Work to construct a check dam at Pudumavilangai village across the Cooum in Tiruvallur district, located about 50 km away from Chennai, is yet to be completed.
But, it has already helped store rainwater in the pristine stretch this season.
Nearly 80% of the work on the 2.25 m check dam has been completed across the 100-m wide river. But, the structure had already been storing water for a distance of 2 km, up to Sattarai bridge, due to the rainfall from earlier this month, said officials of the Water Resources Department.
This check dam is being built in the unpolluted stretch of the river, nearly 12 km downstream of the Kesavaram anaicut, where the waterway branches out to flow as the Cooum. The WRD plans to complete the ₹7.80 crore project in one or two months.
“Surplus water from two tanks upstream in Cooum village and Sattarai joins the stretch of the river at Pudumavilangai. This will help drinking water and irrigation needs of 7,000 people in villages, including Kadambathur, Agaram and Kavankolathur,” an official said.
Though arrangements have been made for water to be diverted to the Cooum through the Kesavaram anaicut, this year it did not reach the stretch near Tiruvallur district.
Groundwater level now stands at an average of 16 ft in the surrounding villages. As groundwater in 35 irrigation wells has been recharged, it will help in the cultivation of 200 hectares of land. Paddy and vegetables are mainly cultivated in the region.
Farmers may cultivate twice a year now as there will be sufficient water for more months. After nearly a decade, the department also diverted water from the Cooum to fill the Kesavanallathur tank through an off-take channel. Residents also wanted steps to be taken to fill other waterbodies in Agaram and Kadambathur by improving link channels.
A proposal to build another check dam at Adikathur between the ones in Pudumavilangai and Putlur that are nearly 8 km apart is also waiting to be implemented.