Geography of Chennai - Water Bodies

Water Bodies

Two rivers meander through Chennai, the Cooum River (or Koovam) in the central region and the Adyar River in the southern region. Both rivers are heavily polluted with effluents and trash from domestic and commercial sources. The Adyar, which is much less polluted than the Cooum, is de-silted and cleaned periodically by the state government. A protected estuary of the Adyar forms the natural habitat of several species of birds and animals. The Buckingham Canal, 4 km (2.5 mi) inland, travels parallel to the coast, linking the two rivers. The Otteri Nullah, an east-west stream runs through north Chennai and meets the Buckingham Canal at Basin Bridge.Several lakes of varying size are located on the western fringes of the city. Red Hills, Sholavaram and Chembarambakkam Lake supply Chennai with potable water. Groundwater sources are mostly brackish.

Historically, Chennai has faced a problem of water supply shortages as no big river flows through it with a resulting over-reliance on annual monsoon rains to replenish water reservoirs. The city's ground water levels have been depleted to very low levels in many areas. Many residents buy their drinking water. An earlier Veeranam project was unsuccessful in solving the city's water supply shortages, but the New Veeranam project which became operational in September 2004 has greatly reduced dependency on distant sources. In recent years however, due to heavy and consistent monsoon rains and the implementation of rainwater harvesting (RWH) techniques by Chennai Metrowater at their Anna Nagar Rain Centre, water shortages have been reduced significantly, and this has led Chennai to be a model of RWH technology for other cities. Moreover, newer projects like the Telugu Ganga canal project that brings water from water-surplus rivers like the Krishna river in Andhra Pradesh have eased water supply shortages. The city is also constructing sea water desalination plants to further ease water supply shortages.