Urbanization is a phenomenon affecting the tank eco-systems on the fringes of the cities. When tank rehabilitations are attempted, most of the times, the tank is desilted to increase the storage capacity without botheration of any attempt on the source of water and the means by which the water could be harnessed towards the tank through supply channels. Rehabilitation will be sustainable if the implementations are backed by a hydrological study of any tank. Chetpet tank (major tank in the southern urban area of Chennai city) is highly contaminated because of letting sullage and sewage water by neighborhood residents into the tank through storm water inlets in various locations of tanks. The main objective of this study is to understand the hydrology of Chetpet tank. Runoff yield was estimated by SCS-CN method and from the analysis it was found that the capacity of the tank is not sufficient to store the excess runoff water. The water quality analysis results are compared with the recommendation of the Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (CIFA, India) standards for fish culture suitability and suggested possible rehabilitation measures for the sustainability of the tank ecosystem.

Keywords: Urban Tank; Remote Sensing; GIS; Tank Rehabilitation;