Porur lake, one of the major waterbodies in the city, may get the much-needed attention and be saved from further degradation. The Water Resources Department (WRD) plans to take up remedial measures in a couple of weeks.
Areas upstream of the waterbody too may have a respite from recurring floods as the department would implement projects to improve the network of water channels around the lake.
Officials of the WRD said the department would take steps to improve the aesthetic appeal of the lake by removing the weeds. Nearly 25 encroachments near the lake’s surplus weir at Moulivakkam would also be removed and foreshore bund would be created apart from constructing a compound wall.
This would also increase the water spread area in the lake that currently has a storage capacity of about 70 million cubic feet. The department is also in the process of enumerating other encroachments around the lake.
“We are planning to provide two regulators near the weir to control the flow into the surplus course and minimise flooding in the surrounding areas,” said an official.
The department also plans to construct a channel for a distance of 700 metre from Thanthikal channel, which links floodwater to the lake, to the Porur lake’s surplus course. Several areas such as Iyyapanthangal and Koluthuvancheri get flooded during the rainy season as the branch channels of the Thanthikal channel were encroached upon. The new channel would help drain the floodwater quickly.
Moreover, it would help prevent sewage pollution into the lake during the non-rainy season. The flow, mainly sewage, would be diverted to the surplus course near Koluthuvancheri Road through the new channel, officials said.
The lake’s 1,100-metre long surplus course would be improved and a channel would be built for a distance of 800 metre to allow smooth flow of floodwater into Manapakkam drain and finally into the Adyar river.
Two box culverts would be constructed cutting across the NHAI bypass to avoid detour of the surplus course in joining the drain. Push through technology would be adopted for the construction to avoid any traffic disruptions. The works worth ₹60.4 crore would be completed before the onset of Northeast monsoon.
The Porur lake has also been chosen as the site for the Chennai Metrowater’s pilot project on the indirect use of reclaimed water.
