Successive years of drought have brought into focus the need for restoring and rejuvenating waterbodies in the state. As part of the process, the state government has started a survey to identify dried waterbodies.
Involving the retired engineers, the state government formed the Tamil Nadu Resource Development Cell in May 2018. The committee is now conducting a survey in and around Chennai and in Coimbatore.
Within four months the committee will submit detailed project reports on restoration of waterbodies across the state to the state government, said R Ilangovan, vice chairman of the committee.
He was in the city to address non-governmental organizations (NGOs) during a conference on ‘rejuvenation and maintenance of water bodies’ organised jointly by Kovai Kulangal Padhukappu Amaipu, Keystone Foundation, the Nature Conservancy and Indian Institute of Human Settlements.
Apart from harvesting excess rainwater, the committee has been planning to link deficit water river basins with river basins that have surplus water, Ilangovan said. They are in the process of identifying such rivers in the state.
"One such identified deficit water body is the Kousika river," he said. They would soon identify a suitable waterbody to link with the river before recommending it to the state government.
While the lakes on the outskirts of districts are in good condition as the water is used for irrigation purposes, most of the lakes in urban areas are in a pathetic state and are filled with solid waste, building debris and industrial effluents, he said.
Urban lakes play an important role in recharging the ground water, climate fixation and adaptation and biodiversity of the city, the engineer said, hinting that rejuvenating urban lakes is the only way to recharge the ground water.
"We have planned to establish a model lake with negligible pollution level in the city. Based on this, other lakes will be restored," he said, adding that the committee has sought the support of NGOs to identify a lake to carry out the restoration work.
In order to restore and rejuvenate the waterbodies, we have to remove encroachments in the tank bed areas and channels and prevent dumping solid wastes in both waterbodies and storm water drainage, he said. The blockage caused by solid wastes along channels is the main reason for flooding.
It will take at least two more years to complete the underground drainage (UGD) work in the state. The committee will also work to treat industrial effluents and domestic sewage before letting it into the existing tanks.
