Thamaraikulam
his lotus pond is located in Sokkammal Street adjacent to the Manali New Government Higher Secondary School. The pond is roughly rectangular in shape. It is in good shape as the pond is located within the compound of the Government School campus in Manali. The pond has no revetment or steps. At present, there is no specific catchment apart from its own in-situ catchment. The pond is fenced on three sides i.e., on North, West and East with the school building to its South. There are minor amounts of solid waste dumping and sullage diversion as well. Now the pond is fully restored under the Chennai Smart City project funds.
AREA: 5260.918000000001 Sq.mtrs ZONE: 2 DIVISION: 20
This pond is located in Division 20 of Zone -2 and is located on the Sokkammal Street. It is located adjacent to the Manali New Government Higher Secondary School. The Thamaraiklam 2nd Street is to the West of the pond while Padasalai street is to the East of the pond. The pond is at North Latitude 1310'2.06" and East Longitude 8015'26.83".
The pond is square roughly rectangular in shape. As the pond is located within the compound wall of the Government School campus, it is in better shape. There is no water in the pond during the time of survey. The pond is neither provided with revetment nor with steps . At present, there is no specific catchment to the pond but for its own in-situ catchment. . There is no inlet or outlet to the pond provided. The pond is fenced on all three side ie., on West, North and East with the school building in South. There is minor amount of solid waste dumping and sullage diversion. It is possible to rejuvenate and restore the pond. Based on the TSS output, it is inferred that the total area of the pond is 5,637.783 sq.m and the total length of the bund is 303.204m. The average depth of the pond is about 1.5m.
The imagery extracted from google earth on 18.10.2016 and 01.06.2002 is presented below shows no major change on the water spread area of the pond.
Google Image of the pond as on 16.04.2017 (LEFT) and 15.06.2010 (RIGHT)
The actual volume stored in the tank during 1987 a normal rainfall year - after losses due to evaporation and recharge is given in the following Graph
The total storage of the tank in its present condition is estimated at 1,1782.97 cu.m Based on this estimate, there will be water available in the pond for almost 118 days in a year. At no point of time, the pond overflows in a normal rainfall year. The total inflow to the tank in a normal rainfall year is estimated at 8,192.2 cu.m; the total groundwater recharge will be 5,883.17 cu.m. The estimate was made in an excess rainfall year ie., during 2005 to see the inflow and outflow status. The actual volume stored in the tank after losses due to evaporation and recharge is given in the following graph.
Based on this estimate, there will be water available in the pond for 268 days. The pond in its present volume does not over flows even in an excess rainfall period for the assumed catchment. The total inflow to the tank in an excess rainfall year is estimated at 6,048.50 cu.m; the total groundwater recharge is 2,080.3 cu.m
Based on the field observations and inferences, followed by the data analysis, following were the list of activities proposed for renovating the Pond.
- The pond can be desilted, deepened and bund strengthened; .
- The pond should be provided with toe wall, revetment and binding wall.
- Provision of pathway all around the pond
- Provision of gate and fencing in the Southern side.
- Roof top diversion from the school building to the pond and provision of recharge well of 1.2m in diameter to a depth of 3m can be provided in the pond to facilitate groundwater recharge.