A large water harvesting facility is now being built in the Chennai Corporation playground on St. Mary’s Road in Abiramapuram.
A private company is setting up a giant water retention tank below the playground, in one corner, using imported eco-blocks.
The tank, now being set up after earth excavation was completed last weekend, can hold 500 cubic meters (5 lakh litres) of storm water at any time besides recharging the groundwater aquifer hydro-dynamically, said a senior executive of the company handling this project.
Once the tank is set up, the top-most layer will look exactly like the rest of the playground. Though the contractor planned to lay turf here, the youths who play cricket and football here suggested that the ground be restored the way it was.’
This playground was chosen for the project because during monsoons, the ground collects a huge volume of water and much of it flows into drains or on to the local roads and obviously, runs into the sea.
With the new facility, the water will not only be saved but will percolate slowly and recharge the local area and hence improve groundwater levels.
A senior executive of the company executing this project said that eight playgrounds in Chennai have been chosen to set up this utility.
This project is funded by National Disaster Management Authority.
Very good project. Much needed to maintain the ground water level in this area with many high rise apartment buildings. It would be nice had the article mentioned the type of tank bed they are planning. General assumption would be that bed will aid percolation.