Need to conserve ground water stressed

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, NOV. 27. Notwithstanding the questions about the amount of water that would be received every year in the Kandaleru- Poondi canal, will investing more money in preserving river basins around Chennai be worth its while ?

This interesting point was raised at a national workshop on water resources held in the city recently. Stressing the need for patronising look at the city's river basins and tanks, Dr.S.Mohammed Ghouse, Executive Engineer, Agricultural Engineering Department, said ground water so conserved could come in more handy in meeting the water demand.

The city's river basins consists of Araniar, Kosasthalaiyar, Nandhi, Nagari, Cooum and Adyar. Of these, Arani and Kosasthalaiyar originate in Andhra Pradesh and join the sea near Chennai.

Adyar originates near Singaperumal Koil in Kancheepuram district, and the surplus of Chembarampakkam lake joins it. Cooum is the surplus of Cooum tank, which is fed by Palar river canals.

Dr. Ghouse said that satellite pictures revealed that most of the city tanks were in "dying state". The swamps south of Chennai were filled up by waste. The Cockrain basin and Adyar estuary were encroached.

Another reason for the "eco-degradation" of city and surrounding areas was the uncultivated regions and low rainfall.

The paper called for implementing soil and ecological conservation measures intensively to harvest rainwater. "The average annual rainfall for the region is 1,200 mm, and can sometimes reach 2,000 mm", said the engineer.

The irrigation tanks could also be re-discovered as surface water storage tanks in the urbanised localities. In the agricultural areas, the ground water could be conserved by the introduction of advanced techniques like drip and sprinkler irrigation, instead of surface irrigation.

Another alternative suggested for the agricultural areas was the introduction of cash crops. This would not only help improve the finances of the farmers, but also conserve water. The present practice of single crop system should be done away with.

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