ABSTRACT
Water is one of the most precious elements and since centuries, human settlements have developed around natural water bodies like rivers and lakes. However, in recent times, the haphazard developments along the water bodies have adversely affected the natural drainage pattern of these water bodies resulting in increased flooding situations. Chennai, which had one of the successful water & drainage systems in history, is also facing water crises & flooding issues. Many development activities in the city have been done without proper consideration of the natural drainage of the city which has resulted in disturbed natural water & drainage systems. This is apparent from the fact that rapid loss of water bodies and wetlands has been observed which has not only decreased the extent of collective harvesting but also impacted the flood management of the city.
There is an urgent need to address these issues as without water system a city cannot survive. This research revolves around these issues and focuses on identifying the various impacts on natural drainage due to human led development in Chennai. The research analyses the historical water system of the city where the tanks were developed along the natural drainage which were used to store water. The research also analyzes various developments in and around the natural drainage and water bodies. Environment suitability analysis was done to find out the environment sensitive zones in the study area. Many environment sensitive zones have been developed.
From the research it was found that loss of water bodies and natural drainage has adverse impact on a large scale and the change in the water bodies and natural drainage result in increased vulnerability to disasters in the city and hence it is important to integrate the natural drainage system while planning cities growth and developments. This research tries to find out the important co-relation between human led developments and its impact on natural drainage system of the City and come up with suggestive guidelines to integrate natural drainage in city planning.
