Chembarambakkam lake is a lake located in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, about 25 km from

. It is one of the two rain-fed reservoirs from where water is drawn for supply to

Chennai City Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, Department (country subdivision), departmen ...

, the other one being the

Puzhal Lake Pulhal aeri, or Pulhal lake, sometimes spelled Puzhal lake, also known as the Red Hills Lake, is located in Red Hills, Chennai, India. It lies in Thiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu state. It is one of the two rain-fed reservoirs from where wa ...

. The Adyar River originates from this lake. A part of water supply of the metropolis of Chennai is drawn from this lake. This was the first

Artificial lake A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

built by

Rajendra Chola I Rajendra Chola I (; Middle Tamil: Rājēntira Cōḻaṉ; Classical Sanskrit: Rājēndradēva Cōla; Old Malay: ''Raja Suran''; c. 971 CE – 1044 CE), often referred to as Rajendra the Great, and also known as Gangaikonda Chola (Middle Tami ...

the son of

Rajaraja Chola Rajaraja I (947 CE – 1014 CE), born Arunmozhi Varman or Arulmozhi Varman and often described as Raja Raja the Great or Raja Raja Chozhan was a Chola emperor who reigned from 985 CE to 1014 CE. He was the most powerful Tamil king in South ...

and Thiripuvana Madeviyar, prince of Kodumbalur. During Chennai's water crisis of 2019, Chembarambakkam Lake dried up.

The lake

Chembarambakkam lake was known as Puliyur Kottam. It is one of the 24 kottams (villages) that existed even during the later

Chola The Chola dynasty was a Tamils, Tamil thalassocratic Tamil Dynasties, empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated ...

period in Thondai Mandalam which had

Kanchipuram Kanchipuram ('; ) also known as ''Conjeevaram,'' is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in the Tondaimandalam region, from Chennaithe capital of Tamil Nadu. Known as the ''City of Thousand Temples'', Kanchipuram is known for its temple ...

as its headquarters. The lake was built by

Rajendra Chola Rajendra Chola I (; Middle Tamil: Rājēntira Cōḻaṉ; Classical Sanskrit: Rājēndradēva Cōla; Old Malay: ''Raja Suran''; c. 971 CE – 1044 CE), often referred to as Rajendra the Great, and also known as Gangaikonda Chola (Middle Tami ...

, the son of

. *The Full Tank Level is . *The Full Capacity (mcft) of the lake is 3,645 million ft³ (108 million m³). *The Level of the tank in feet is . However, acute sedimentation has eaten more than 40% of its water holding strength. There is an ancient

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

temple and Kanni Koil located here.

Pipelines

There are two pipelines existing from the lake's water treatment plant. The existing pipeline on Poonamallee Bypass Road has the capacity to convey only half of the 530 million litres that can be treated at the plant. In 2012, Chennai Metrowater started evaluating the feasibility of laying a third pipeline with a diameter of about 2,000 mm from the Chembarambakkam water treatment plant at a cost of 650million, which will run parallel to the existing one for over 6.5 km.

Gallery

File:Chembarambakkam tank.jpg, Chembarambakkam tank. Drinking water provider of chennai File:16-lock view of chembarambakkam tank.jpg, 16-lock view of chembarambakkam tank File:Main 5-lock view of chembarambakkam tank.jpg, Main 5-lock view of chembarambakkam tank File:Water gushing out of tank when water released during the sep-oct of 2011.jpg, Water gushing out of tank when water released during the sep-oct of 2011 File:Water gushing out of tank when water released during 2011.jpg, Water gushing out of tank when water released during 2011

References

Lakes of Chennai Reservoirs in Tamil Nadu {{Chennai-geo-stub

The lake

Pipelines

Gallery

See also

References