General narrative criteria: The legal tenure of this wetland lies under the reserved forests & the whole forest is protected by chain link fence. The wetland area is about 2.228 acres & the perimeter being 0.5233 km. The elevation of the wetland is 1947 m above sea level.
Biological and botanical condition:
The vegetation of the wetland was surrounded by Shola forest and few Acacia trees. The wetland was dominated by grass. Scripus was seen in patches. Shrubs like Eupatorium were observed along the edges of the wetland. The ground cover near the source of the wetland has Rananculs spp., Pilea spp. etc.,
Good habitat for Malabar Giant Squirell, Flying Squirell, bird spps like the Nilgiri laughing thrush the Nilgiri Verditer Flycatcher, the Nilgiri white Eye & other animals like Bison, Barking deer, occasionally panther etc.
| Longwood shola | Permissible limits | Observed value |
| pH | 6.5-8.5 | 6.2 |
| Temperature (0C) | 10 | 18.5 |
| Coliform | Nil |
|
| Fluoride | 1.0 (max) | 0.6 |
| Residual Chloride (mg/l) | 0.2 | <0.2 |
| Phosphorous (mg/l) |
| 0.1 |
| Iron (mg/l) | 0.3 | 3 |
| Hardness (mg/l) | 300-600 | 40 |
| Chlorides (mg/l) | 250-1000 | 531.75 |
| Ammonia | 1.5 | 1 |
| Turbidity(NTU) | less than 5-10 | 25 |
| Remark | soft water,low fluoride content |
|
Threats:
Since it is protected the water is good & is being tapped for drinking water for more than 15 villages in the down town Aravenu area. Only during the summer the people nearby Sikkuttubettu access for water. There are chances of pollution like chemicals from the above tea fields & coliform presence in the water. Many check dams have been built & the flow of water is controlled.
