‘59% of 112 waterbodies are polluted’
Abdul Wahab Khan
Panaji : As Toyyar Lake at Chimbel, a notified wetland, hogs limelight over the Unity Mall project, the Environment Report 2025 has raised serious concerns over the worsening condition of lakes across the state, adding that 39 lakes have been categorised as ‘Class E’, the lowest water quality category.
“The current state of lakes in Goa presents a growing environmental concern,” the report prepared by the Environment Department has noted.
The ‘Class E’ category indicates that the waterbodies are unfit even for outdoor bathing, and should be restricted to limited uses such as irrigation and industrial cooling.
Surveys by the Water Resources Department have further revealed that nearly 59 per cent of Goa’s 112 tested waterbodies, including lakes, ponds and temple tanks, are polluted.
Ecological impacts are already visible. The study has highlighted eutrophication, algal blooms and declining aquatic biodiversity as increasingly common across Goa’s lakes, threatening fisheries, agriculture and livelihoods. Even lakes near cultural and tourism hubs such as Anjuna and Narve have been deemed unsafe.
The document has warned that unless construction activities near wetlands are strictly regulated and sewage and runoff are effectively managed, Goa risks losing its lakes as functional ecosystems.
Report findings have assumed significance in the backdrop of sustained public protests demanding the scrapping of the Unity Mall project, located close to Toyyar Lake. Villagers fear that large-scale construction could irreversibly damage the fragile wetland ecosystem.
The lake at Chimbel is a freshwater body that supports biodiversity, groundwater recharge and seasonal flood regulation.
According to the report, water quality monitoring carried out by the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) between 2018–19 and 2024–25 shows that key physicochemical parameters at Toyyar Lake remained largely within acceptable limits.
The report has recorded pH values between 6.0 and 8.5, conductivity below 2250 µS/cm, boron within 2 mg/l, and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) below 26mg/l, classifying these parameters as ‘satisfactory’.
However, the report has cautioned that compliance with chemical norms does not reflect overall ecological health.
The report has also flagged Nanda Lake, a Ramsar site, and Carambolim Lake as these critical freshwater systems are under stress. These lakes, once rich in aquatic life and bird diversity, are now impacted by untreated sewage inflow, agricultural runoff and urban encroachments.
The report has warned that “stagnation promotes the accumulation of pollutants, accelerating deterioration of lake water quality”.
While some lakes, including Toyyar and Carambolim waterbodies, are protected under the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017, the report has expressed concern over weak enforcement.
It has said pressures from real estate development, encroachments and invasive species such as Salvinia are suffocating aquatic life and lowering water quality.
