 The distribution of drinking water is to a very large extent dependent on rains, in Tamil Nadu. Rains are the only source of water thusfar, for drinking and agricultural purposes. We have been left to depend on the mercy of neighbouring States, because we have failed to maintain and protect the water resources in the State properly. The nonchalant attitude of the city administration is turning the rivers running through Chennai into nothing more than drainage canals and most precious water is wasted because of pollution. This article attempts to focus the attention of the authorities on the problems facing the city’s rivers.
The Adyar river on the south and Coovum on the north course through the city from the west and reach the sea. The Buckingham canal is flowing (is it really flowing?) from north to south, abutting the city’s beach. The Otteri nullah and the Captain Cotton canal join the Buckingham canal as the Mambalam canal joins the Adyar River.
The flow of water is considerable in all these waterways, only during the rainy season, two months in a year at the most. All these waterways are polluted throughout the year in 311 different points in the city. Harmful wastes let out into these watercourses collect at the estuaries and the creeks where they reach the sea. Slush and sand collect at the mouth, preventing the course of water into the sea, leading to problems of flooding during the rains and of course spreading epidemics. The first step to be taken in preventing this from occurring any further is to stop polluting the city’s watercourses by stringent laws. Another thing is the provision of sufficient alternate sewers that can carry wastewater to treatment plants so that it can be recycled and put to effective use.
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