported the similar
observations. BOD was more in station 1 than 2 and 3.
High temperature in station 1 may causes increased
oxygen demand resulting oxygen level was lowered in
station1. In TDS not much variation was observed in all
the three stations. However, minimum 29.2 g/l was
observed at station 3 in the month of June. There is no
much variation of pH was observed in station 2 and 3.
Minimum pH (8.0) was observed in station 1 in the mon th
of Aug ust, it may due to as temperature increases, an
increased proportion of the w ater molecu les dissociate to
H + and OH G , decreasing water pH (Julie et al., 2005). This
concept was confirmed with p resent study. Salinity is
another important factor, which is greatly affected by
warm coolant water. Th e salinity variation between
minimum and max imum is 11.4‰. Minimum 24.6 ‰ w as
observed in station 1 durin g Octobe r, which can due to
rainfall effect. R iver run off from Koramp allam creek is
causes the decline of salinity in station 1. Korampallam
creek is located parallel to coolant water discharging
points and nearer to the both the discharging points.
Turb idity decreased with increasing distance which may
due to leaching of slurry from ash pond having suspended
solids mixed with seawater, which causes the increasing
turbidity in water. Transparency was high in station 1and
low in station 3, which is due to the turbulence of coolant
water and leaching of suspended solids from the ash pond.
More amounts of nutrients have been recorded in station
1 than other stations which can be due to the coolant
Fig. 9: Monthly variation of TDS in Station1, 2 and 3 of
Tuticorin bay
Fig.11: Monthly variation of Chlorophyll ‘a’in Station 1, 2 and
3 of Tuticorin bay
Fig. 12: Monthly variation of Phytoplankton in Station 1, 2 and
3 of Tuticorin bay
ecosystem in temp erate areas is many Markowski, (1960)
Mean temperature of station 1, 2 and station 3 is 40.41ºC,
36.70ºC and 27.79ºC respectively. High temperature
(42ºC) at station 1 was due to discharge of coolant water
directly to the station, which is located just 20 m from the
discharge point hence, warm coolant water with solar
heating resulting high (42ºC) temperature was observed
121
Curr. Res. J. Biol. Sci., 2(2): 118-123, 2010
water and ash slurry. Coolant water and ash slurry have
more nutrients by Subramanian et al. (1990 ). This report
was confirmed with present study. Nutrients of ammonia,
nitrite-N, Nitrate-N, phosphate- P, silicate- Silica was
maximum in station 1 and 2. Nutrients concentrations
have been decreased with increasing the distance from the
Thermal Power Station. Maximum concentration of
ammonia, nitrite and phosphate was recorded in M arch
and April, which might be due to the river run off from
Korampallam creek. This creek brings nutrients from the
terrestrial environment to study area. Also, maximum of
nitrate – N and silicate- silica was recorded in the mon th
of October, during this period 225.2 mm of rainfall was
observed which causes the more amount of silicate and
nitrate in the study area.
Chlorophyll “a” was maximum (84.9 mg/m 3 ) at
station 3 and minimum was observed in the month of June
at station 1, which can be due to warm coolant water and
ash slurry and intense mixing by Subramanian et al.
(1990). Maximum of phytoplankton and zooplankton
were recorded at station 3 and minimum was recorded at
station 1. Sea surface temperatu re is an important control
of the distribution and abundance of plankton species.
Thus increasing temperature enha nces the metabo lic rates
of algal cells and growth rate of phytoplankton species.
The growth rate is faster at higher temperature but drops
considerably beyond an optimal temperature (Eppley
et al., 1979; Schoemann et al., 2005). The difference
between minimum and maximum value of zoo plank ton in
the study area is about 45,40 0 cells/m 3 . Minimum 5800
cells/m 3 was recorded in the month of June, which may be
due to coupled effect of warm coolant water and
atmo sphe ric t em perature. All zooplankton are
poikilotherm ic and thus physiological rate processes and
rates of ove rall growth are highly sensitive to tem perature
(Huntley and Lopez, 1992). With many zooplankton
having a Q 10 close to 3 (a tripling in the speed rate of
processes for a 10 ºC temperature rise). During the study
period, fishing has been made to determine the fish
availability of the thermally polluted area. There are about
22 numb ers of fish species w ere recorded, among them,
Sard inella gibbosa, Stolep horo us comm ersonii, Thryssa
puruva, Ilisha melastoma and Upeneus sulphurus are
commo nly occurring fishes.
Eppley, R.W ., E.H. Ren ger an d W .G. H arrison, 1979.
Nitrate and phytoplankton production in southern
california coastal waters. Limnol. O cean ogr., 24(3):
483-494.
