WATER SHORTAGE IN CHENNAI Submitted By == Bhagyesh Akbari (002) Garvit Chandrayan (013) Rajkumar Parekh (037)WATER SHORTAGE IN CHENNAI How Chennai lost its water ? Chennai is practically the first Indian city to have gone dry with the Central Water Commission reposting a rainfall deficit of 41 per cent in Tamil Nadu till June 13 this year. Storage in four main water reservoirs of Chennai is at less than one per ceat level Tamil Nadu has a 41 per cent rainfall deficiency this summer Chennai has lost 33 per cent wetland areas in last decade to development projects Most of Chennai's population today is dependent on water tankers and curtailed municipal supply for daily requirement of drinking water. News television screens show women waiting for hours in long quenes and scurrying to water tankers to get water which barely meets the drinking and kitchen requirements. Water for sanitation is scarce. Laundry and bathing are nothing short of luxury in today's Chennai Price of Bottled water is reported to have gone up four times while packaged water can only be sustained by wealthier middle-class, IT sector companies have asked employees to work from home. Several restaurants have shut down operations. City is filled with ‘don't waste water' bills, stickers and banners.But how did Chennai lose its water? - Three rivers - the Cooum, the Adyar, and the Kosasthalaiyar - flow through Chennai into the Bay of Bengal. The Buckingham canal connects all the three rivers. - North Chennai gets its water from reservoirs in Thamaraipakkam and Minjur desalination plant. South Chennai ‘ets its water from Veeranam lake and Nemmeli seawater desalination plant. - Chennai used to be watersurplus metropolitan cities of the country till a couple of decades ago. Following the age-old water conservation tradition of Tamil Nadu, Chennai had nearly two dozen water bodies including three rivers and a British period Buckingham canal. Today, it is reduced to half a dozen. ~ A study by the Anna University has found that Chennai has lost 33 per cent of its wetlands in the last one decade During the same period, Chennai lost 24 per cent agricultural land, crucial for improving groundwater table. - The Centre for Climate Change that conducted the study blamed road construction - highways and flyovers, airports and high-rises for depleting water resources in Chennai, These development projects were undertaken on reclaimed water bodies are largely to blame ~All three rivers and the Buckingham Canal are dry today except for a few patches here and there. Same is the case with wetlands. Reports say that wetlands such as Pallikaranai Marsh, Pulicat Lake, Kattupalli Island, Madhavaram and Manali Jheels and the Adyar Estuary Creek have been encroached upon to expand urban settlements.Solution Chennai anxiously awaits the summer of 2021. The season is weary for two reasons: First, the soaring mereury levels and Urban Heat. Second, the water drought or water crisis that makes the city dry and arid. Chennai 2019 water crisis saw dry reservoirs, declining groundwater levels, and empty taps. The city residents hhave similar fears this summer of 2021. Will the city go arid again? Will there be a Chennai water crisis 2021? Will the citizens have to pay through their nose to get access to the world’s supposedly most abundant and ubiquitous resource? The answer is NO! Chennai water erisis solution 1: Increased Reservoir Capacity Until 2019, three of four reservoirs were trusted to meet Chennai’s water demand. But, today five Reservoirs and Dams infiastructures are being managed to store and supply water for Chennai, The water storage capacity in each of these reservoirs is also more closely monitored: as of March 2021, stands at 7,849 Million Cubic Feet (mofi): 70% increase from the preceding year, March 2020. Alll five reservoirs are up to 95% of their storage capacity — A strong reason that this summer 2021, Chennai will have adequate, if not abundant, water supply. Chennai water erisis solution 2: Higher Groundwater Levels ‘The city’s groundwater levels have risen by 2.5 meters in many areas. The ‘average’ water table level, which stood at 4.09 meters below ground level (m bgl) last January 2020, is at 2.15 (m bgl) this January 2021, Even the most water arid zones of the city, like Perungudi and Valsarvakkam, saw groundwater table rise by up to half a meter. The higher water table levels across the city will ensure an abundant supply of bore waters to the individu al houses. In all likelihood, Chennai’s residents will have enough groundwater through the summer of 2021.Solution Chennai water crisis solution 3: Promote Water Sustainability Many attribute this rise in groundwater levels solely to abundant NE monsoons and rainfall. But, the aquifer level of Chennai improved not just by monsoonal rains but also by the government machinery that took extra-efforts to channelize, percolate, and save the rain waters. A water restoration project based on hydro-geological science of percolation to recharge ground waters was implemented across the city. ‘Two immediate benefits were realized through this water restoration program: 1. The Desilted & Restored Waterbodlies have better freshwater storage capacity and have improved the overall Groundwater Levels in the neighborhoods. 2. The Restored Waterbodies acts as large-scale Rainwater Harvesting Catchments, thereby decentralizing or reducing flood disaster risk in the event of rains. The restored water bodies today serve as an urban oasis to the local residents of Chennai, Today, almost 130 waterbodics in the city have bea restored, additional inland water storage of 0.87 Thousand Million Cubic (TMC) has been realized, and 4.35 TMC Groundwaicr has beea recharged, through this water restoration project. Chennai’s Reservoirs, Waterbodics, Rainwater Harvesting Zones, Storm Water Drains and Ground Water Structures are better managed today. The different state agencies prolifically worked together to improve the city’s water situation. Chenaai’s water resources, watersheds and man-made hydrological structures have been efficiently managed to promote water sustainability. Thanks to the watershed management policies and implementation: Chennai will have increased drinking water avcilability this summer 2021