Feasibility study on formation of fresh water reservoir and impounding the surface runoff for urban water survival in a coastal brackish water region of Kollam, India

Abstract

The paper presents the feasibility study on the formation of fresh water reservoir and impounding the surface runoff in a typical brackish water lake of southern India, Ashtamudi Lake for urban water survival of Coastal town, Kollam, India. The concept envisages of building a barrage at the outlet of Ashtamudi Lake at the mouth of the Arabian Sea to serve the purpose of preventing seawater intrusion into the lake, avoiding the contamination of the freshwater supply from sea water. To validate the concept, it is proposed to conduct a feasibility study which addresses the concerns about the availability of runoff from Kallada River. The paper also presents possible schemes for storing fresh water within Ashtamudi Lake by constructing dikes at appropriate locations. The length of dike and the volume of water that can be stored with proposed schemes are outlined in the paper.