The Water Resources Department (WRD) plans to study the possibility of increasing the Baby Canal’s carrying capacity to transfer more water from the Poondi reservoir to the Cholavaram reservoir.
Various projects taken up on waterbodies, channels and storage structures were reviewed on Friday by K. Satyagopal, Chairman, Tamil Nadu Water Resources Conservation and Rivers Restoration Corporation, along with officials of the WRD and the Tiruvallur Collectorate.
Mr. Satyagopal suggested that the width of the canal be increased to 40 m to allow four times its capacity of 100 cusecs (cubic feet per second). He also suggested that the damaged Velliyur check dam, which is downstream of the Poondi reservoir and is proposed to be restored, be improved with a regulator to store up to 400 million cubic feet. Water from the Kosasthalaiyar could be diverted to the Cholavaram reservoir through the Baby Canal nearby.
Similarly, there were recommendations to improve the Tamaraipakkam check dam to store more water and convert it into a riverine reservoir with the strengthening of flood banks.
Officials inspected the confluence point of the Adyar and the surplus course of the Chembarambakkam reservoir at Thiruneermalai. It was decided to check the land records along the river for widening the river up to 65 m to carry nearly 60,000 cusecs-70,000 cusecs of floodwater. This might help to ease inundation in areas such as Mudichur and Varadharajapuram and up to Anakaputhur, said officials.
The team also checked the irrigation channel that could be used to transfer more water from the waterbody at Chembarambakkam to the Sikkarayapuram quarries. These abandoned quarries were developed as storage structures and buffer sources for water supply to the city. It was recommended to increase the width of the channel linked to the quarries.