Goa’s latest monthly progress report to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) confirms a stark reality environmentalists have warned about for years. Goa’s rivers remain dumping grounds for untreated sewage. Of the 15 river locations monitored, 12 have failed the Central Pollution Control Board’s faecal coliform standards, with contamination levels far exceeding the prescribed SW-II limit of 100 MPN per 100 ml.
The findings are alarming. At the Mapusa-Panaji highway culvert, the Mapusa River recorded an alarming faecal coliform count of 1,700 MPN per 100 ml, accompanied by low dissolved oxygen and high biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). Tiracol at Keri recorded 930, Sinquerim near Candolim 920, Chapora at Siolim Bridge 780, Mandovi at Tonca-Marcela 780, Sal at Khareband 780, and Zuari at Madkai Jetty 680. All these readings far exceeded the prescribed safety limit.
These findings cannot be dismissed as temporary spikes in pollution, nor can they be disputed because they come from the Central Pollution Control Board. In October 2026, an interim study had found that all 44 monsoon samples collected from 22 locations in the Mandovi estuary had faecal coliform levels above permissible limits. Earlier assessments under the National Water Quality Monitoring Programme had also found that 18 of 19 monitored beaches failed to meet safe hygiene standards.
The situation is frustrating because authorities are not acknowledging the problem and acting on it. Government representatives have repeatedly highlighted a reduction in Goa’s polluted river stretches, from 11 in 2018 to just two by September 2025. But this improvement is not being viewed in context. Much of the reduction followed a CPCB reassessment that classified polluted stretches primarily based on BOD levels. The latest NGT findings expose the limitations of relying on this single indicator. A river may record relatively low BOD levels and still carry dangerously high concentrations of faecal bacteria.
Equally concerning is the absence of clear information in the state’s report about the specific sources responsible for sewage contamination at individual monitoring locations. Without identifying where the waste is entering the rivers, corrective action remains difficult. Untreated sewage from residential complexes and commercial establishments will continue to enter rivers if sewerage infrastructure is not strengthened and rules are strictly enforced.
Large volumes of sewage encourage eutrophication, a process that depletes dissolved oxygen and leaves aquatic organisms struggling to survive. The declining oxygen levels reported in the Mapusa River and the extensive water hyacinth growth in the Sal are visible signs of this deterioration.
Rivers are not only a crucial part of Goa’s ecosystem, but these water bodies define Goa’s identity. For generations, rivers such as the Mandovi, Zuari and Sal have been central to everyday life in Goa. They were not only pristine waterways, but places where children learned to swim, where traditional fishermen earned their living, and where families depended on the daily catch for food.
That relationship is now steadily breaking down. Foul-smelling water and floating garbage, sometimes sewage, have made many people wary of rivers they once considered part of their lives. Communities that lived alongside these waterways and depended on them are increasingly being forced to turn away from these water bodies. Unless the government acts decisively, these once-vibrant waterways risk becoming little more than open drains. Act now, before it is too late.
