Red Hills Lake | |
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Section of the Puzhal Lake | |
Location | Ponneri TalukThiruvallur district, Tamilndu |
Coordinates | 13°10′00″N 80°10′17.5″E / 13.1666667°N 80.171528°ECoordinates: 13°10′00″N 80°10′17.5″E / 13.1666667°N 80.171528°E |
Lake type | reservoir |
Basin countries | India |
Surface area | 4,500 acres (18 km2) |
The Red Hills Lake, also called Puzhal Lake (Tamil: புழல் ஏரி) is located in Ponneri Taluk of Thiruvallur district, Tamilnadu, South India. It is one of the two rain-fed reservoirs from where water is drawn for supply to Chennai City, the other one being the Chembarambakkam Lake and Porur Lake.
The full capacity of the lake is 3,300 million ft³ (93 million m³).
Contents |
History
The reservoir was built in 1876. The reservoir was originally a small tank with a capacity of 500 million cubic feet (mcft) and two masonry weirs, built using locally available laterite stones, then functioned as surplus weirs to release excess water from the water body. Today, these masonry weirs are water-retaining structures as they have been replaced by two shutters. In 1997, the storage capacity of the reservoir was increased to 3,300 mcft and the depth to 21.20 ft to cater to the drinking water needs of Chennai and also to store Krishna water received from Andhra Pradesh.
Until 2012, the Water Resources Department (WRD) has only taken up maintenance work worth 500,000 every year.[1]
The reservoir
There are two masonry weirs in the reservoir. One weir is 178 m long and the other is 220 m long and 15 ft deep. The bund measures 5 m and runs to a distance of 7 km. The weirs have turned porous over the years.[1]
Upgradation
In June 2012, the WRD called for a tender for strengthening the reservoir at a cost of 101.6 million. Besides small repair to the shutters, filter arrangements on the slope of the bund will be made for 2 km. The road on top of the bund will also be widened by 1 m.[2]
The water level of the reservoir has been brought down to 10.46 ft to take up the project. The water body receives 300 cubic feet per second (cusecs) from Poondi canal to supply to the city.[1]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Lakshmi, K. (20-Jul-2012). "136-yr-old reservoir gets upgrade". The Hindu (Chennai: The Hindu). http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/article3658970.ece. Retrieved 21-Jul-2012.
- ^ Lakshmi, K. (22 June 2012). "Work to improve Red Hills reservoir set to begin soon". The Hindu (Chennai: The Hindu). http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/article3555726.ece. Retrieved 22-Jun-2012.
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