CHENNAI: The Public Works Department has chalked out over 10 projects to prevent drought and flood situations in the forthcoming years. It has submitted a detailed project report seeking World Bank funding under the Chennai City Partnership Programme. The projects, to the tune of Rs 464 crore, cover Adyar, Cooum and Kosasthalaiyar river basins.
One of the crucial projects is constructing a check dam and a cut-and-cover channel to store surplus water from Chembarambakkam lake in a nearby stone quarry. At present, excess water from the lake enters the quarry pit in Sikkarayapuram at a rate of 50 cusecs. But in case of heavy rains, more water could be discharged as it has a storage capacity of 500 Million Cubic Feet (Mcft). Currently, only one-fifth of this is utilised. So, the government has proposed to construct a check dam at Kavanur village and a 3.8-km long channel, with a capacity of 500 cusecs of water, for more outflow.
Another `66 crore has been sanctioned to widen Adyar River (up to 120 metres) in the downstream side so that water gets discharged at a better rate. Around 25 acres of land need to be acquired for this. Other strategies include intra-basin transfer, construction of barrages or riverine reservoirs, improving storage capacity of tanks and conservation of flood water in rivers.
An official said the check dams in Kosasthalaiyar and Cooum basins will be retrieved. This could enhance the ground water potential and save about 180 MLD of water. It is also planned to restore the storage capacity of various tanks including Sekkadu, Thandurai and Thiruninravur, would help store surplus water.