T.N. government will roll out digital database portal for water management by December: WRD Secretary

Tamil Nadu to launch digital water resources portal, real-time flood forecasting system, and promote less water-intensive crops.

The State government will roll out the digital database portal of the Tamil Nadu Water Resources Information and Management System by December, said K. Manivasan, Additional Chief Secretary, Water Resources Department, on Friday here at the Aquasouth Summit ‘South Wave: Transforming Water Challenges into Opportunities’.

Speaking at the event organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), he listed various projects being implemented by the government and said the portal would serve as a comprehensive repository of data on waterbodies, such as details on storage capacity and water quality, and enable public access to real-time data and enhance awareness.

The app will leverage technology for effective water resources management and conservation. The ₹30-crore project will also help deter encroachments in waterbodies after their boundaries are geotagged, with the corresponding data uploaded to the portal.

Mr. Manivasan also said the groundwater wing of the Water Resources Department was working on the ₹68-crore real-time flood forecasting system for the Chennai basin. The data from a network of sensors in waterbodies and rain gauges will be used to assess and mitigate urban floods using various forecasting models. This will also be completed by December, and residents can access the system for information on street-level flooding.

Explaining the comprehensive flood control master plan for Chennai being developed in cooperation with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), he said the plan, comprising various short-term and long term interventions to reduce the impact of erratic monsoons, was likely to be submitted by the end of this year.

In the agriculture sector, Mr. Manivasan said Tamil Nadu’s policy framework now focused on promoting less water-intensive crops such as pulses and millets. The government was exploring international partnerships to enhance agricultural productivity, including an upcoming agreement with the University of Florida. He called upon industries to reinvigorate rainwater harvesting with cost-effective technology and address challenges in the water sector.

Earlier, Chris Hodges, US Consul General, Chennai, stressed the need for partnerships between industries and organisations to tackle the impact of unpredictable monsoons and climate change. He highlighted the Chennai-San Antonio Sister City Agreement, which has helped both cities share their experiences on flood mitigation and new approaches to river clean-up, besides other technologically driven solutions.