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Basin Lake

Basin Lake

This pond is located on the east and south side of the Mettur Surapet Link Road.It is a fairly large lake with water through most of the year. The area surrounding the lake is heavily urbanized. The bund in the Western side is almost completely encroached. The bund to the north is fairly compact but has several dense and thorny bushes. Solid waste and liquid waste are diverted into the pond, especially sewage let out from the houses located along the bund. Now the pond is fully restored under the Chennai Smart City project funds.

Area, Zone, Division

AREA:22257.73 Sq.mtrs   ZONE: 3    DIVISION:24

Location

This pond is located in Division 24 of Zone  3 and is on the Mettur Surapet Link Road. It is located to the East and South of the road. There is an amman temple located to the North east of the pond. The pond is located at North Latitude 13 8'39.40 and East Longitude 8011'3.42"

Field Observation and Inferences

This is a fairly large lake with water. The area surrounding the lake is urbanized. The bund in the Western side is almost encroached to the full extent. The bund in the northern side is fairly compact but with dense thorny bushes. The pond is dumped with solid waste, liquid waste is diverted into the pond; direct sewage is let into the pond from the houses located along the bund. As the water body is covered with dense bushes all around, Total Station Survey Could not be conducted in this pond. Hence the area and bund length was estimated through Google earth. Based on the Google earth output, it is inferred that the total area of the pond is 22,226 sq.m and the total length of the bund is 775.9 m

 

 

Impact of Urbanisation

The imagery extracted from google earth on 21.03.2016 and 31.08.2001 is presented below shows major encroachment happening on all sides of the pond.In addition to the encroachment, the pond has been fully polluted with domestic sewage and solid waste dumping.

 

Google Image of the pond as on 21.03.2016 (LEFT) and 31.08.2001 (RIGHT)

Pond Storage Estimation

As the pond has been encroached and polluted and total station survey could not be done, the exact extent could not be evolved and hence the run off model has not been worked out.

Proposed Interventions

Based on the field observations and inferences, followed by the data analysis, following were the list of activities proposed for renovating the pond.

  • The community need to be sensitized first on the importance of water body and their role in sustaining the groundwater sources in the area.
  • Further encroachment should be checked first by erecting a fencing around the water body.        
  • Temporary and semi permanent structures erected on the bund and water body should be removed and cleared.
  • Bush clearance all around the pond and provision of a pathway all around the pond to a width of  1.8m and properly fenced.
  • Dumping of solid waste should be stopped with immediate effect with a sigh board warning on the polluters / violators with serious consequences.
  • Sullage and sewage diversion should be stopped. The area has been provided with UGD system and hence the sewage and sullage diverted into the pond can be checked and diverted into the sewer system. The diversion from individual houses should be checked either by providing sewer connection nor through soak pits. 
  • The existing water should be dewatered and disposed.
  • The pond should be desilted and cleaned.  

After  completing the above tasks it is better to retain the water body as such for 1 year, after which the water body can be converted into a water harvesting and recharge system. Introducing recharge system at this stage would lead to the pollution of groundwater and hence it is not recommended.  Bund formation, provision of revetment and steps can be considered at later stage as the pond cannot be brought into immediate use in its present condition.