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  You are here :  Home  Water Resources | Last Updated:: 16/07/2018

Water Resources
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Agriculture

Air Pollution WATER RESOURCES IN TAMIL NADU

 
Disaster Introduction:  
Forestry  
Water is the elixir of life, a precious gift of nature to  mankind  and  millions  of  other 
Coastal
species  living on the earth.  Tamil Nadu constitutes 4 percent of India’s land area and is
Tourism & Heritage
inhabited by 6 percent of India’s population, but has only 2.5 percent of India’s water
Industries
resources. More than 95 percent of the surface water and 80 percent of the ground water
Demography have already been put into use. Major uses of water include human/animal consumption,
Solid Waste irrigation and industrial use.
Energy  
Infrastructure The demand for water in Tamil Nadu is increasing at a fast rate both due to increasing
population and also due to larger per capita needs triggered by economic growth. The per
Natural Resources
Mineral Resources Of Tamil Nadu capita availability of water resources however, is just 900 cubic meters when compared to the
national average of 2,200 cubic meters. Agriculture is the largest consumer of water in the
Climate
State using 75 per cent of the State’s water resources.
Climate
 
Bhuvan Portal Maps
The State is heavily dependent on monsoon rains. The annual average rainfall is
Agriculture Maps around 930 mm (47 percent during the north east monsoon, 35 percent during the south west
monsoon, 14 percent in the summer and 4 percent in the winter).
 
Actual rainfall for the year 2010-11 is 1165.10 mm, out of which 48 percent is through
the north east monsoon, 32 percent is through the south west monsoon and the remaining
20 percent is through summer and winter rainfall. Since the State is entirely dependent on
rains for recharging its water resources, monsoon failures lead to acute water scarcity and
severe droughts.
 
 
Surface Water Resources of Tamil Nadu:  
  
The total surface water potential of the state is 36 km or 24864 M cum. There are 17
major river basins in the State with 61 reservoirs and about 41,948 tanks. Of the annual water
potential of 46540 million cubic metres (MCM), surface flows account for about half. Most of
the surface water has already been tapped, primarily for irrigation which is the largest user.
24lakh hectares are irrigated by surface water through major, medium and minor schemes.
The utilisation of surface water for irrigation is about 90 per cent.
 
 
Ground Water Resources of Tamil Nadu:  
     
The utilisable groundwater recharge is 22,423 MCM.  The current level of utilisation
expressed as net ground water draft of 13.558 MCM is about 60 per cent of the available
recharge, while 8875 MCM (40 per cent) is the balance available for use. Over the last five
years, the percentage of safe blocks has declined from 35.6 per cent to 25.2 per cent while
the semi-critical blocks have gone up by a similar percentage. Over-exploitation has already
occurred in more than a third of the blocks (35.8 per cent) while eight blocks (2 per cent)
have turned saline.
 
 The water level data reveals that the depth of the wells ranges from an average of 0.93
metres in Pudukkottai district to 43.43 metres in Erode. According to the Central
Groundwater Board, there has been a general decline in groundwater level in 2003 due to the
complete desaturation of shallow aquifers. There has been a considerable failure of irrigation
wells in Coimbatore District.
 
 
Details of water resources of Tamil Nadu in District wise
Sl. No Name of the district Sl. No Name of the district
1. Ariyalur 17 Ramanathapuram
2. Coimbatore 18 Salem
3. Cuddalore 19 Sivagangai
4. Dharmapuri 20 Thanjavur
5. Dindugul 21 Theni
6. Erode 22 Thiruvarur
7. Kancheepuram 23 Thiruvallur
8 Kanniyakumari 24 Thoothukudi
9. Karur 25 Tiruchirapalli
10 Krishnagiri 26 Tirunelveli
11 Madurai 27 Tiruppur
12 Nagapattinam 28 Tiruvannamalai
13 Namakkal 29 Vellore
14 Nilgiri 30 Villupuram
15 Perambalur 31 Virudhunagar
16 Pudukkottai    

 
 
