Last December’s floods in South Chennai highlighted the overlooked state of the Buckingham Canal, a 218-year-old waterway essential for flood management. Originally built for transporting salt, wood, and fuel, this 48 km canal from Ennore to Muttukadu is now choked by silt, encroachments, and pollution, straining its capacity to manage floodwater.
With over 26,300 encroachments narrowing the canal, the areas dependent on it, such as Mylapore and Kotturpuram, face severe inundation risks. Decades of industrial waste from TNEB’s Ennore plant, toxic dumping in Kodungaiyur marsh, and excess sewage flow from pumping stations have deteriorated the canal's health, reducing its original width of 100 meters to as little as 5 meters in some places.
Compounding this is the canal’s unnatural drainage gradient, which diverts floodwater north to Ennore Creek and south to Muttukadu, failing to sustain natural drainage patterns. The Water Resources Department (WRD) cites severe sludge buildup, with the canal now 3 feet above mean sea level, as a major barrier to effective flood control.
The WRD's ₹1,700 crore restoration proposal aims to remove 3,000 encroachments and divert sewage outflows, addressing the canal’s structural issues. Yet, past attempts since 2000, including a 2014 proposal for a diversion channel, have been hindered by financial constraints and the failure to clear encroachments.
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