The Water Resources Department has started to clear encroachments from two tanks in Sothupakkam and Perungavoor, near Red Hills.
Together, the two tanks in Ponneri taluk have a water spread area of 450 acres and a combined capacity of 150 million cubic feet. Officials said work was in progress for land survey along with the Revenue Department and to remove encroachments.
While the tanks are the main source of irrigation and groundwater recharge in the region, they faced threat of encroachments as the areas were becoming urbanised.
Surplus water from Sothupakkam tank is drained into Kummanoor pond and Perungavoor tank. Where there were no encroachments in Sothupakkam tank, there were nearly 13 encroached structures in the Kummanoor pond and the local body had been instructed to clear encroachments, sources said.
The department is cleaning the Perungavoor inlet channel to ensure free flow of water into the tank. Once the land survey was completed, encroachments on the surplus course would be cleared. This was part of the work to identify and clear encroachments in the waterbodies, the officials said.