Guthrie, R.K ., D.S. Cherry, E.M. Daivs and H.E. Murray,
1982. Establishment of Biotic Communities within a
Newly Constructed Ash Basin and Its Drainage
System. In: Bates, J.M . and C.I. W eber, (Eds.),
Stream Channelization. A Symposium, ASTM
STP730, American Society of Testing and Materials,
Philad elphia, pp: 243-294.
Huntley, M.E. and M.D.G. Lopez, 1992. Temperaturedependent production of marine copepods: a global
synthesis. Am. Natural., 140(2): 201-242.
Julie, M.R., M .W . Christa, J.C. Joseph Jr and J.H. Lara,
2005. Effects of glob al climate change on marine and
estuarine fishes and fisheries. Reviews in Fish
Biology and Fisheries 2004, 14: 251-275.
Kailasam and Sivakami, 1996. The effect of thermal
effluent discharge on be nthic fauna of Tuticorin bay.
Ind. J. M ar. Sci., 25 : 371-3 72.
Manimaran, B., A. Srinivasan and P.J. Selvin, 2007.
Ecological problems associated with the disposal of
coolant water and ash pond effluent in the coastal
waters of Tuticorin. Abstracts - Phmfrm’07, pp: 96.
Markowski, S., 1960. Observation on the response of
some benthonic organisms to power station cooling
water. J. Anim. Ecol., 3: 63-103.
Pool and Atkins, 1929. Diurnal Migration of Plankton
Crustacea. Q. Rev. Biol., 5(2): 189-206.
Ramad has, V. and R. Santhanam, 1996. A manual of
methods of sea water and sediment analyses. Firsted.
Fisheries College and Research Institute, Tuticorin.
Schoemann, V., S. Becquevort, J. Stefels, V. Rousseau
and C. Lancelot, 2005. Pha eocy stis blooms in the
global ocean and their controlling mechanisms: a
review. J. Sea Res., Spec., 53(1-2): 43-66
Swamy, G.N., 1994. Dispersion processes in coastal
waters - Some outstanding practical issues for
monitoring and modelling. Training Programm e in
Modelling and Monitoring of Coastal Marine
Pollution (MAM COM P). National Institute of
Oceanography, Goa, India. 21 Nov.-16 Dec., Indian
Inst. of Technol., New Delhi NIO, India. pp:
595-597.
Straughan, D., 19 80. Im pact of Southern C alifornia
Edison’s operations on Intertidal Ha rbor, Southern
California D evelopme nt Series, 80-R D-95.
Strickland, J.D.H. and T.R. Parsons, 1972. A practical
Handbook of seawater analysis. Fish. Re s. Bd. Can ..
Bull., 167: 31 1.
Subramanian, B., S.K. Prabu and A. Mahadevan, 1990.
Influence of thermal power station effluents on
hydrobiology of seawater. Water, Air, Soil and
Pollut., 53: 131-137.
Sukhanova, 1978. Precision of different methods used for
estimating the abundance of the nitrogen-fixing
marine cyan obacterium , Trichodesmium Ehrenberg.
J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol., 245(2): 215-224.
REFERENCES
Abb aspour, M., A.H. Javid, P. Mohinmi and K. Kayham,
2005. Modeling of therma l pollution incoastal area
and its economical and environmental assessment.
Int. J. Environ. Sci. Te chnol., 2(1): 13-26.
Ananthan, G., P. Sam pathkum ar, P. Soundarapandian and
L. Kannan, 2005. Heavy metal concentrations in
Ariyankuppam estuary and Verampattinam coast of
Pondicherry. Indian J. Fish., 52(4): 501-506.
Aquenal, 2001. Be ll bay power station: Biological survey
of donovans bay. R eport to Hy dro Tasmania.
122
Curr. Res. J. Biol. Sci., 2(2): 118-123, 2010
Suresh, K., M .S. Aham ed, G . Durairaj and K.V.K . Nair,
1993. Impact of power plant heated effluent on the
abundance of sed imen tary org anis ms, off
Kalpakkam, East Coast India. Hydrobiol., 268:
109-114.
Theis, T.L., 1975. The Poten tial trace metal
contamination of water resources through the
disposal of fly ash. Proceedings of the 2nd National
Conference on Complete Water Reuse, Chicago
Illinois, pp: 219-224.
Thorhaug, A., 1978. The effect of heated effluent from
power plants on sea grass (Thalassia) communities
quantitatively comparing estuaries in the subtropics
to the tropics. M ar. Pollut. Bull., 9: 181-187.
Venkataraman, G., 1939. A systematic account of some
South Indian diatoms. Proc. Indian A cad. Sci., 10(3):
293-368.
123