The Water Resources Department will soon call for tenders to appoint a consultant to prepare a detailed project report and study the strategies proposed for flood mitigation resilient to climate change and additional water supply to the city under the Chennai City Partnership Programme (CCPP).
The department has proposed several projects at a total cost of ₹22,000 crore to be executed in 12 sub-river basins, including lower Palar sub-basin and the Nagariyar. Several proposals had been chalked out to create a storage capacity of 20.50 tmc ft. around the city. About 1,000 schemes have been planned to conserve surface runoff, climate adaptive remodelling of waterbodies and provide flood regulators.
Officials said the Chennai Metropolitan Area may have a shortfall of 13.50 tmc ft. of water by 2035. The department has come up with the proposals for sustainable water supply by flood management and augmenting water sources to tackle drought.
Some of the projects proposed include new reservoirs at various sites, including Ramanjeri and storage enhancement at Poondi reservoir; providing water source to fill abandoned quarries at Sikkarayapuram; improving storage capacity of various waterbodies and check dams across the Kosasthalaiyar and the Palar.
The chosen consultant would have to study the viability of the projects and recommend those schemes to be prioritised. The State government has allocated ₹5.12 crore for the study to be carried out as part of the CCPP being considered by the World Bank for funding.
The consultant would have to study the feasibility of various identified projects such as to conserve runoff by forming new reservoirs and reviving vanishing waterbodies, intra basin transfer of surplus water, construction of barrages and check dams, widening of rivers and channels and connecting missing links between rivers and waterbodies.
Besides assessing the proposed flood control measures, the consultant would have to evaluate the environmental impact of the mitigation strategies. Officials said the consultant would have to first prepare terms of reference document defining the scope of evaluation and then prepare a project report in the next six months.
