Rapid urbanisation followed by the increase of paved surfaces conditions the infiltration of rain water into the soil. As the water demand started increasing with spiralling population, open wells and bore wells started drying up. The problem becomes very severe if no sincere attempt is made to replenish the ground water table with rainwater during the monsoon. In this paper, a study is carried out to estimate the runoff volume for B.S.Abdur Rahman Crescent University (BSACU) campus, Vandalur, Chennai, India by using Soil Conservation Service (SCS) curve number (CN) method. The water supply and demand for the university is studied in detail. The campus area is divided into sub watersheds and then the runoff is estimated using ArcGIS. The elevations at very closed intervals are measured using Global Positioning System (GPS) data collector and a Digital Elevation Model (DEM)of the campus area is generated. The sub watersheds contributing water in the study area are delineated with the help of Digital Elevation Model of the area. The subsequent runoff is calculated using the parameters such as rainfall, landuse, soil and slope. From the study it is found that about 74% of the rainfall is going away as runoff from the studyarea. Suitable sites for recharge pits are suggested. Based on this study, it is suggested that suitable other harvesting methods are also to be adopted to save water and supplement the increasing water demand of the growing university for which the maps prepared in this study are useful....
Authors: M.V.Molykutty, K.Kanmani, N.Maharajan.