Water quality in a suburb of Chennai housing a large industrial complex

An extensive survey of the quality of groundwater and surface water has been carried out at the suburb of Manali, Chennai, which houses a cluster of several large industries. The cluster is called ‘Manali Industrial Complex’ and typifies the Indian situation wherein hazardous industries exist cheek by jowl with residential colonies, commercial hubs and public amenities. Industries also exist within directly impacting distance of water bodies and other neutral resources. The studies reveal the kind and the extent of adverse impacts that is possible under such situations. A stretch of Buckingham Canal, which receives effluents from some of the industries, has been modeled for its water quality. The impact of different extents of effluent input and of canal flow have been forecast.