Assessing the significance of Water resource management in improving the socio-economic and environmental status of a fast-growing urban community: A case study from Southern India

Integrated water resource management is paramount in this existing scenario, where population growth along with climate and land-use change become obstreperous. The huge turbulence of rainfall pattern in recent decades, give chances for contrast climate extremities like pluvial floods and droughts along with water scarcity more often. The present study focuses on the southern hydrological basins of Chennai in India, which are Adyar and Kovalam (Ad-Ko) basins. The study area experienced floods in 2015 and 2021 recently, in which almost 75% of 1400 mm (average annual rainfall) poured in a single month. Discrepantly, in 2019, a severe drought, which almost created day zero by completely draining all the water bodies due to inappropriate water management. The Ad-Ko basin comprises 1650 Km², among which, 11% are water bodies. This 11% is further distributed as abandoned quarries, lined canals, reservoirs, tanks, rivers, streams and wetlands. So, the inference is that the Ad-Ko basin already has sufficient natural and man-made water storage and draining facilities. But, it got affected due to a lack of people’s awareness leads to encroachment and improper water management. Though extremities due to climate change are inevitable, several interventions on water management can improve the subsisting condition. MIKE software was chosen to assess and evaluate the benefits of stream diversions and deepening of water bodies, which were incorporated based on the topography. The resulting water balance is optimistic in handling extreme situations. Moreover, the water samples were collected and assessed for their physicochemical properties from various water bodies that could be intervened, periodically between 2019 and 2021. The analysis was carried out based on the American public health association (APHA) and compared with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), World health organization (WHO) limits and found to be suitable for water managing measures. Thus the peer concentration on water management by a highly aware urban population can reduce the impact of severe climate extremities and improve the socio-economy and environment of the community substantially.