What is reason for water scarcity in Tamil Nadu?

When rains fail, the city must rely on huge desalination plants and water piped in from hundreds of kilometers away because most of its rivers and lakes are too polluted. While climate change and extreme weather have played a part, the main culprit for Chennai’s water woes is poor planning.

Where does Tamil Nadu get water from?

The major source of water in Tamil Nadu is the North-east and South-west monsoons since it has no perennial rivers. During South West monsoon rains, the Cauvery River in Karnataka dams get filled and the Cauvery River in Tamil Nadu gets water when the rain are high in the catchment areas.

Which area has good water in Chennai?

Aquifers in Central Chennai, which has alluvial soil and once yielded water within 25m, have gone dry too. “Only a few pockets such as Valasaravakkam, Alwarthirunagar, Virugambakkam, Porur and parts of Mylapore have alluvial aquifers with water. Open wells in these areas have dried up,” Saravanan said.

Is groundwater finished in Chennai?

As per a team of researchers working at Anna University, 60 per cent of groundwater will be degraded by 2030. The team also observed that the area of Chennai’s water bodies shrank to 3.2 square kilometres from 12.6 square kilometres from 1893 to 2017.

How does Chennai get water?

Chennai receives most of its water from Poondi Lake (3,231 Mcft), Sholavaram Lake (881 Mcft), Red Hills Lake (3,300 Mcft) and Chembarambakkam Lake (3,645 Mcft). The Veeranam Water Supply Project was implemented as an additional source of water to Chennai City.

What will happen if Mullaperiyar dam breaks?

According to Kerala, if the dam collapses, it would wash away a stretch of about 25km between Mullaperiyar and Idukki dams affecting about 0.1million people. If this causes damage to Idukki dam, it would further destroy human settlements of millions of people,” said the report.

Which areas in Chennai faces severe water shortages?

Protests erupted over the Chennai government’s lack of action on the issue as water was no longer a basic human right in Chennai. The government also faced pressure on their management of the city’s four main reservoirs; Poondi, Cholavaram, Redhills and Chembarambakkam.

Is Chennai water good?

CHENNAI: Packaged water in the city is not safe for drinking. Chennai consumes 60 lakh litres of packaged drinking water every day, the highest among Indian cities. Virtually every household buys packaged water for drinking and cooking.

What is the problem of Chennai city?

The 2019 Chennai water crisis was a water crisis occurring in India, most notably in the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu. On 19 June 2019, Chennai city officials declared that “Day Zero”, or the day when almost no water is left, had been reached, as all the four main reservoirs supplying water to the city had run dry.