River basins of Tamil Nadu and Water Potential
 
There are 17 river basins in Tamil Nadu. Cauvery is the only major basin. Of the others,
13 basins are medium and 3 are minor river basins. At 75 percent dependability, the annual
surface water generated in the State is 692.78 TMC (19,619 MCM). Table 6.1 detailing the
surface water potential in the different districts of Tamil Nadu. The State depends on
neighbouring States for considerable quantum of flows, which is about 261.70 TMC (7411
MCM) annually.Table 6.2 indicates the water received from the States of Andhra Pradesh,
Karnataka, Kerala and Maharashtra. Thus, the total surface water potential of the State at 75
percent dependability is 954.58 TMC (27,030 MCM).

 
Following are the rivers which flow through this southernmost region of the Indian
peninsula:
 
Bhavani River: Fed, mostly, by the southwestern monsoon, this is one of the main
tributaries of the river Kaveri.
Cheyyar River: This tributary of River Palar is a major seasonal river that flows through the
district of Tiruvannamalai.
Chittar River: The main river originates from the Courtallam Hills of the Shencottah Taluk
and Tenkasi Taluk in the district of Tirunelveli. It flows through the state along with its 5
tributaries.
Ponniyar River: Flowing across the borders in between the taluks of Villupuram and
Cuddalore, it finally drains into the Bay of Bengal.
Thamirabarani River: This river originates from the peaks named Agathimalai,
Aduppukkal Mottai and Cherumunji Mottai in the Tirunelveli district.
Vaigai River: While flowing towards the Palk Strait, it changes its course towards the
south east near Sholavandan and passes through the town of Madurai.
Gundar River: It mainly flows through the districts of Tirunelveli and Virudhunagar in Tamil
Nadu.
 Noyil River: This tributary of Kaveri flows through Dharapuram taluk and Palladam taluk in
Erode district and Coimbatore district respectively.
Suruli River: This originates from the Suruli Waterfall, which is among the major tourist
attractions in the Theni district.
Vaipar River: With its origination in the bordering hills of the Kerala state, the river runs
through the Virudhunagar district as well as the Theni district. 
 
 
 

 
 
 
Other Rivers in Tamil Nadu:
 
 To name a few more south Indian rivers serving the inhabitants of the state are given below:
 
Addapar River, Adyar River, Agaram Aru River,  Aintharuviar River
Aiyaru River, Aluthakanniar River, Arasalar River, Arichandranathi River
Arjuna River, Bambar River, Coonoor River, Gadananathi River
Gingee River, Goddar River, Gomukhi River, Hanumannathi River
Jambunathi River, Kaattar River, Kabini River, Kallar River
Kamandala River, Karipottan River, Karunaiyar River, Karuppanathi River
Kedilam River, Kollidam River, Komugi River, Kothaiyaru River
Kottagudi River, Kottamalaiyaru River, Koundinya Nathi River, Kowsika River
Kudamurutti River, Kundar River, Kundha River, Malattar River
Manimuktha River, Manimuthar River, Markanda River, Mayura River
Mottaiyar River, Mudikondan River, Mundhal Odai River, Mullaiyar River
Nandalar River, Naganathi River, Nanganjiyar River, Nattar River
Odampokki River, Pachaiyar River, Pahrali River, Pamaniyar River
Pambar River, Pandavaiar River, Parambikulam River, Pykara River
Rajasingiyaru River, Ramanathi River, Sankaraparani River, Sarabanga River
Sarugani River, Shanmuganadhi River, Sigur River, Siruvani River
South Pennar River, Suvetha River, Thennar River, Thenpennai River
Thirumalairajan River, Thirumanimutharu River, Tondiar River, Uppar River
Upper Gundar River, Valavaikkal River, Vanniyar River, Varaganathi River
Vashista River, Vedamaliyaru River, Veera Chozhan River, Vennaaru River
Vennar River, Vettar River
 
 Source:
1.     State Ground Water and Surface Water Resources, Data Centre, Tharamani, Chennai-113
2.      http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/tamilnadu/
3.     Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board 
Policy Note 2017-18 clickhere
 
 

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